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Browse by Department: Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
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Working Together: A Guide to Collaboration in Rural Revitalization

By: Ann Savage, Sara Brune, Meredith Hovis, S. E. Spencer, Maude Dinan, Erin Seekamp

This publication discusses the components to collaborate successfully in rural revitalization efforts. If focuses on coming together, staying together, and growing together to create a social mechanism stakeholders can use to work toward common goals.

Cost Analysis for Improving Park Facilities to Promote Park-based Physical Activity

By: Myron Floyd, Luis J. Suau, Robby Layton, Jay E. Maddock, Karly Bitsura-Meszaros

As public parks and recreation facilities are increasingly positioned as health resources, greater demands for providing and using parks are expected. Park improvement projects with the stated purpose of encouraging activity need to be supported by data on the financial costs associated with making such improvements. This publication provide realistic and objective estimates of costs of providing park facilities that can increase physical activity.

Barriers and Strategies to Connecting Urban Audiences to Wildlife and Nature: Results from a Multi-Method Research Project

By: Myron Floyd, Danielle Ross-Winslow, Eric Thompson, Natalie Sexton, Alia Dietsch, Katharine Conlon

This publication summarizes the findings of a research project aimed at understanding urban audiences, identifying barriers to engagement in wildlife-dependent recreation, and identifying strategies that the Service can implement to overcome these barriers.

Assessing Historical Significance and Use Potential of Buildings within Historic Districts: An Overview of a Measurement Framework Developed for Climate Adaptation Planning

By: Sandra Fatorić, Erin Seekamp

This publication discusses a pilot study considering 17 historic structures at Cape Lookout National Seashore. The study was performed develop guidance and methods to help inform climate adaptation planning for cultural resources.

Agritourism Opportunities for Farm Diversification

By: Susan Colucci, Samantha Rozier-Rich, Stacy Tomas, Stephen Komar, Brian Schilling, Jenny Carleo East Coast Agritourism

This publication explores the different types of agritourism activities that are available to farmers and explains some of agritourism's benefits.

Using Web Marketplaces to Reach Untapped Markets

By: Bruno Ferreira, Duarte Morais, Mary Lorscheider

This publication explains how microentrepreneurs can use emerging web-based marketplaces to sell services, goods, and experiences to untapped markets.

Coastal Hazards and Tourism: Exploring Outer Banks Visitors’ Responses to Storm-Related Impacts

By: Erin Seekamp, Matthew Jurjonas, Karly Bitsura-Meszaros

This publication discusses the impacts of coastal hazards on the tourism industry of North Carolina's Outer Banks (OBX) based on a survey of visitors to this popular beach destination.

North Carolina Women’s Success in Agritourism: Turning Challenges into Opportunities

By: Mirza Farzana Halim, Carla Barbieri, Susan Jakes, Duarte Morais

This publication presents the results of interviews with women in agritourism across North Carolina. It discusses the successes, challenges, and opportunities these women face in the agritourism industry and offers conclusions on strategies to overcome challenges and improve success.

Regulations That May Affect Your Agritourism Enterprise

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

A wide variety of regulations may affect agritourism enterprise operations. The affect of regulations may depend on the type of attractions offered, location of the enterprise, whether employees are hired and a number of other factors specific to each enterprise. These regulations may be imposed at the federal, state and local levels of government. It is important to investigate all regulations applicable to your agritourism enterprise in order to avoid penalties, fines or interruptions to you business. This resource document provides an introduction to a number of regulations that may impact agritourism operations.

Four Lessons to Build Resilience in Agritourism

By: Sara Brune, Olivia Vila, Danielle Lawson, Whitney Knollenberg

This publication documents the lessons learned by agritourism operators whose businesses were impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in North Carolina. Understanding the practices used by these operators provides insights for strengthening the industry's resilience during a public health crisis.

Visitor Profiles Inform the Development of Oyster Tourism in North Carolina

By: Whitney Knollenberg, Ph.D., Emily Yeager, Ph.D., Carla Barbieri, Ph.D., Jane Harrison, Ph.D.

This publication summarizes research about the potential of oysters to become part of the North Carolina tourism industry.

Creating the Perfect Blend: Community Resources Needed to Support a Sustainable Craft Beverage Industry

By: Claudia Gil Arroyo, Whitney Knollenberg, Carla Barbieri, Kathryn Boys, Alyssa Stroker

The growing craft beverage industry is generating tourism in Wake County. This publication discusses the resources needed to sustain growth in the industry and the related benefits it produces to understand ways to advance craft beverage tourism.

Agritourism in North Carolina: Summary of Pilot Study Results

By: Shuangyu Xu, Samantha Rozier-Rich

Agritourism–defined in this study as any activity or service provided on a working farm with the purpose of attracting visitors–has grown in popularity due to structural changes affecting farmers and communities across the nation and throughout North Carolina. According to the North Carolina Rural Center, the number of farms in North Carolina has dramatically declined in recent years to just 17% of the total number of farms present in the 1940s. The changing economy, fluctuations in agricultural income, and farmers’ desire to preserve land and resources have pressured North Carolina farmers to examine alternative economic opportunities.

Risk Assessment and Management

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

What types of risk are you taking on when you engage in agritourism? The first risk normally thought of is liability. While liability is extremely important, other types of risk are also important for you to consider. To be successful, you must correctly assess and manage risk.

Social Relationships Between Wineries and Local Communities: Perspectives of North Carolinians from the Piedmont

By: Jing Li, Shuangyu Xu, Mirza Farzana Halim, Carla Barbieri

This publication discusses the perspectives of locals in the North Carolina Triad with regard to social relationships between wineries and the communities.

Success of Women in Agritourism: She Will Get What She Wants

By: Ann Savage, Carla Barbieri, Susan Jakes, Duarte Morais

This publication examine's women's success in the agritourism industry through survey responses to help maximize the benefits of agritourism to farms and rural communities.

Considering an Agritourism Enterprise?

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

Agritourism – also known as farm tourism, agri-tainment, agricultural tourism, or agrotourism – has a long history in America. Because of the generation gap between farm and non-farm families, the demand for a slower paced farm experience has now become the catalyst for farm-based recreation to become an important business. Agritourism has become a tool that has a direct economic impact on farms and the surrounding communities.

Cultivating Local Foods Consumers: Using Agritourism to Promote Local Foods

By: Sara Brune, Whitney Knollenberg, Carla Barbieri, Kathryn Stevenson, Caitlin Reilly, Renee Strnad, Liz Driscoll

This publication shares the result of a survey study that aims to discover whether visiting agritourism facilities would spark an interest in local foods and local agricultural products by participants.

Agritourism, Farm Visits, Agro-Tourism Oh My! Do Farmers, Residents, and Extension Faculty Speak the Same Language?

By: Samantha Rozier-Rich, Shuangyu Xu, Carla Barbieri, Claudia Gil Arroyo

There is a need for a better understanding of what people mean when they say “agritourism,” so farmers can realize the full economic benefit of this activity. The authors of this publication conducted a study to discover the preferences of farmers, local residents (visitors or potential visitors), and extension faculty in North Carolina and Missouri with regard to labels for and definitions of agritourism, and to determine where common ground lies among these groups.

Customer Service

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

Customer service encompasses many things including appearance of your operation, reception the customer receives, knowledge of your employees, accuracy of directions and ease of accessibility. While satisfied customers will provide repeat business and attract more customers to your business, dissatisfied customers won't return and they may discourage potential customers from visiting your business. Steps to improve customer service include: developing a written customer plan, identifying your customers, and determining what it will take to satisfy them. If you fall short of full satisfaction, you need to know how to correct the problem as soon as possible.

Promoting Your Agritourism Business

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

The basis of any promotional program is product excellence. If your product or operation is excellent, promotion will enhance your sales. If your product is poor, all the advertising in the world will not help. This publication offers some suggestions for promoting your agritourism business.

Qualifying and Quantifying Your Personal Agritourism Potential

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

There are a number of questions that must be asked and honestly answered when considering whether to start and operate an agritourism operation. For example, you should evaluate factors such as personal characteristics and skills, target markets, market potential, land and property resources and characteristics, individual and family goals, time and labor considerations, and financial needs and resources. An honest evaluation of these factors will help you understand your potential for success.

How Beneficial is Agritourism? North Carolina Farmers and Residents Respond

By: Shuangyu Xu, Carla Barbieri, Samantha Rozier-Rich, Erin Seekamp, Duarte Morais

Agritourism, defined as activities offered on working farms and other agricultural settings for entertainment or educational purposes, has been increasing over the last ten years. Despite its growth, there is uncertainty about the benefits that agritourism brings to society, especially to rural communities. Understanding the benefits of agritourism is essential to further develop this recreational activity and to strengthen marketing efforts to attract more visitors to farms. To document perceptions of the socio-cultural, environmental, and economic benefits of agritourism, an online survey was conducted in 2010 among North Carolina agritourism providers (“farmers”) and a non-random panel of current and potential visitors (“residents”).

Marketing Your Agritourism Enterprise

By: Kent Wolfe, Gary Bullen A How-To Guide for Successful Agritourism Enterprises

Agritourism venues require a significant amount of planning, marketing, and promotion to create successful enterprises. The primary focus of all marketing and promotion activities is to inform potential visitors about the operation and its activities and to attract visitors to the farm. Marketing involves the identification of a potential customer’s needs and wants. This requires thorough planning and execution with focus on identifying a target audience and their needs, attracting the targeted audience to the farm, getting the targeted audience to spend their money by selling to their needs and wants, and creating an inviting environment that will cause the targeted audience to come back again. A marketing plan includes researching the potential market for the products, setting financial goals, establishing a marketing mix, developing a budget, monitoring customer response, making a contingency plan, and making a list of tasks necessary to put the plan into action.

Enhancing Rural Tourism Networks Factsheet

By: Jennifer Iyengar, Erin Seekamp

This publication discusses a study conducted to explore how rural tourism networks are organized and utilized by tourism entrepreneurs and support agencies.

North Shore Community Climate Readiness: Understanding Visitor Behaviors and Responses to Climate Change Projections

By: Allie McCreary, Erin Seekamp, Mae A. Davenport, Jordan W. Smith

This publication presents the findings from survey research with visitors to the North Shore tourism region along Lake Superior in Minnesota with the intention to to enhance tourism and recreation providers’ understanding of current visitor behaviors and how visitor behaviors may respond to various scenarios of climate change projected for the North Shore.