Irene Lane, who we met last September at
the
International Ecotourism Conference, recently launched an
ecotourism website called Greenloons. She got in touch
to ask if she might write a guest post for us. Here, Irene offers
some compelling suggestions for ways that agritourism and
ecotourism might be better integrated.
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By Irene Lane
As a manner of introduction, earlier this
year I founded an ecotourism travel services
company that specializes in offering independently certified,
family-oriented ecotours. I became interested in ecotourism
when I noticed my own young son's wide-eyed fascination with nature
whether we traveled across an ocean or across the state.
These were 'teachable moments' for my son that marked his
personal growth, and it occurred to me that other families might
benefit from an opportunity to experience nature in a way that
would be educational, inspirational, safe and fun. In this
way, agritourism and ecotourism are very similar. There are some
fundamental ways the industries can work together to promote our
common sustainability goals, including:
Incorporating farm stays into ecotourism itineraries
In December 2010, the
University of Costa Rica published a study that discussed the
agritourism and ecotourism marketing efforts in that country.
Costa Rica has both strong agricultural traditions and a thriving
ecotourism industry.
The study delineated some interested
examples of how cross-industry promotional efforts have helped
farmers as well as ecotour operators. These examples included
incorporating ½ to full-day coffee plantation, traditional fishing,
dairy, and pineapple tours. Ecotour itineraries featured local
guides and accommodations as well as meals made with, of course,
local ingredients.
Developing relationships with ecotour operators
With the exception of Alaska, the United
States is relatively new to the concept to ecotourism and where
there is chaos, in my opinion, there is opportunity. Ecotour
operators are looking to provide their customers with unique
experiences in the United States that will set them apart from the
traditional mass-market tourism that has existed in this
country. Therefore, it would be worthwhile for farm stay
operators to contact ecotour operators (which I could help with) to
see if the farm can be included as part of an itinerary (i.e.
providing accommodation, providing local farm lunch, helping with
some light conservation work, conducting a tasting of local farm
products, attending a farm food festival).
Promoting the educational value of farm activities
Many school curriculums are beginning to
incorporate the use of a school garden into their science, health,
nutrition, and math lessons. What better way to bring these
concepts to life than to have farm stay school programs that
teaches about farm traditions and food production? (editor's note:
read here about The Inn at East Hill Farm's Farm School
program).
Basically, for both ecotourism and
agritourism, it comes down to increased awareness and better
perception of the industry's economic, social, and environmental
benefits. Since my family ecotour destinations
company, Greenloons, has launched, the site has been
phenomenally received. It's been very exciting and proves
that there is tremendous market potential for these unique,
educational, and fun tour experiences.