Status and Growth Prospects of Agritourism: Multi-Stakeholder Analysis

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the impact of agri-tourism as perceived by its stakeholders. The sample comprised of forty-five Agri-tourism Centres (ATCs) drawn from two states i.e. Maharashtra (n=30) and Goa (n=15). The total number of visitors selected for the study was 200, thus consisting 100 visitors each from respective states. It followed an ex-post facto research design and was purposively conducted in Maharashtra and Goa. The status was determined by combination of parameters such as package tariff per person per day, level of dependency on farm income, seasonal trend of agritourists arrival to farms, agritourists motivation to visit and agritourism selection criteria. The overall prospects of agritourism venture among the operators of both states combined was as high as reported by 46.67 percent of the total respondents while equal percentage (26.67%) reported medium and low overall prospects. Similarly, in terms of increasing promotional activities, 46.67 percent of the respondents reported high prospects and 40 percent of the respondents were willing to add facilities to the agri-tourism unit thereby indicating great prospects of agri-tourism venture in the study area.