New Venture Guide to Ag Tourism

Diversifying a farm or ranch operation with an ag tourism venture can take many different forms. The opportunities are almost endless and might include attractions, events or services. Regardless of the choice, careful consideration is required to determine the most appropriate venture for the farm, the area and the operator.

Use the following information to help develop a new ag tourism venture for your farm. This guide can also serve as a basis for a business plan for the implementation of a new venture. For a list of potential ag tourism venture ideas consult Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development's factsheet, Opportunities in Ag Tourism Ventures, Agdex 888-8.

Current major agricultural activity:

• Estimated per cent of your time to be spent on tourism activities: _____________%

• Estimated per cent of employee's/family's time to be spent on tourism: _____________%

• Estimated amount of farm income to be derived from tourism: _____________%

• Would you consider working with nearby attractions to jointly create a tourist attraction? ___ Yes ___ No With whom? __________________

• Does my family support this initiative? ___ yes ___ no
• Do we like to meet all types of people? ___ yes ___ no
• Do we like to entertain strangers often? ___ yes ___ no
• Do we have good organizational skills? ___ yes ___ no
• Do we have the personality for tourism? ___ yes ___ no
• Are we successful at managing home and farm expenses? ___ yes ___ no

• production ____________________________________

• customer service ______________________________

• event planning ________________________________

• management __________________________________

• marketing ____________________________________

• other: ________________________________________

• Is the property easy for travellers to find? ___ yes ___ no

• Is the property tidy, well kept and appealing to visitors? ___ yes ___ no

• Can the roads leading to the farm accommodate buses/RVs? ___ yes ___ no

• Can restricted areas be secured or separated from visitors? ___ yes ___ no

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
on-site preparation	______	______	______
product sampling	______	______	______
resale of packaged foods	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
parking - # of cars _____ - # of buses _____	______	______	______
handicap access	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
portables (#______)	______	______	______
permanent (#______)	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
#______	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
picnic tables	______	______	______
benches or bleachers	______	______	______
lawn seating	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
barbecue grills	______	______	______
playground equipment	______	______	______
stage	______	______	______
protection from weather	______	______	______
other	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
guides	______	______	______
maintenance, cleaning	______	______	______
customer service	______	______	______
food preparation	______	______	______
other: _______________	______	______	______
# of workers from family enterprise: __________
# of non-family workers: __________

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
promotional materials	______	______	______
brochure	______	______	______
print advertising	______	______	______
road signs	______	______	______
press releases	______	______	______
familiarization tours	______	______	______
mailing list, newsletters	______	______	______
radio/TV advertising	______	______	______
other: _______________	______	______	______

	Already have	Want to have	Don't want
door to door	______	______	______
direct mail	______	______	______
partnership marketing	______	______	______
visitor information centres	______	______	______
word of mouth	______	______	______
community & provincial network	______	______	______
website, e-mail newsletter	______	______	______
radio/TV advertising	______	______	______
other: _______________	______	______	______
Annual marketing budget: _________________________
Overall tourism business budget: ___________________

• How many other ag tourism operators are there in the local area? _________________________________

• Are any similar to what you would like to do? ______________________________________________

• Are any compatible for you to market co-operate with? ________________________________________

• What other types of events/attractions could you work with? ___________________________________

Item needed	Estimated cost
_________________________________	____________
.
_________________________________	____________
.
_________________________________	____________

• What can I do to make my property and buildings appealing? ____________________________________

• How can I ensure my visitors will have a memorable experience? ___________________________________

• How can I ensure my visitor greeting will to add to the experience? ________________________________

• Is there a large surrounding market base to support this venture?
• Will the surrounding market base continue to grow in the future?
• Can the surrounding service industry (lodging, meals) support tourists that would visit this place?

• How does the net profit of ag tourism ventures compare with net profit of other ventures?
• How well would the ag tourism venture utilize existing business resources?
• How well would the ag tourism venture utilize existing labour?
• How long would the products involved in the ag tourism venture stay fresh?
• Could the product/service be used tomorrow, if not today?
• Would an empty room or seat impact cash flow?

• How would the ag tourism venture fit into the overall business financial plan?
• What would be required financially to enter into an ag tourism venture?
• Are the financial and human resource requirements available to support the new venture?

• Decision Making: Will You Start a New Enterprise? (Agdex 811-5)
• Personal and Family Considerations: Where do You Want to Be?(Agdex 1834-10)
• Identifying Alternatives: What are the Possibilities? (Agdex 811-2)
• Marketing: Will it Sell? (Agdex 848-5)
• Production Requirements: Do You Have the Resources? (Agdex 811-4)
• Financial Feasibility: Can You Afford to Do It? (Agdex 811-3)
• Profitability: Will it Make Money? (Agdex 811-6)