Agri-tourism: Trends & Opportunities, Findings of a 2000-2001 Survey

PRESENTATION

Speaker:
James A. Maetzold National Alternative Enterprises and Agritourism Leader USDA/NRCS
Description: Farms and ranches not only provide food and fiber, but also rural amenities. These rural amenities range from wildlife habitat to scenic landscapes. One of these amenities is traveling to farms to enjoy on-farm activities-from picking and buying food to fun activities. All of these activities were classified as recreation in the National Survey on Recreation and the Environment. The findings of this survey will be presented. Over 25,000 were interviewed during the one-year period of 2000-2001. It is estimated over 62 million people visited rural areas and farms during this period of time. Presentation will include-reasons for visiting a farm; importance of landscape features; recreational activity participation; source of information about the farm; visitor preferences; expenditures and more.