Opportunities in Agri-Tourism: Encouraging local businesses to implement new ideas

By Jaymie Nelson,

Haldimand County Economic Development & Toursim

Agriculture is woven into the fabric of Haldimand County itself. It only takes a few minutes looking at the pages of this feature to see how a long history in farming has resulted in a diversified sector with a wide range of crops, livestock, vegetable, and flower production. And while Haldimand County offers a strong concentration of agricultural employment, the potential for farmers and agri-businesses to incorporate agricultural tourism or “agri-tourism” remains significant.

Agri-tourism is one of the fastest-growing trends in the travel industry. It combines agricultural settings, services, and products with a unique tourism experience and supports a growing desire by consumers to head outdoors, to the country for more leisure opportunities. Long recognized as a valuable business type in Europe, agri-tourist spots have become a popular destination across the farmlands and rural settings of North America. It gives producers an opportunity to generate additional income, provides educational opportunities to the public, helps to preserve agricultural lands, and is a source of real potential for rural communities to continue to develop and strengthen their local economies.

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