The Pathway to Agritourism Development: From Constraints to Opportunities

In the northwest European countryside, diversification is a common option in order to preserve a viable agricultural business, because many farmers have to restructure their activities to meet increasing pressures. Many choose a tourism business as a means of diversification. This chapter investigates the reasons for choosing farm tourism as a means of diversification, in order to examine the supply dimension of agritourism development. Some main reasons have been highlighted in the literature. Economic and financial factors like sourcing new income and employment, stability against agricultural market fluctuations or better use of farm resources, are often the first motivations to be mentioned. Also significant are social and external factors like sharing experiences, awareness of the success of other farmers, meeting people, educating the public and consumers, and personal interest as a hobby. Reasons for choosing tourism as a form of diversification may change over time, differ according to the characteristics of the farm, its development and its environment, or depend on gender. This chapter uses data from interviews conducted in agritourism accommodation premises in Wallonia and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to explore these motivations. The research is based on a content analysis aimed at a graphical representation of motivations using an adapted actantian model: a multi-scale analysis is used identifying the factors that support and constrain such motivations. The primary motivation stresses the response to a market opportunity; the potential to assign unused farm buildings to new purposes was also observed. Moreover it is shown that entrepreneurship and opportunities become as important as development based on survival of the farm.