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Agritourism
in Western Massachusetts
Agritourism
is anything farms do to draw
visitors to the farm for the purpose of selling them products
or experiences. It can be as simple as a roadside stand or as
elaborate as a corn maze. It is a growing trend in agriculture
and it has the potential to help local farmers grow sustainable,
on-farm businesses.
National
tourism trends are leading to increased interest in rural tourism:
• Family vacations have
decreased in length and
many families now compress their vacations into weekends
to accommodate busy school and work demands;
•
Travelers are taking shorter trips by car from urban/suburban
areas to rural areas. Almost 50% of leisure
travelers who take weekend trips take more than three
per year;
•
Rural tourism is growing by 6% per year and
travelers are placing emphasis on shared, authentic
experiences.
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Locally
these trends underscore the potential of agritourism for local
farms:
•
Tourism is the third largest industry in MA,
generating over $11.1 billion in revenue;
•
Franklin County ranks 45th of all counties in the nation
in sales of farm products -- $42 million
•
There are 88 farms identified in this study
as engaging in some kind of agritourism in Franklin
County
•
Franklin County is located close to significant
population centers of tourists -- Hartford
CT, 1.8M; Boston, 5.8M and NYC, 22M.
•
90,000 visitors stop at the Upper Pioneer Valley
Visitors Center in Greenfield each year.
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How
can farms benefit from these trends?
•
Farms can provide shared authentic experiences
that families seek – farm visits can
involve interacting with animals, picking produce, learning
a rural skill or craft or even staying on the farm and
participating in the entire range of farm life;
•
Farmers can do as much or as little agritourism as they
want and still see a potential benefit, from
PYO produce to complicated corn mazes and agri-tainment
activities;
•
Farmers can develop on-farm jobs for family to reduce
dependence on outside income and build greater
family participation in the farm;
•
Farmers can use agritourism activities to develop a
more sustainable business that
relies on local and regional sales of products and experiences
rather than the highly competitive global economy.
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 CISA
has produced two documents to increase the understanding of
agritourism in the region and to help farmers
identify and explore agritourism ideas for their business.
Franklin
County Agritourism Study details the results of
our extensive survey of hundreds of farms in Franklin County
and the agritourism activities they present. Download the Executive
Summary.
Creating
Successful Agritourism Activities for Your Farm
is CISA’s workbook for farmers considering agritourism.
It contains detailed information on brainstorming, planning,
implementing and evaluating agritourism activities. Short and
to the point – designed with farmers in mind! Purchase
the workbook.
Thank
you to the USDA's
Rural Development Agency for partial funding of this project.
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