Tourism has become the largest industry in the world. In
contrast, the agricultural economy over the past three
decades has been comparatively stagnant (Beus, 2008).
With the decline in the agricultural outputs due to human
and external factors, Agri-tourism has been recognized
as an alternative activity to diversify the economic growth.
For farmers with small to medium sized farm, the only
way to stay in agriculture is to find ways to diversify their
incomes. One strategy some farmers are beginning to
explore is the cultivation of tourists in addition to crops, it
referred to as “agriturismo” in Italy, “sleeping in the straw”
in Switzerland, “farm stays” in New Zealand, and “farm
holidays” in England, agri-tourism is well established
throughout Europe and in many other countries (Rilla,
1999a).
Today new areas of tourism such as Agri-tourism, ecotourism,
nature tourism, farm tourism, and rural tourism
have emerged. Agri-tourism is form of niche tourism that
is considered as a growth sector in many parts of the world.