There is a growing demand amongst urban dwellers for holidays and recreation in the countryside. Farms are well placed to offer such facilities and can often make use of their resources (redundant farm buildings etc.) to offer accommodation to meet this need. Some areas are better placed than others to develop farm tourism. Those with attractive landscapes, cultural traditions, gastronomic reputations or opportunities for outdoor recreation (e.g. hill-walking, bird-spotting) are all well placed to develop agri-tourism facilities. Accessibility (of both farm and region) also plays a key role in determining opportunities, especially with the growing popularity of short holiday breaks. For the farm household, engagement with agri-tourism often involves learning a new set of skills (related to hospitality) and often creates new employment opportunities, particularly for women in the farm household. Synergies often exist between this activity and nature and landscape management, new on-farm activities relating to tourism (see below), quality food, organic production and direct sales. Click here for an entire overview of short descriptions of Fields of Activities
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