Why And How To Benchmark Your Agritourism Project

“If you build it, they will come.”

That’s from a (misquoted) line from the American movie Field of Dreams (it’s ‘he’, not ‘they’) that we’ve all taken to mean that all it takes for people to show up to something… is to make it.

For agritourism products, that idea isn’t just wrong.

It’s dangerous.

While agritourism is often sold based on its potential to create additional revenue for communities that depend on agriculture, the truth is tourism is not a guarantee of success.

In researching a thesis on coffee tourism’s impact on communities, for example, it became clear that just having a tourism project wasn’t enough. Without the proper marketing, tourists won’t hear about the project. Without a convenient location, few tourists will make the trek.

And without regular tourists, how long should we expect a community to stay committed to the activity? 

What’s worse, tourism projects that don’t receive visitors can have a negative impact on communities as the participants grow disappointed, let down by the supposed benefits of tourism that aren’t coming.

If, however, we can be realistic about the chances for success, we stand a better chance of implementing long-lasting, sustainable projects that do deliver real benefits.

One tool for helping us with that analysis? A tourism benchmarking.

Why To Benchmark Your Agritourism Project

A tourism benchmark is a standard or point of reference against which other similar projects may be compared. Below, we’ve outlined a few of the main benefits as well as the main risks for three main groups of stakeholders involved in agritourism: 

• Farms

• Communities

• Tourism operators

Benchmarking with existing projects, both in your region/country and internationally, helps to identify which of the benefits are most likely - and which risks need to be addressed before proceeding.

The benefits of starting an agritourism project 

For farms, the benefits of an agritourism project include bringing in additional revenue, improving the lives and working conditions of the farm, increasing the farm’s resilience, and developing other skills (management, entrepreneurship, and communications) of those involved.

For the surrounding communities, agritourism can build support in the region, preserving rural land and cultural heritage while also contributing to its sustainable development.

And for tourism operators, it can expand the length of the tourism season, diversify tourism services, and attract new markets.

The risks of starting an agritourism project

For farms, the investment in the project - which can range from the opportunity cost of employees not working while they lead tours to the construction of a lodge to host visitors - can be significant. Often when the hope is to supplement revenue, revenues are already low, so if these kinds of projects don’t have a track record for success (thanks to our benchmark!), it can be too risky.

For the surrounding communities, the influx of tourists may not be welcome as the increase in noise, traffic, and pollution can be a harsh contrast to the way of life before. Given the proposed project’s relation to existing tourism circuits (thanks to the benchmark!), you’ll have an idea of what level of attention a project will bring.

For tourism operators, the risk of an agritourism project that isn’t up to their standards, or the tourists’ standards, can lead to a decline in bookings, thereby discouraging operators from continuing to bring tourists. Knowing the competition, what the competition offers, and how you can either match or distinguish yourself from it (thanks to the benchmark!) can help to alleviate these risks.

How To Benchmark Your Agritourism Project

There are a number of ways to go about starting a benchmark. As you develop your project, you certainly can (and should!) look to incorporate more advanced data. Today, we want to focus on what’s necessary to get you started. 

Answer the following questions to the best of your ability:

• Who are your competitors? - Who does what you’d like to do?

• What are they offering? - At the site, what can tourists see, do, and buy?

• What does it cost? - In terms of price and time (esp. important for tours)

• Where is it? 

• How far is it from the nearest major attraction/city? - And how can tourists arrive?

• What do you think its strengths are?  

• Its weaknesses?

• What kind of reputation do they have? - Check reviews, online comments, etc.

• What kind of partnerships do they have? - With tour companies? Tourism boards? DMCs? Foreign owners?

• What kind of marketing do they do? - Social media? Paid ads? Influencers?

You should begin to see common trends that suggest how certain tourism activities have been able to survive, then make a decision on whether or not your proposed project is also a good candidate.

With these answers collected, you can then begin to compile them into a more organized document that you’ll refer back to. 

Also, because we believe in building in public, we’re sharing with you a sneak peek of our new tourism development product, the Tourism Activity Benchmarking Template. 

Our plan is to have it done in the next few weeks and made publicly available. If you want to take a look, copy it and make your own version, or send us ideas of what else should be included, we’d be grateful.

Warmly,
Alex and Joseph