FS 3.157: Mountain Agritourism

Agritourism is a strongly growing type of tourism in rural areas. Commercial agritourism can conflict with current calls by the local population to limit the excesses of not sustainable types of tourism, especially in environmentally sensitive areas such as mountain territories where sustainable tourism practices, community involvement, and regulatory measures are essential to balance tourism with agricultural traditions. In this focus session, up-to-date research results exploring the trade-offs between sustainable development and environmental and societal protection needs will be presented and discussed. The guiding question is, how agritourism can be a valuable instrument for sustainable and resilient tourism development in times of overtourism. Examples of over-agrotourism can be found in many mountain areas such as the Alps where tourists may flock to picturesque dairy farms for experiences like cheese-making workshops, overwhelming the farms’ capacity; tea plantations in Darjeeling (India) where overcrowding during harvest seasons disrupts traditional farming practices and local life; or coffee farms in the Colombian highlands, where the influx of tourists seeking hands-on experiences disrupts local farming schedules and logistics. Individual session contributions will be allocated 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for discussion. Contributions are selected based on their thematic fit and scientific quality. All presentations and discussions must be in English language. The contributions will be from the social sciences but can be multi- or interdisciplinary covering the fields of economics, business, sociology, geography etc.