The Different Types of Agritourism
Agritourism is an agriculturally-based operation that attracts visitors to a farm or ranch. Primarily, it offers consumers a unique chance to connect with their food sources that they wouldn’t get elsewhere. Visitors can see, or even pick, organic produce directly from the farm. Still, there are different types of agritourism to consider if you want to convert your farm into this form of small business.
Direct-market
This type of agritourism revolves around selling produce or organic items directly to customers. This appeals to customers looking for direct farm-to-table food items. These also get marketed as all-natural and organic products.
Some examples of direct-market agritourism include:
- Roadside farm stands
- Farmers markets
- Handcrafted products
- Farm/ranch promotional items (shirts, mugs, etc.)
Education and Experience
Educational and experience-based activities are some of the more common types of agritourism. This involves customers engaging in hands-on agricultural activities. The goal is to provide customers with a first-hand experience with a farm so that they’ll feel more inclined to buy its products.
The most common education and experience agritourist examples include:
- U-pick produce (apples, berries, pumpkins, etc.)
- School tours
- Garden tours
- Winery or brewery tours
- Historical exhibits
- Animal farm or petting zoo
- Recreational activity classes or workshops
- Crafting classes
- Cutting your own Christmas tree
- Educational camps
- Farm or ranch work experience
- Habitat improvement or conservation activities
- Foraging
Recreation and Event
Lastly, this type of agritourism involves using farm land for different marketing ventures. Generally, farmers host different marketable events to encourage patrons to buy products produced on the farm. Some events could depend on the farm itself, or they could just utilize the farm space. No matter what, these events have a purposeful design to encourage customers to purchase local goods.
Examples of recreation and event agritourism include:
- Music events
- Hunting trails
- Horseback riding
- Wildlife viewing and photography
- Fishing
- Camping
- Picnicking
- Off-roading
- Bicycle trails
- Boating
- Rock climbing
- Swimming area
- Wilderness experiences
- Weddings
- Corporate, or other, retreats
- Living history events
- Seasonally themed festival
- Specific crop- or product-themed festival
- Stargazing
- Corn mazes
- Food contests
- Haunted barn or house
Whichever type of agritourist attraction you choose, make sure to use a farm ranch entrance sign so that visitors can find it. At EZSignsOnline.com, we have the best customizable outdoor farm or business signs that your guests will love.
