Farm vacation tourism allows many families to fully use their domestic resources; furthermore it generates social benefits for the surrounding community. We have conducted a study to examine the success factors of this type of tourism. The results clearly demonstrate that one of the key components relies on the entrepreneurial skills of the farmer

Schulze, Holger

Sidali, Katia Laura

Spiller, Achim

English

A high level of uncertainty has for many years characterized the world agricultural market. In this unpredictable environment rural tourism remains one of the few viable economic options  for  rural  communities  (Fesenmaier  et al., 1995). Although in some cases the generated profit is only a small-side income (Oppermann, 1996) the social value of farm tourism displays a variety of qualitative benefits both for farmers and for guests. As a mutual  learning  experience  (Ingram,  2002),  farmers  have  the  possibility  to  share  their abilities with guests and affirming, in this way, their role as loyal partners in the food chain; at the same time customers recall their memory of the past (a past of more genuine food and of forgotten tastes) and also rediscover their food traditions. Despite the fact that a wide body of literature in rural and agri-tourism already exists, there is a need for organized research on a particular form of it namely farm vacation tourism2. Our main effort was to apply an analysis of success factors to the panorama of German farm  tourism  in  order  to  extrapolate  the  key  components  that  have  helped  rural entrepreneurs to successfully develop this type of tourism

Sidali KL

Schulze H

Spiller A

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Success Factors in the Development of Farm Vacation Tourism

Organic Eprints

9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html Success factors in the development of farm vacation tourism H. Schulze1, K. L. Sidali1 and A. Spiller1 Keywords: nature protection and environmental compatibility, food quality, education-consulting-knowledge transfer, marketing, farm tourism Abstract: Farm  vacation  tourism  allows  many  families  to fully  use  their  domestic  resources; furthermore  it  generates  social  benefits  for  the  surrounding  community.  We  have conducted a study to examine the success factors of this type of tourism. The results clearly demonstrate that one of the key components relies on the entrepreneurial skills of the farmer. Problem statement and objectives: A high level of uncertainty has for many years characterized the world agricultural market. In this unpredictable environment rural tourism remains one of the few viable economic options for rural communities (FESENMAIER et al. 1995). Although in some cases the generated profit is only a small-side income (OPPERMANN 1996) the social value of farm vacation tourism2 displays a variety of qualitative benefits both for farm-ers and for guests. As a mutual learning experience (INGRAM 2002), farmers share their abilities with guests and affirm, in this way, their role as loyal partners in the food chain. At the same time customers recall their memory of the past (a past of more genuine food and of forgotten tastes) and rediscover their traditions. Scientists have been analyzing factors for success for almost 40 years (GRIMM 1983, SCHMALEN et al. 2005) due to the fact that such studies can help entrepreneurs to develop useful strategies for their businesses. The purpose of our study is to examine the success factors of farm tourism. For this reason we conducted an empirical survey on the panorama of German farm tourism and we extrapolated the factors that have helped rural entrepreneurs to successfully develop this type of business. The results clearly demonstrate that the principal component for the success of farm tourism relies on the entrepreneurial skills of the farmer. Current research in farm tourism: A great deal of interest has been focused on the area of motivations of farm tourism hosts and guests. On the supply side a plethora of literature has stated that besides the economic reasons, such as additional income, also social ones, such as compan-ionship with guests, motivate both organic and conventional farmers to diversify their activities and enter into this business (MCGEHEE & KIM 2004, NICKERSON et al. 2001, WILSON et al. 2001). On the demand side customers often choose this type of tourism  as  a  means  to  escape  from  the  city  (PUTZEL  1984,  NICKERSON  et  al., 2001); furthermore there is also a strong motivation of seeing children learning from farm activities (INGRAM 2002). Generally speaking rural areas still have a special appeal because of the mystique associated with them (WILSON et al. 2001). Since recent studies have pointed out that the average customer who buys on the farm can hardly  distinguish  between  organic  and  conventional  farmers  (NIESSEN  &  HAMM 2006), we think that the former can find in farm tourism a good opportunity to educate guests on the main features of the organic market.                                                  1Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg August University, Platz der Goettinger Sieben 5, 37073 Goettingen, Germany, h.schulze@agr.uni-goettingen.de 2In the following part of the study we use the abbreviation farm tourism 9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html Procedure: Since our purpose was to discover the key factors for the success of farm tourism we carried out an empirical analysis. As a starting point we chose the study of WILSON et al. (2001). This analysis adopts a qualitative method (in-depth interviews with focus groups) and has a community approach, which means that farm tourism is considered within its local economic context. The implication for policy makers is to support the whole community around the farm facility in order to generate multiple effects and positive externalities (e.g. the preservation of regional traditions and local food vari-ety). In the study of Wilson et al. many indicators of success were taken into conside-ration in order to represent the multidimensionality of this type of tourism: attraction, promotion, tourism infrastructure, services and hospitality. Nevertheless tourism en-trepreneurs and their role in fostering these components have been left out. In our analysis of success factors however we do include the entrepreneurs’ skills and we use  both  qualitative  and  quantitative  indicators  for  success  within  a  quantitative-confirmative approach (Fig. 1).  We conducted an on-line survey in the state of Lower Saxony, in the north Midwest of Germany, based on a comprehensive approach, which looked at both quantitative (e.g. number of beds) and qualitative (e.g. self judgment of success; planned invest-ments) variables. The questionnaire was filled in by 103 farmers with a response rate of 23.6%. The majority of farm facilities is located in the most attractive areas of Lower Saxony: the so called Lüneburger Heide (34% of farmers) and the north-east region of Nordseeküste, Ostfriesland and Cuxland (29% of farmers). On average farmers offer 18.2 beds. Results: For the data analysis we first adopted a principal components factor analysis in order to create a success factor (index). In the second step we differentiate this factor into very successful, less successful and least successful clusters (Fig. 2). By means of a variance analysis of passive factors we interpreted these success groups. The re-spondents of the first group judge themselves as very successful. This self estimation was confirmed by the number of nights their beds are occupied each year (occupancy rate). The respondents of group one performed well with an occupancy rate of 204 nights whereas group three only had 77 nights (group two: 135 nights). When asked if they would invest further in farm tourism, the respondents of the first group mainly agreed  (mean=1.25)  compared  to  group  two  (mean=0.41)  and  group  three  Regular guests Quality of the hospitality Spare time/ Service Personal Commitment/ Customer service Customer satisfaction Advertising/ Marketing Economic success Comparison with the main competitors Self judgment of success Planned investments Attraction of the  place Fully utilization of resources Size of the  company  Fig. 1: Conceptual framework. Source: Authors’ representation. 9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html (mean=0.21). Farms in group one are generally bigger with 25 beds (alpha = 0.001) against the 16 beds of group two and the 15 beds of group three. Group one also displays  the  highest  amount  of  regular  guests  with  a clear  38% attendance  whilst group two reports 32% and group three 28%.   We conducted a variance analysis in order to detect the main reasons of success throughout the three groups. Respondents of group one believe that their success is especially due to their personal skills (Tab. 1). They stressed in particular the impor-tance of providing rich activities programs for their guests and to show a constant personal commitment. Other factors expressed by the respondents, such as the high quality of the hospitality (especially comfort and cleanliness) and the power of attrac-tion of the farm (e.g. large variety of animals), were also partially confirmed by the variance analysis. Tab. 1: Analysis of variance among passive factors for success. What are the main reasons of your success?1 Group 1  Group 2  Group 3 Personal skills of the farm entre-preneur*** 1.59 (σ =0.56) 1.24 (σ =0.58) 1.06 (σ =0.64) Quality of the hospitality**  1.85 (σ =0.36) 1.63 (σ =0.49) 1.36 (σ =0.70) Power of attraction of the farm*  1.39 (σ =0.93) 0.57 (σ =1.28) 1.09 (σ =1.04) 1scale from +2 = totally agree to -2 = totally disagree; *** = p<0.001, ** = p<0.01, *=p<0.05; σ = standard deviation Source: Authors’ calculation. Conclusions: Our investigation provides evidence for two main aspects: on the one hand the major-ity of the successful farmers judge their personal skills as one of the most important factor for success; on the other hand we have stated that the size of the company does matter which demonstrates the importance of economies of scale in the sector. This leads to the conclusion that many farmers of group one, who have started farm tourism for sake of diversification (additional income), have eventually chosen -or are going to choose- to develop it as their main economic activity. It is therefore of the utmost importance to establish a coherent dialogue with the main personnel of local government  (chambers  of commerce  and  agriculture, schools,  business consultan- Fig. 2: Factor analysis and clustering. Source: Authors’ representation. 9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html cies). This is consistent with previous investigations, which have highlighted the impor-tance  of  the  community  approach  to  tourism  development,  as  tourism  is  a  place-oriented (WILSON et al. 2001) social business (NICKERSON et al. 2001). Neverthe-less the scope of our research is reduced to the German panorama of farm tourism. Further studies, also within a cross-country’s approach, could highlight chances and differences of this type of tourism. References: Grimm U. (1983): Analyse strategischer Faktoren, Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler GmbH, Wiesbaden. Fesenmaier J., Fesenmaier D., Van Es J. C. (1995): The nature of Tourism Jobs in Illinois: Draft Report.  In:  Urbana-Champaign:  University  of  Illinois,  Laboratory  for  Community  and  Economic Development. Ingram G. (2002): Motivations of farm tourism hosts and guests in the South West Tapestry Re-gion, Western Australia: A phenomenological study. In: Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 2: 1-12. Lemke S. (2003): Marktanalyse Urlaub auf dem Bauernhof 2002 - Ergebnisse der Direktbefragung. In: Schriftenreihe der Bayerischen Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft, Wolnzach. McGehee N. G., Kim K. (2004): Motivation for Agri-Tourism Entrepreneurship. Journal of Travel Research 43(2):161-170. Nickerson N. P., Black R. J., McCool S. F. (2001): Agritourism: Motivations behind Farm/Ranch Business Diversification. Journal of Travel Research 40 (1):19-26. Niessen J., Hamm U. (2006): Verknüpfung von Daten des tatsächlichen Kaufverhaltens mit Befra-gungsergebnissen  über  das  bekundete  Kaufverhalten  und  Einstellungen  von  Verbrauchern.  In: Proceedings  der  46.  Tagung  der  Gesellschaft  für  Wirtschafts-  und  Sozialwissenschaften  des Landbaues in Gießen. Forthcoming. Oppermann M. (1996): Rural tourism. In: Southern Germany, Annals of Tourism Research 23 (1): 86-102. Putzel S. (1984): Farm Holidays: Combining Agriculture and Recreation. In: Agrologist. Fall:20-21. Schmalen C., Kunert M., Weindlmaier H. (2006): Erfolgsfaktorenforschung: Theoretische Grundla-gen, methodische Vorgehensweise und Anwendungserfahrungen in Projekten für die Ernährungs-industrie. In: Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V. 41:351-62. Weaver D. B., Fennell D. A. (1997):  The Vacation Farm Sector in Saskatchewen: A Profile  of Operations. Tourism Management 18 (6):357-65. Wilson  F.,  Fesenmaier  D.,  Fesenmaier  J.,  Van  Es  J.  C.  (2001):  Factors  for  Success  in  Rural Tourism Development. Journal of Travel Research 40:132-138.  Archived at http://orgprints.org/9835/  

Success factors in the development of farm vacation tourism

A high level of uncertainty has for many years characterized the world agricultural market. In this unpredictable environment rural tourism remains one of the few viable economic options for rural communities (Fesenmaier et al., 1995). Although in some cases the generated profit is only a small-side income (Oppermann, 1996) the social value of farm tourism displays a variety of qualitative benefits both for farmers and for guests. As a mutual learning expe-rience (Ingram, 2002), farmers have the possibility to share their abilities with guests and affirming, in this way, their role as loyal partners in the food chain; at the same time customers recall their memory of the past (a past of more genuine food and of forgotten tastes) and also rediscover their food traditions. Despite the fact that a wide body of literature in rural and agri-tourism already exists, there is a need for organized research on a particular form of it namely farm vacation tourism2. Our main effort was to apply an analysis of suc-cess factors to the panorama of German farm tourism in order to extrapolate the key components that have helped rural entrepreneurs to successfully develop this type of tourism. 2. Current research in farm tourism A great deal of interest has been focused on the area of motivations of farm tourism hosts and guests. On the de-mand side customers often choose this type of tourism as a means to escape from the city (Putzel, 1984; Nickerson et al. 2001) and because of the satisfaction of learning from farm activities (Ingram, 2002). On the supply side there is a plethora of literature (Nickerson et al., 2001; Wilson et al., 2001; McGehee/Kim, 2004) describing not only the economic reasons, such as additional income, but also the social ones, such as to educate the consumers, which might motivate farmers to enter into this business (Nickerson et al., 2001; Wilson et al., 2001; Ingram, G., 2002

K. L. Sidali

Holger Schulze

A. Spiller

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Success factors in the development of farm vacation tourism

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