The following guideline divides the other activities into two groups, namely activities where the host is required and activities that the guests themselves enjoy. The guideline further outlines, by way of example, the advantages of forming an agritourism ‘network’ where customers are shared between entrepreneurs.
These activities include those where a local farmer is needed to perform the activity itself or to make the activity attractive enough to be meaningful to guests. A clear example would be introducing local traditions and customs. In order to learn about a particular tradition, it needs to be passed on to the clients by a local resident who either follows the tradition himself or has been in contact with it during his lifetime. In the countryside today, there is a plethora of traditions that are associated with particular activities that may be attractive to an urban clientele. Guideline chooses Easter in the Czech Republic as an example of a tradition. During the Easter season, one of the traditions is that boys make pom poms out of willow branches. While girls, for example, decorate eggs, and with both activities associated with this holiday, the farmer’s family can appropriately help the client towards a memorable experience. However, it doesn’t have to be just local customs, the local farmer can offer to accompany the family on, for example, a guided walk around the area, showing them interesting places that a tourist not living in the area would not find.
Another group of activities is activities where the farmer is not required to accompany the guests, but it should not be forgotten that the farmer should also direct and assist the guests in some way. Therefore, it is necessary for the farmer to be well informed about the leisure opportunities in the area and about local activities. This is what can give a farm a certain exclusivity.What the farm does not have, it can still use to its advantage. For example, we already know from the last animal guideline that the most sought-after animal in agritourism is the horse. If a farmer does not have a horse on his farm for whatever reason, it still does not mean that he cannot accommodate guests who have come for a horse experience. If there is another farmer in the area offering equine activities to the public, then simply alert your guests or share this information on your website that there is an opportunity to take advantage of that particular opportunity near your farm. Suddenly, that scarcity becomes somewhat of an attraction.
Two small examples are already outlined above, but other attractions around the farm can certainly be used as further examples. Specifically, any natural phenomenon, a historical monument, another farmer offering interesting services, or a restaurant with good food. If the farmer is aware of such things, he can make his offer more interesting and this information can convince the potential guest to choose the farm for his stay. Furthermore, if the farmer recommends other services within the village or surrounding area, this will support other local entrepreneurs and to some extent the network where entrepreneurs ‘lend’ their customers, creating a more attractive environment for the clientele and promoting the positive impacts of agritourism.
The benefits and impact you might have from the guideline implementation are:
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The Farms’ Charm project aims to develop learning materials to educate small and medium-sized farmers in possible ways of starting their agritourism activities which will help them not only diversify their incomes but also promote their farm products directly to consumers. All that while reviving the rural areas and local communities and promoting a sustainable way of tourism which is in line with the tendencies of slowing down and staying longer at one area.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The content of this website reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.