by Gerhard Uys – Original post – https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/132604009/farmers-spot-agritourism-potential
Scotty Bamford is the fifth generation on a merino farm, but he doesn’t tend sheep or have anything to do with daily operations.
He runs merino farm tours at the family’s Hurunui Hills farm in North Canterbury, and built an off-the-grid cabin to accommodate tourists who are keen to see what farm life is all about.
Bamford said his farmer father was doubtful that anyone would want to visit, “their boring old place”.
But with 50 seater buses now stopping at the farm for the merino tours his father recently said he had “more fun with tours than he had in years”.
“You have to apply yourself,” Bamford said of the family’s move into agritourism. “It’s like growing a lamb. You have to wait 12 months to get to its desired weight to sell.”
Bamford is part of a growing group of farmers, and non-farmers, who ran agritourism businesses.
New Zealand-based tourism marketing consultant Marijke Dunselman, who was recently appointed to chair the education committee of the Global Agritourism Network, said about 280 people were part of the New Zealand agritourism network.
The global network spanned about 70 countries and aimed at developing standards for agritourism.
Dunselman, who had established Agritourism NZ to provide support and networking for agritourism also ran a six-month programme that educated farmers about how they could tap into the tourism market.
This year alone 95 people attended courses in Manawatu, Franklin, Southland, Taranaki and Whanganui, with more planned for Otago, Canterbury and the North Island, Dunselman said.
About 30% of the businesspeople who attended the training already had an agritourism business, she said.
Businesses ranged from farm cottages listed on AirBnB, mountain bike and hiking trails on farms, hunting on farms, horse treks, to farms that simply made a picnic area available for tourists to eat while sunflowers bloomed, and a creamery that had cheesemaking tours, she said.
Data on how much agritourism benefitted a region was hard to find because, for example, statistics mostly didn’t differentiate between farm income from agritourism, and farm income from farming, she said.
Tourism New Zealand for instance did not hold data on how agritourism impacted regions financially.
Dunselman’s Agritourism New Zealand was the only place running continuous education for farmers, but there were tourism courses at Lincoln and Auckland University that incorporated agritourism into studies.
Other countries were miles ahead of New Zealand, with agritourism education in high schools, and at universities, and government or council led education programmes, she said.
Back on Hurunui Hills, Bamford reminisced about how his agritourism business began.
He used to guide cruise ship visitors on AirBnB farm tour experiences.
He noticed people in age groups that usually bungee jumped or skydived began looking for “more meaningful experiences” and would gladly book a six-hour wine tour, he said.
The cabin Bamford built on the family farm in 2021 was booked for about half of the year, he said.
Half of the people who booked the cabin also did a farm tour, he said.
Accommodation was an anchor that gave people a base to explore a region, he said.
From the farm people explored Hanmer Springs, neighbouring hot springs, and did paid-for hikes that trekked across neighbouring farms, or took cycle routes, he said.
“It’s amazing how many people that come from all walks of life want to learn more about wool and how we raise sheep, at the end of it [a tour] their minds are blown. They never knew how much effort it takes,” he said.
About 80% of his business was New Zealanders, he said.
Bamford wanted to see more cooperation between agritourism operators.
For example, he worked with a neighbouring farm that took visitors jet boating.
Business fed into each other, although many Kiwis “kept their cards close to their chest”, he said.
Collaboration between farms meant, for instance, where a farmer had a mountain bike track on their farm, they could work with a neighbour and make a trail across multiple farms, she said.
Farmers simply had to look for opportunities, she said.
Fountain said despite the strain the pandemic put on people, research showed that during this time many people enjoyed getting back to the basics of cooking and growing food, or foraging.
“Agritourism offers that kind of simple opportunities,” she said.
Agritourism did not have to be run only by farmers, she said.
For example, she knew of operators who ran photography workshops on farms, and then gave the farmer a cut of the proceeds.
From Mzansi’s glorius range of wines to craft beers, tourists visiting our shores this holiday season are bound to be
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