Can cross-disciplinary conferences improve perceived productivity?

As the number of agritourism operations and support professionals grows around the world, and the diversity of research into the subject expands, international collaborations have become more prominent among both academics and practitioners. However, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed a weakness in international collaboration: the reliance on in-person academic conferences as a primary opportunity for scientists to network and collaborate. A transdisciplinary, conference was hosted for the agritourism sector in 2022. In order to better understand how this emerging network might become more productive, or not, researchers surveyed attendees on their intended productivity. Results indicate that attendees were productive as a result of the conference and that there are differences across professional roles in the resulting productivity

Factors Related to Profitability of Agritourism in the United States: Results from a National Survey of Operators

Agritourism is a growing area of the tourism sector with many positive social and economic benefits for farmers, their communities, and for tourists. While researchers have been studying the phenomenon for several decades, factors that lead to profitable outcomes for agritourism operators are still not well understood, hindering the effectiveness of agritourism development and the systems of support available to farmers. Using a survey of 1834 farms and ranches open to visitors in the United States, the goal of this study is to identify the factors that influence the profitability of agritourism operations. This study shows that several factors have positive associations with increased agritourism profitability, such as the number of years of experience of the operator, farm scale (acreage and total farm revenue), providing on-farm product sales, and offering events and entertainment. Off-farm product sales and being a female operator have a negative association with profitability in agritourism. We discuss the implications of our findings on agritourism operators, suggest their utility for tourism planning and rural community development professionals, and offer suggestions for future research