Agro-Tourism: Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Sustainable Resource Use

Tourism has proven to be a significant income earner for some of the less developed countries of the world, and interestingly, many of these countries are or were major agrarian economies. This paper will serve to highlight the opportunities for linkages between agriculture and tourism, provide examples to enhance local entrepreneurial involvement, while making recommendations for overcoming the challenges to the sustainable development of agro-tourism. As consumer taste change and alternative forms of tourism develop to respond to the new green reality and the demand trends for the 4 E's- entertainment, excitement, education and the environment, there is a natural link between agriculture and tourism. The paper cautions against marketing myopia if the full benefits of linking tourism with agriculture are to be derived. Opportunities need not be limited to selling agricultural produce or livestock to tourism service providers. Issues of quality, quantity and *innovation must be addressed if linkages are to be maximized and profitability sustained. The requisite decision support tools, education and training, partnerships, and the legal and institutional framework must be provided in order to enhance a destination's overall competitiveness in agro-tourism.