Let’s tap into agri-tourism
IN other parts of the world, rural and agri-tourism have remarkably increased into importance for many world economies — southern Africa may also want to take a shot at it.
Agri-tourism, as a form of individual relaxation, satisfies the needs of various groups for the middle class.
Governments should organise training on the development of agro-based tourism products with industry stakeholders in a bid to diversify the sector’s product offerings.
Those that may have vast land on which to conduct agricultural activities can embrace this new cluster of agri-tourism and develop the required products.
The products and services assigned to real agri-tourism can comprise five groups, including observation of the agricultural production process, plant production, animal production and some processing, as well as guided or individual farm (ranch) tours.
They also include; real participation in the process of plant production, animal production and processing (eg help in cow milking, hay making, etc), animal demonstrations or shows, including cow milking, sheep shearing, angora rabbit shearing, stock selling, on-farm signed walking trails; direct contact with domestic animals or the nature of farms in different kinds of petting zoo or safaris.
Rural and agri-catering are an integral part of agri-tourism. Tourist staying temporarily or periodically on a farm have to buy some meals.
They can buy their meals in restaurants, make their own meals or seek catering services offered by agri-tourism farms or other rural tourism enterprises.
There is a great variety of agri-catering services in agri-tourism and rural tourism. However, there are only three groups distinguished within that cluster. The variety is connected with the source of food products, number and time of meals, places of serving meals.
Food products may come partly from an agri-tourism farm own production or can be purchased outside the farm.
Serving own food products farms can increase their income. One can divide meals in various ways and by three criteria; for example, the time meals are served (breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, supper), the place of served meals (in the dinning room or in the kitchen, outside home, in restaurants, etc), or feeding patterns (regional kitchen, national kitchen, every-day meals and holiday meals, etc).
The idea of rural and agri-tourism lies in varieties that make the meals very special and different from the meals served by other agri-tourism farms. Each meal may be identified as an individual variant of an agritourism product.
Different farms can also offer totally different meals, considering the fact that there are a lot of different dishes to offer.
Distinguishing of the rural and agri-accommodation cluster is justified by its specific nature. Services and products of the cluster can be divided into six groups.
Rural and agri-accommodation services comprise various kinds of accommodation in rural areas. Homestead accommodation, including farm-stays, country-stays, rural home-stays, and rural bed and breakfast seem to be the most common and the most tied with countryside and rurality.
Rural Afrikan