ABSTRACT
Abstract ................................................................................................. 417 21.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 418 21.2 Agritourism Definition and Benefits ........................................... 419 21.3Agritourism and the Key Economic Driver ................................. 420 21.4 Competitive Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats
Assessment Model ....................................................................... 420 21.5A Strategic Approach Towards Agritourism in India................... 423 21.6 Extending Outreach for Wider Market Place ............................... 432 21.7 Conclusion ................................................................................... 432 Keywords .............................................................................................. 433 References ............................................................................................. 434
ABSTRACT
Travel is a journey about seeking and exploring and discovery of new destinations. Travel is about a discovery of seeking and exploring. Travel is evolving in the way it is conceptualized and consumed. Tourism in India is driven largely by three or four states-the “Incredible India” offering has largely been built around the tourist destinations of Rajasthan, Kerala,
Cofounder, TravelSpends, Bangalore, India
Goa, and the diversity in culture, nature, and architectural wonders of India. In India, tourism is largely driven by the domestic tourists and to substantiate tourism growth, and in 2015, the Government of India being a protourism and firm growth-oriented governing body introduced the e-tourist visa facility to include new countries. The tourist arrival using the e-tourist visa has seen a quantum leap from the strategy-synergized overall tourist arrivals and has shown a phenomenal growth and is to be made available to over 180 countries in phases. The urbanization and rapid development of cities have kindled the desire amongst travelers to seek and explore new forms of tourism. Experiential travel is gaining ground across the world. The new age traveler is constantly seeking offbeat trails, the road less traveled, going back to roots. A large portion of the hinterland in India consists of villages where farming is the key occupation. India is an agrarian economy largely dependent on the vagaries of nature. The above text presents both opportunities and challenges in terms of the development of these theme-based tourist circuits based on agriculture and farms or farmlands. This chapter deals with strategies and measures to overcome challenges and evolve stratagems and actionable responses for the development of agritourism in the country. There is clearly a lack of primary research in the area of agritourism; this is an impediment; however, inferences can be drawn on the basis of the peripheral data and collaterals drawn based on the development in other geographies. This chapter also highlights various strategies that could contribute to the growth of agritourism in India. This greenfield opportunity can be curated and developed to realize the potential of agritourism.
