AGRITOURISM MARKETING STRATEGY AND TYPOLOGY INVESTIGATION

DR. P. DIONYSOPOULOU

Hellenic Open University Athens

DR. V. KATSONI

Department of Tourist Enterprises, Technological Educational Institute of Athens

A. ARGYROPOULOU

Department of Informatics, Technological Educational Institute of Athens

ABSTRACT

During last decades, agritourism started to grow significantly in Mediterranean area mostly due to its favourable climate. Within literature, there are many international studies that discuss the concept of agritourism in various ways. Wide-ranging definitions and labels concerning agritourism still create confusion as there is not a transparent and basic understanding of the characteristics that define it.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview on behaviour patterns of agritourists by combining these patterns with the activity-based taxonomy of all definitions of agritourism into a structured framework. The study offers a comprehensive framework that can be used as a basis for more informed debate and discussion, as well as for further empirical research in future.

Key Words: Agritourism; Typology Information Search Behaviour; Tourism Marketing

1 INTRODUCTION

Agritourism has been recognized world-wide since the early twentieth century (Busby & Rendle, 2000; McKenzie & Wysocki, 2002; Wicks & Merrett, 2003). The development of agritourism was specifically fostered when countries established a set of policies consisting of specific guidelines, obligations, and incentives in order to encourage farm diversification through tourism and hospitality services. (Che, Veeck, & Veeck, 2005; Hegarty & Przezborska, 2005; Kizos & Iosifides, 2007; Sonnino, 2004). One example is the LEADER program that offers grants for the promotion of rural development to farmers of the member-states of European Union (E.U.) (Caballe,1999; Cawley & Gillmor, 2008; European Court of Auditors, 2010, p.100). The attempt to understand any phenomenon requires mostly a basic conceptual understanding of the fundamental characteristics that defines it. A review of existing literature shows that there isn't any specific definition for agritourism. One can discover a wide variety of labels and definitions regarding agritourism, such as agrotourism, farm tourism, farm-based tourism, and rural tourism, (Barbieri & Mshenga, 2008; Roberts & Hall, 2001; Wall, 2000), (Iakovidou, 1997; McGehee & Kim, 2004; Sharpley & Sharpley, 1997). This results in a complex structure that combines the agriculture and tourism principles, especially when there is no distinct elucidation regarding the actual meaning of them.

While the tourism literature evidences that several factors influence travelers’ behavior to consume tourism products (Lepp and Gibson, 2008; Hsu,Tsai, and Wu, 2009), to date, investigation into the determinants of agritourism consumption remains inadequate in the literature; for example, the relative importance of the various information sources (ICT sources included) used by travellers is not yet systematically analyzed. Given the increasing importance of this particular market segment for destinations, additional research is needed to understand the behavior of agritourists in an attempt to bring further theoretical and practical contributions to this field of study (Ramkissoon, Uysal and Brown, 2011).

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Meanings are the representations of a given activity developed by every person according to their background and experiences (Coulson, 2001, p. 320; Sharpley & Stone, 2010, p. 304). Tourism meanings are usually the result of any natural or social contact that takes place during a given experience (Coulson, 2001, p. 320; Greer, Donnelly, & Rickly, 2008) and can vary according to specific contextual factors including time and place (Greer et al., 2008). According to aforementioned, stakeholders can shape the meanings for agritourism so it is vital to develop successful definitions of tourism-related activities both from the supply and demand sides. (Gilbert, 2003) Apart from that, up to date research has assisted us to understand which bases can be used by tourism destinations to effectively segment tourism markets and these efforts have largely centred upon building tourist profiles for a destination using visitor data (Frochot, 2005).

Trying to analyze the existing theoretical framework for identifying the meanings of agritourism, the sections following deconstruct several definitions of agritourism and present a discussion of the efforts put forth by Phillip et al. (2010) to construct a broad definition of agritourism.

2.1. Deconstructing agritourism definitions

Definitions of agritourism are wide-ranging in the literature. The discrepancies found among the various agritourism definitions relate to three issues: (1) the type of setting (e.g., farm, any agricultural setting); (2) the authenticity of the agricultural facility or the experience; and (3) the types of activities involved (e.g., lodging, education). A fourth ontological issue was proposed to be added, related to the need of “travel”, given the use of the word “tourism” (agritourism) in its label (Arroyo, Barbieri, & Rich, 2012).

The type of setting where the activity occurs forms a big difference of agritourism definitions. The majority of studies claim that agritourism must be carried out on a farm (Carpio et al., 2008; Ilbery, Bowler, Clark, Crockett, & Shaw, 1998; McKenzie & Wysocki, 2002). But, there are few studies discussing different type of agricultural settings, such as farms, ranches (e.g., Che et al., 2005; Tew & Barbieri, 2012) or the inclusion of some types of off-farm facilities, such as farmers’ markets, where various kinds of farm products are taken away from the agricultural production setting to be sold (Wicks & Merrett, 2003; Wilson, Thilmany, & Sullins, 2006). Furthermore, there are different meanings used to define agricultural establishments, especially those related to "farm". European Union defines a farm as an agricultural holding, meaning “economic unit under a single management engaged in agricultural production activities” and which can also engage in non-agricultural activities (OECD, 2001). Finally, thanks to academic developments over last decades there is a clear separation between terms "agritourism" and "rural tourism" (Colton & Bissix, 2005; Kizos & Iosifides, 2007; McGehee & Kim, 2004).

A second commonly found disagreement surrounds the authenticity paradigm related to the agricultural facility and to the experience offered (Arroyo, Barbieri, & Rich, 2012). McGehee (2007) based her agritourism development framework in the U.S. on Weaver and Fennell (1997)’s definition which explicitly excludes activities and experiences that are developed in non-working farms because they deem necessary the commercial aspect involved in this activity. Furthermore, various North American (Lobo et al.,1999; McGehee & Kim, 2004; Nickerson et al., 2001; Tew & Barbieri, 2012) and European (Hegarty & Przezborska, 2005; Kizos & Iosifides, 2007; Sonnino, 2004) studies claim that having a “working” agricultural setting is linked to recognizing this activity as one form of farm entrepreneurial diversification (Barbieri, Mahoney, & Butler, 2008). Phillip et al. (2010) expanded the authenticity debate in the context of tourist experiences by adopting MacCannell’s (1973) “front” and “back” regions of authenticity theory. The particular study refers to the difference between providing the visitors an indirect experience of agricultural activities (e.g., through demonstrations, models) from a direct engagement in an agricultural process (e.g., harvesting).

A third definitional disagreement relates to the activities that agritourism comprises which is not surprising given the extent of inconsistencies related to its meaning. Such inconsistencies may be geo-political as they seem to be associated to government policies (Arroyo, Barbieri, & Rich, 2012).

Finally, Arroyo et al. (2012) suggested the addition of an ontological discussion surrounding the definition of agritourism to the preceding debate in relation to the need of "travel", especially because the term "tourism" is embedded in the label most commonly used in the literature to depict this activity (agritourism). None of the agritourism definitions reviewed refers to the need of travel however, some of them may imply some sort of travel when mainly referring to farm-stays or entailing any type of accommodations.

2.2. A typology-based definition of agritourism

The aforementioned discrepancies motivated Phillip et al. (2010) to propose a definition of agritourism through the development of an activity-based taxonomy. Figure 1 illustrates the proposed typology for defining agritourism.

Figure 1 A typology for defining agritourism (Phillip et al., 2010)

The non Non-Working Farm agritourism (NWF) typology refers to activities where the non-working farm only serves for scenery purposes (e.g., bird-watching on an old mill). Although the majority of the literature excludes from definition of agritourism the tourism not based on a working farm, there are cases that tourists participate in agritourism though other different ways. Examples of NWF agritourism includes farm heritage attractions, tourism activities based on converted farms (e.g. horse riding) or agricultural practices that form part of the tourist product.

The Working Farm, Passive Contact agritourism (WFPC) typology refers to activities that allows farmers to continue their agricultural activities without having interferences by the visitors(e.g., attending a wedding in a vineyard).

The Working Farm, Indirect Contact agritourism (WFIC) typology refers to activities that are more directly related to farm procedures, although the nature of the visitor's contact focuses more on the agricultural products rather than the practice of farming itself (e.g., enjoying fresh produce or meals on site). A number of authors focus mostly on hospitality and accommodation components. Examples of WFIC agritourism is the consumption of agricultural products served in accommodation or café's or through sale to tourists at farm shops.

The Working Farm, Direct Contact, Staged agritourism (WFDCS)typology refers to activities through which visitors experience agricultural functions but through staged scenarios and predetermined tours (e.g. touring an operating cider mill). Other examples of WFDCS agritourism include farming demonstrations (e.g. milking cows) and direct physical contact with farm animals (e.g. feeding or petting animals).

Last but not least, the Working Farm, Direct Contact, Authentic agritourism (WFDCA) typology refers to activities where tourists fully participate in farm tasks. Visitors work and contribute to the farm economy in return for accommodation and food. There are limited opportunities one to experience WFDCA agritourism so there are not many examples discussed in the literature.

3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND CONCLUSIONS

All the previously mentioned approaches demonstrate the complexity of the agritourism phenomenon, illustrate a range of approaches in its typology, and emphasize a concern with determinants, information sources, decision making, and segmentation. The results of this study have important implications from managerial perspectives at the tourism destinations. The present study can help managers carry out this task in a more informed and strategic manner by examining agritourist consumption and consider the effects that information has for the agritourists at destinations. This information increases the economic impacts from travel and tourism in the destinations, adopting the necessary measures to reinforce the forms of information analyzed in this study in order to attract the suitable target market. This article supports the view that developing alliances with well-positioned, knowledgeable distribution channels is especially important for the assessment of tourism policies and coordination in the communication process with more traditional media in order to have a unified message from all media that reaches the public should also be part of the marketing strategy, be part of the advertising campaign or the promotion of the destination (Kavoura and Katsoni, 2013). The research implies that a segmentation based on the information search behavior is an appropriate way to develop marketing strategies and target marketing communications.

Fundamental technological shifts have a profound impact on the perception, consumption and construction of tourism spaces, and their local development outcomes, and ‘traditional’ regional communities have new tools through which to disseminate their concerns, and may, via global networks, gain new ‘community members’ that can represent their interests around the world (Katsoni and Venetsanopoulou, 2013). It seems evident that tourism boards can have a significant impact on these processes, and the present findings will possibly help in outlining a cursory examination of these issues.

REFERENCES

Andereck, K. L., & Caldwell, L. L. (1994). Variable selection in tourism market segmentation models”. Journal of Travel Research, 33(2), 40-46.

Arroyo, G. C., Barbieri, C., & Rich R. S. (2013). Defining agritourism: A comparative study of stakeholders’ perceptions in Missouri and North Carolina. Tourism Management, 37, 39-47.

Assael, H. (1984). Consumer Behavior and Marketing Action. Boston, Kent.

Baloglu, S. (1999). A Path Analytic Model of Visitation Intention Involving Information Sources, Socio-Psychological Motivations, and Destination Image. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 8 (3), 81-91.

Barbieri, C., & Mshenga, P. M. (2008). The role of the firm and owner characteristics on the performance of agritourism farms. Sociologia Ruralis, 48 (2), 166-183.

Barbieri, C., Mahoney, E., & Butler, L. (2008). Understanding the nature and extent of farm and ranch diversification in North America. Rural Sociology, 73 (2), 205-229.

Barbieri, C. (2010). An importance-performance analysis of the motivations behind agritourism and other farm enterprise developments in Canada. Journal of Rural and Community Development, 5 (1,2), 1-20.

Bettman, J. R., & Sujan, M. (1987). Research in Consumer Information Processing. In M.J. Houston (ed.), Review of Marketing (pp. 197-235). Chicago: American Marketing Association.

Bettman, J. R. (1979). An Information Processing Theory of Choice. Addison-Wesley Publishing, Reading, MA.

Bieger, T., & Laesser, C. (2002). Market Segmentation by Motivation. Journal of Travel Research, 41 (1), 68-76.

Bieger T., & Laesser, C. (2004). Information Sources for Travel Decisions: Toward a Source Process Model. Journal of Travel Research, Vol. 42(2), 357-371.

Bowler, I., Clark, G., Crockett, A., Ilbery, B., & Shaw, A. (1996). The development of alternative farm enterprises: a study of family labour farms in the Northern Pennines of England. Journal of Rural Studies, 12, 285–295.

Burton, R. J. F. (2004). Seeing through the “good farmer’s” eyes: towards developing an understanding of the social symbolic value of “productivist” behaviour. Sociologia Ruralis, 14, 195–216.

Busby, G., & Rendle, S. (2000). The transition from tourism in farms to farm tourism. Tourism Management, 21, 635-642.

Butts, S., McGeorge, A., & Briedenhann, J. (2005). The great Cornish maize maze: low risk, low cost, high yield. Culture and Agriculture, 27, 61–68.

Caballe, A. (1999). Farm tourism in Spain: a gender perspective. GeoJournal, 48 (3), 245-252.

Carpio, C., Wohlgenant, M., &Boonsaeng, T. (2008). The demand for agritourism in the United States. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 33 (2), 254-269.

Cawley, M., & Gillmor, D. A. (2008). Integrated rural tourism: concepts and practice. Annals of Tourism Research, 35 (2), 316-337.

Cha, S., McCleary, K. W., & Uysal, M. (1995). Travel Motivations of Japanese Overseas Travellers: A Factor-Cluster Segmentation Approach. Journal of Travel Research, 34 (2), 33-39.

Che, D., Veeck, A., & Veeck, G. (2005). Sustaining production and strengthening the agritourism product: linkages among Michigan agritourism destinations. Agriculture and Human Values, 22, 225-234.

Clarke, J. (1996). Farm accommodation and the communication mix. Tourism Management, 17, 611-620.

Clarke, J. (1999). Marketing structures for farm tourism: beyond the individual provider of rural tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 7, 26–47.

Colton, J. W., & Bissix, G. (2005). Developing agritourism in Nova Scotia: issues and challenges. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 27 (1), 91-112.

Coulson, S. (2001). Semantic leaps: Frame-shifting and conceptual blending in meaning construction. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Crotts, J. C. (1998). Consumer Decision-Making and Prepurchase Information Search.In A. Pizam, & Y. Mansfeld (Eds.), Consumer Behavior in Travel and Tourism. New York: Haworth.

Di Domenico, M., & Millar, G. (2007). Are plastic cows the future for farming? Implications of an alternative diversification model. In J. Tribe, & D. Airey (Eds.), Developments in tourism research (pp. 21–32). Oxford: Elsevier.

European Court of Auditors (2010). Implementation of the leader approach for rural development. Special Report No 5.

Evans, N. J., & Ilbery, B. W. (1989). A conceptual framework for investigating farm based accommodation and tourism in Britain. Journal of Rural Studies, 5, 257–266.

Fleischer, A., & Tchetchik, A. (2005). Does rural tourism benefit from agriculture?. Tourism Management, 26, 493–501.

Fodness, D., & Murray, B. (1997). Tourist Information Search. Annals of Tourism Research, 24 (3), 503-523.

Gilbert, D. C. (2003). Conceptual issues in the meaning of tourism. In S. Williams(Ed.), Tourism. Critical concepts in the social sciences (pp. 45-69). London: Routledge.

Gitelson, R. J., & Kerstetter D. L. (1990). The Relationship between Socio- Demographic Variables, Benefit Sought and Subsequent Vacation Behavior: A Case Study. Journal of Travel Research, 28 (3), 24-29.

Gladstone, J., & Morris, A. (2000). Farm accommodation and agricultural heritage in Orkney. In F. Brown (Ed.), Tourism in peripheral areas: Case studies (pp. 91-100). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited.

Greer, C., Donnelly, S., & Rickly, J. M. (2008). Landscape perspective for tourism studies. In D. C. Knudsen, M. M. Metro-Roland, A. K. Soper, & C. Greer (Eds.), Landscape, tourism and meaning (pp. 176). IN: Ashgate.

Gretzel, U., Fesenmaier, D. R., & O’Leary, J.T. (2006). Searching for the Future: Challenges Facing Destination Marketing Organizations. Journal of Travel Research, 45 (2), 116-126.

Gursoy, D., & McLeary, K. W. (2003). An Integrative Model of Tourists’ Information Search Behavior. Annals of Tourism Research, 31 (2), 353-373.

Havitz, M.E., & Dimanche, F. (1990). Propositions for guiding the empirical testing of the involvement construct in recreational and tourist context. Leisure Sciences, 12 (2), 24-31.

Hawkins, D. I., Best, R. J., & Coney, K. A. (1998). Consumer Behaviour; Building Marketing Strategy. New York:McGraw Hill.

Hegarty, C., & Przezborska, L. (2005). Rural and agri-tourism as a tool forreorganizing rural areas in old and new member states e a comparison study ofIreland and Poland. International Journal of Tourism Research, 7 (2), 63-77.

Henderson, K., Presley, J., & Bialeschki, D. (2004). Theory in recreation and leisure research: reflections from the editors. Leisure Sciences, 26 (4), 411-425.

Hirschman, E., & Wallendorf, M. (1982). Motives Underlying Marketing Information Acquisition and Knowledge Transfer. Journal of Advertising, 11 (3), 25-31.

Hsieh, S., O’Leary, J. T., & Morrison, A.M. (1992). Segmenting the international travel market by activity. Tourism Management, 13(2), 209-223.

Hsieh, S., & O’Leary, J. T. (1993). Communication Channels to Segment Pleasure Travelers. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 2 (2-3): 57-75.

Iakovidou, O. (1997). Agro-tourism in Greece: the case of women agro-tourism co-operatives of Ambelakia. MEDIT, 1, 44–47.

Ilbery, B., Bowler, I., Clark, G., Crockett, A., & Shaw, A. (1998). Farm based tourism as an alternative farm enterprise: a case study from the Northern Pennines, England. Regional Studies, 32 (4), 355-364.

Jaworski, A., & Lawson, S. (2005). Discourse of Polish agritourism: global, local, pragmatic. In A. Jaworski, & A. Pritchard (Eds.), Discourse, communication, and tourism (pp. 123–149). Clevedon: Channel View Publications.

Jun, H. S., Vogt A .C., & Mackay J. K. (2007). Relationships between Travel Information Search and Travel Product Purchase in Pretrip Contexts. Journal of Travel Research, 45 (3), 266-274.

Katsoni, V. (2011). The Role of ICTs in Regional Tourist Development. Regional Science Inquiry Journal, 3 (2), 95-113.

Katsoni, V., & Venetsanopoulou, M. (2013). Use of innovation systems for an effective tourism marketing development strategy. e-Journal of Science & Technology, http://e-jst.teiath.gr/, e-JST, 8 (5), 33-40.

Kavoura, A., & Katsoni,V., (2013). From E-Business to C-Commerce: Collaboration and Network Creation for an E-Marketing Tourism Strategy. Tourismos: An international Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, Special Issue in Tourism Destination Marketing & Management, 8 (3), 113-128.

Kizos, T., & Iosifides, T. (2007). The contradictions of agrotourism development in Greece: evidence from three case studies. South European Society and Politics, 12, 59–77.

Lobo, R. E., Goldman, G. E., Jolly, D. A., Wallace, B. D., Schrader, W. L., & Parker S. A. (1999). Agritourism benefits agriculture in San Diego County. California Agriculture, 53 (6), 20-24.

Lovelock, C. H., & Wright, C. (1999). Principles of Service Marketing and Management, Prentice Hall, N J, Englewood Cliffs.

MacCannell, D. (1973). Staged authenticity: arrangements of social space in touristsettings. The American Journal of Sociology, 79, 589–603.

Madrigal, R., & Kahle, L R. (1994). Predicting Vacation Activity Preferences on the basis of value-system segmentation. Journal of Travel Research, 33 (3), 22-28.

March, R., & Woodside, A. (2005). Testing Theory of Planned versus Realized Behavior. Annals of Tourism Research, 32 (4), 905-924.

Marques, H. (2006). Searching for complementarities between agriculture and tourism – the demarcated wine-producing regions of northern Portugal. Tourism Economics, 12, 147–155.

McGehee, N. G., & Kim, K. (2004). Motivation for agri-tourism entrepreneurship. Journal of Travel Research, 43, 161–170.

McGehee, N. G. (2007). An agritourism systems model: a Weberian perspective. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15, 111–124.

McGehee, N. G., Kim, K., & Jennings, G. R. (2007). Gender and motivation for agritourism entrepreneurship. Tourism Management, 28, 280–289.

McIntosh, A. J., & Bonnemann, S. M. (2006). Willing workers on organic farms (WWOOF): the alternative farm stay experience?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14, 82–99.

McKenzie, N., & Wysocki, A. (2002). Agritainment: A viable option for Florida producers. IFAS Extension e University of Florida.

Middleton, V. T. (1994). Marketing in Travel and Tourism.(2nd ed.), UK: Bath Press, Avon.

Morrison, A. M., Hsieh, S., & O’Leary, J. T. (1994). Segmenting the Australian Domestic Travel Market by Holiday Activity Participation. Journal of Tourism Studies, 5 (1), 39-56.

Moscardo, G., Morrison, A. M., Pearce, P. L., Lang, C-T., & O’Leary, J. T. (1996). Understanding Vacation Destination Choice through Travel Motivation and Activities. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 2 (2): 109-122.

Moutinho, L. (1987). Consumer Behavior in Tourism. European Journal of Marketing, 21 (10), 5-44.

Nickerson, N. P., Black, R. J., & McCool, S. F. (2001). Agritourism: motivations behind farm/ranch business diversification. Journal of Travel Research, 40, 19-26.

Nilsson, P. A. (2002). Staying on farms: an ideological background. Annals of Tourism Research, 29, 7–24.

Normann, R. (1996). Service Management: Strategy and Leadership in Service Business (2nd ed.) New York: John Wiley.

Ollenburg, C. (2006). Farm tourism in Australia: a family Business and rural studies perspective. Doctor of Philosophy Christian - Albrechts University of Keil(Germany) and Griffith University (Australia).

Ollenburg, C., & Buckley, R. (2007). Stated economic and social motivations for farmtourism operators. Journal of Travel Research, 45, 444–452.

Oppermann, M. (1996). Rural tourism in Southern Germany. Annals of Tourism Research, 23, 86–102.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD (2001). Glossary of statistical terms. Retrieved on June 2011 from http://stats.oecd.org/glossary/ detail.asp?ID=72.

Pan, B., & Fesenmaier, D. (2003). Travel Information Search on the Internet: A Preliminary Analysis. In A. Frew, M. Hitz, and P. O’Connor (Eds.), Information and Communication Technology in Tourism 2003: The Proceedings of the International Conference of ENTER 2003, Helsinki, Finland, January 29-31.

Phillip, S., Hunter, C., & Blackstock, K. (2010). A typology for defining agritourism. Tourism Management, 31, 754-758.

Prentice, R. C., Witt, S. F., & Hamer, C. (1998). Tourism as Experience: The case of heritage parks. Annals of Tourism Research, 25(1), 1-24.

Roberts, L., & Hall, D. (2001). Rural tourism and recreation: Principles to practice. Cambridge: CABI Publishing.

Robinson, G. (2004). Geographies of agriculture: Globalisation, restructuring and sustainability. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Schmidt, J. B., & Spreng, R. A. (1996). A Proposed Model of External Consumer Information Search. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24 (3): 246-256.

Sharpley, R., & Sharpley, J. (1997). Rural tourism: An introduction. Thomson Business Press.

Sharpley, R., & Stone, P. R. (2010). Advances in tourism. Tourist experience: Contemporary perspectives. London and New York: Routledge.

Sigala, M., Airey D., Jones, P., & Lockwood, A. (2004). ICT Paradox Lost? A Stepwise DEA Methodology to Evaluate Technology Investments in Tourism Settings. Journal of Travel Research, 43 (2), 180-192.

Snepenger, D., & Snepenger, M. (1993). Information Search by Pleasure Travelers. In M.A. Kahn, M. D. Olsen, & T. Var (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Hospitality and Tourism (pp. 830-835). New York:Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Sonnino, R. (2004). For a ‘Piece of Bread’? Interpreting sustainable developmentthrough agritourism in Southern Tuscany. Sociologia Ruralis, 44, 285–300.

Sonnino, R. (2004). For a ‘Piece of Bread’? Interpreting sustainable developmentthrough agritourism in Southern Tuscany. Sociologia Ruralis, 44 (3), 285–300.

Sorensen, L. (1993). The Special-Interest Travel Market. The Cornell H. R. A. Quarterly, 34, 24-30.

Teare, R. (1992). An Exploration of the Consumer Decision Process for Hospitality Services. In R. Teare, L. Moutinho, & Morgan N. (Eds.), Managing and Marketing Services in the 1990s (pp. 233-248). London:Cassell Educational.

Tew, C., & Barbieri, C. (2012). The perceived benefits of agritourism: the provider’s perspective. Tourism Management, 33 (1), 215-224.

Theobald, W. F. (2005). Global tourism. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth- Heinemann.

Um, S., & Crompton, J. (1990). Attitude Determinants in Tourism Destination Choice. Annals of Tourism Research, 17 (3), 432-448.

United States Department of Agriculture: National Agriculture Statistics Service – USDA: NASS. (2010). 2010 State agricultural overview. Retrieved online on May 2011 from

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/North_Carolina/index.asp

http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Missouri/index.asp.

Unites States Department of Agriculture - USDA (2009). Beginning farmers and ranchers. In M. Ahearn, & D. Newton (Eds.), Economic information bulletin no 53 (pp.27), Retrieved online on April 2011 from

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB53/EIB53.pdf.

Vogt, C. A., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (1998). Expanding the Functional Information Search Model. Annals of Tourism Research, 25 (3): 551-578.

Walford, N. (2001). Patterns of development in tourist accommodation enterprises on farms in England and Wales. Applied Geography, 21, 331–345.

Wall, G. (2000). Agrotourism. In J. Jafari (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of tourism (pp. 14-15). London: Routledge.

Weaver, D. B., & Fennell, D. A. (1997). The vacation farm sector in Saskatchewan: a profile of operations. Tourism Management, 18, 357–365.

Wicks, B., & Merrett, C. (2003). Agritourism: an economic opportunity for Illinois. Rural Research Report, 14 (9), 1-8.

Wight, P.A. (1996). North American Ecotourism Markets: Motivations, preferences, and destinations. Journal of Travel Research, 35 (1), 3-10.

Wilson, J., Thilmany, D., & Sullins, M. (2006). Agritourism: A potential economic driver in the rural west. Economic Development Report. Colorado State University.

Woodside, A., & MacDonald, R. (1994). General System Framework of Customer Choice Processes of Tourism Services. In R. Gasser, & K. Weiermair (Eds.), Spoilt for Choice. Decision Making Process and Preference Changes of Tourists: Intertemporal and Intercountry Perspectives: The Proceedings of the Institute of Tourism and Service Economics International Conference. Germany: Kulturverlag, Thaur.

World Tourism Organization - WTO (2001). Tourism satellite accounts: Recommended methodological framework. New York: United Nations.

Xiang, Z., Weber, K., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2008). Representation of the Online Tourism Domain in Search Engines. Journal of Travel Research, 47 (2), 137-150.

Zins, A., & Teichmann, K. (2006), Source Credibility in the Tourist Information Search Behaviour: Comparing the Pre- and Post-Consumption Stage. TTRA 2006 Annual Conference Proceedings. Travel and Tourism Research Association, Dublin, Ireland.