Agritourism or agrotourism is a way where people will have the opportunity to visit the rural parts of the country and get to know their roots. In India, 80% of people rely on agriculture and various methods are being adapted to monetize the agriculture.
Recently agritourism has become a new marketing strategy which combines agriculture and tourism where it benefits both. It allows an individual to stay at the farm, get familiar with the farming practices, culture and traditions of the rural people. As many tourists prefer environment friendly locations, rural tourism is being favored by many people.
The rural tourism has 3 forms which are ecotourism, cultural tourism and agrotourism. Ecotourism is mainly based on experiencing the nature. Cultural tourism helps the tourists to know about the history and way of life of the people. The cultural factors include the food, architecture and handcrafted products.
Agritourism includes agricultural farms and also the agriculture related festivals and fairs. Agritourism has many direct and indirect benefits to the farmers and rural people. It increases income of farmers and also quality of life in rural society. Farmers do have certain benefits through this.
The rural areas can be developed as the rural agro entrepreneurs get to profit their business as it gives the advantage of direct marketing for the farmers at their standard prices. It also helps to provide employment to all the members of the family and contribute to the increase of rural employment.
This agrotourism has the ability to make a small town popular. Farmers will have a steady income without being completely dependent on the seasonal crops. And the interaction between the local people and the people paying visit will help to increase the social skills of the rural people and reduce the gap between the rural and urban people.
As for the urban people the agritourism provides them the educational and recreational tourism. The agritourism provides the tourist an authentic experience of rural life. The tourists take part in the farming practices of agriculture like bullock cart riding, sowing and other agriculture related practices like bee rearing, livestock rearing. The tourists also get to know about the food, tradition and culture of the rural people. Children can be made familiar with agriculture by observing their work routines.
There are many farming sites across India where people can visit to enjoy this tourism. I have come across a company called ANANTH AGRI SERVICES, which helps the farmers across south of India by providing necessary equipment to improve the farming techniques. Any interested individual can approach this company and it’s website to know about the farm sites and can also get in contact with the local farmers.
There are certain shortcomings for this booming market. There is language barrier and there are no trained tourist guards to show you around. Some of them are remote places with minimum to no transport facilities, network which may be a bit troublesome. There is also financial problem where the locals do not have any financial support to show the uniqueness of their place.
With a little help, these shortcomings can be avoided and the market can see a great boost. It also contributes to a great rise in our economy as many people are always willing to experience and learn something new.