Exploring New Zealand agritourism opportunities for development towards achieving sustainability: A comparative study of three agritourism businesses in the South Island

Abstract

This study explores agritourism in South Island, New Zealand, to describe its categories, to discover what motivates farmers to venture into agritourism, to illustrate how they are set up, and explore the diversification strategies applied by these agritourism businesses. An interpretivist research design was employed to be able to understand agritourism from the point of view of the farm owners. It used a case study method utilising interviews, observation, and document analysis. Three agritourism businesses were explored. This study found that the main categories of agritourism include a working farm, direct contact agritourism, and a working farm, indirect contact agritourism. The common drivers for agritourism venture revealed in this study are more of a social and cultural motivators, such as wanting to share their farm experiences with other people and to preserve the historical/cultural aspect of their place. Although the economic reasons were mentioned, it was not the primary reason why these farm owners ventured into agritourism. Their diversification strategies include farm tours, providing accommodation, and a retail shop selling goods produced from the farm. These farm owners are also attached to their land, therefore, their decisions for farm diversification are also rooted in protecting and keeping their agricultural land. As these agritourism businesses are small farms and are not situated in the main tourist destinations, it is recommended that future studies include bigger agritourism businesses that are located within major cities