Farm Tourism

This course covers what it takes to create and manage an agritourism setting, including accommodation and the design and running of tours and activities. You will learn about hosting agritourism events, and how to market and promote a farm tourism business. A final project lets you design a farm tour activity of your own. Suitable for farmers and landowners looking to diversify into tourism.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT There are 8 lessons in this course: 1. The Scope and Nature of Rural and Agricultural Tourism Background and History of Farm Tourism Forms of Agribusiness for Managers and Farmers Agritourism Beyond the Farm Types of Agricultural Tourism Possible Issues Animal Welfare 2. Creating an Agritourism Setting Planning Your Offering Resource Management Selecting Target Markets – Market Segmentation Marketing Approaches Legal and Health & Safety Requirement 3. Managing an Agritourism Business Managing the Physical Resources Managing People Setting up and Running a Farm Shop 4. Agricultural Tourism Accommodation Styles of Accommodation Costing Accommodation Maintenance Farm Tours and Activities Identifying Major Target Groups Tours Within the Farm Tour Schedules and Bookings 5. Designing and Conducting Tours and Activities Creating and Delivering Activities Creating Activities Outside the Farm – Mobile & Online 6. Agritourism Events Types of Agricultural Events Planning for an Agricultural Event Phases of Delivering an Agricultural Event Dealing with Event Issues Managing Visitor Access 7. Marketing and Promoting an Agritourism Business Introduction to Customer Relationships Customer Care Policy Customer Care – Levels of Involvement Effective Communication Dealing with Complaints Self-Evaluation Maximising Customer Service Importance of Market Research Analysing Costs and Benefits 8. Special Project - PBL – Design a Farm Tour Activity Problem-Based Learning Project COURSE AIMS Determine agritourism prospects for a property or wider community in a rural area. Identify and plan development of potential agritourism attractions. Explain critical tasks that require management in an agritourism enterprise. Compare options for providing accommodation facilities and services for agricultural tourism. Explain some of the considerations for designing and conducting various activities for agricultural tourism, including farm tours. Explore the diverse activities possible for agritourism and your region and globally. Identify the most appropriate agritourism marketing tools to effectively promote your business. Create and present a plan with specific strategies for integrating an element of farm tourism into the operation of an existing agricultural business. WHAT YOU WILL DO Find and investigate marketing materials that promote agritourism. Observe behaviours of the animals in agritourism and consider the animal welfare. Identify potential hazards in agribusiness including how event organisers mitigate hazards. Perform a S.W.O.T. analysis to help identify the events Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in an agritourism business. Investigate the creation, sales or service of a food product related to an agribusiness, such as a café, food truck or road-side stall. Research how and where you might go to recruit staff for your business including seasonal workers such as backpackers or fruit pickers. Consider the physical and safety resources required to run an agribusiness. Identify utilities and furnishings that you both consider to be essential and non-essential. Identify of costs associated with the accommodation (budget, intermediate and luxury) and estimate amounts for each. Explore and experience virtual or mobile farm tour activities. Create a mind map for an agritourism event that you would like to run. Identify the apparent success of an agritourism attraction based on observations such as potential income and public interest. Research examples of advertising for agribusiness events in your area (billboards, signs, pamphlets, tv or radio advertisements, email etc) and conduct a cost benefit analysis, considering things like longevity, reach, target audience and monetary cost. Integrate theoretical information to derive sensible solutions to potential problems involved in integrating farm tourism.