Tourism, farming and diversification: an attitudinal study
By R. Sharpley, Á. Vass. 2006
443 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Although farm-based tourism has a long tradition, particularly within Europe, farm diversification into tourism has, in recent years, become more widely seen as an effective means of addressing the socio-economic problems of rural areas in general and the agricultural sector in particular. Accordingly, not only has there been significant growth in the supply of farm-based tourism in many countries (and evidence of rural development policies supporting such growth), but also increasing academic attention has been paid to the phenomenon. However, although a number of studies consider specific issues related to farm diversification into tourism, such as marketing or financial challenges, little or no research has been undertaken into the attitudes of farming families that have diversified. The purpose of this paper is to address this omission in the tourism literature. Based on a survey of farms in north-eastern England, it explores farmers’ attitudes to a variety of issues related to diversification into tourism, including the socio-cultural context within which it occurs. In doing so, it both confirms and challenges previously held assumptions regarding the problems of diversification. In particular, however, it identifies a widespread desire amongst farmers to maintain a distinction between the farm/farming business, suggesting that the development of farm tourism enterprises is an employment, as opposed to diversification, issue. It concludes, therefore, that the role of public sector agencies in the support of farm tourism should be reassessed.
Subfields: Demography, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Sociology and Political Science
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3517484558ab7278c6eba0282bc85d602ddc92b1
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In Demography
In General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- A. Verspecht
- G. Van Huylenbroeck
- J. Petrick
- Hyungsuk Choo
- Christopher Phelan
- R. Sharpley
- Evy Mettepenningen
In Sociology and Political Science
- Hyungsuk Choo
- A. Verspecht
- V. Vandermeulen
- Sally Everett
- G. Van Huylenbroeck
- Susan L. Slocum
- J. Petrick
- Christopher Phelan
Citations in the corpus
- Exploring entrepreneurial skills and competencies in farm tourism (2012, background): “Elsewhere, the discussion centres on the absence of specific competencies, with business planning and marketing skills frequently cited as deficient amongst farm tourism ventures (McGehee, 2007; Sharpley and Vass, 2006; Wilson, 2007) whilst, more generally, it is accepted that diversification to far”
- Food and tourism: an effective partnership? A UK-based review (2013, background): “…be justified when addressing small-scale, family-run farms because there are significant differences behind the strategies for diversifying, the mode of entry into new businesses, and the financial, organisational and strategic effects of diversifying (Reinsch & Lynn, 1990; Sharpley & Vass, 2006).”
- Social interactions and intentions to revisit for agritourism service encounters (2014, background): “Agritourism has long been a phenomenon in many countries, but its popularity has only recently increased for farmers, tourists and consumers of agricultural products and services (Sharpley & Vass, 2006).”
- Multifunctionality of Agriculture:A Review of Definitions, Evidence and Instruments (2007, background): “It is shown that, in general, agriculture contributes to rural viability and might revitalise rural areas (Sharpley and Vass, 2006).”