Farm Tourism Set to Take Off in a Big Way: A Study Based on Analysis of Visitors Satisfactions in Kerala

SAJTH, January 2012, Vol. 5, No. 1 Farm Tourism Set to Take Off in a Big Way: A Study Based on Analysis of Visitors Satisfactions in Kerala SRAVANA. K* and M.A. JOSEPH** *SRAVANA. K., Assistant Professor, W.M.O. Arts and Science College, Muttil, Wayanad, **M.A. JOSEPH, Ph.D. Associate Professor & Head, Department of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Calicut ABSTRACT Agriculture is one of the main contributors of Indian economy, around 52% of the population is directly or indirectly depending on agriculture and almost 14.6% of GDP comes from the agriculture sector. In the last 25 years of 20 th century, the term farm tourism appeared in the international literature. Today farm tourism is becoming more popular. Kerala is a state where numerous agricultural crops are cultivated. In such a situation, the following questions are relevant: - what is the present scenario of farm tourism in Kerala? What are the services provided by the farm tourism providers in Kerala? Whether the tourists are satisfied in the services of farm tourism providers? This paper intends to seek answer to the above questions and is based on descriptive research approach using primary and secondary data. Structured questionnaires are used to collect information from tourists. Convenience sampling method is used to choose the respondents. The results of the paper show a good satisfaction level among the farm tourism activities in Kerala. Large numbers of tourists are coming to Kerala as a farm tourism destination but concentration and development in the present condition is required to satisfy all the perceptions of the farm tourists in Kerala. KEYWORDS: Farm Tourism, Tourists, Services, Satisfaction. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Heritage

144 SRAVANA. K and M.A. JOSEPH Introduction Farm tourism is a latest concept in the Indian tourism industry. It gives an opportunity to experience the real enchanting and authentic contact with the rural life, taste the local genuine food and get familiar with the various farming tasks during the visit. Farm tourism is an integral part of eco tourism. It preserves the environment that the processes which damage nature are strictly prohibited. Salient features of farm tourism are:- It should be least damaging to nature It should be beneficial to both host and tourist Adding to revenue, it should preserve the environment It should be beneficial to the local people Some part of the revenue should be given to safeguard the environment Meaning and definition of Farm tourism It can be described as the temporary movement on to a farm of people looking to enjoy a rural environment as part of their leisure, pleasure, recreation and business activities. The main reason to move forward this concept is that it can contribute to the overall income, cash flow and profitability of farm based business. It will allow the farmer an alternative source of income from the produce and can involve members of the farm business that are not fully involved in the day-to-day operation of the farm. Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy; around 85% of the population is directly or indirectly depending on agriculture and almost one forth of GDP comes from the agriculture sector (Taware, II). Eco tourism and farm tourism have been gaining importance since the decade of the 1980s due to the worldwide concern about the social and environmental effects of mass tourism. Farm tourism is one of the best practices in sustainable tourism where the scale of development has been better matched with local resources and institutional capacity. Tourism supplements farm incomes, which are generally low. Farm tourism is strong in peripheral upland regions where they the opportunity of riding, fishing, hunting and hiking. Farm tourism presents a better integration with the environment. A great deal of interest has been focused on the area of farm tourism in recent years (Bowen, Cox and Fox, 1991). But very few studies are in the context of Kerala with related to farm tourism.

Statement of Problem ANALYSIS OF VISITORS SATISFACTIONS IN KERALA 145 Challenging conditions in the current agricultural context have encouraged farmers to develop farm tourism and other enterprises on their farmland. Farm tourism involves any agriculturally-based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm. It is a form of niche tourism that is considered a growth industry in many part of the world. People have become more interested in how their food is produced, so they want to meet farmers and processors to know what goes into food production and cultivation. Previous research suggests that a complex set of personal and economic goals drive the creation and maintenance of farm tourism and other on-farm diversification ventures. For many farm owners today, making a profit depends on diversifying farm operations to include services and products designed for visitors. In this situation, there is a relevant question: - whether the visitors are satisfied in these services and products? This paper attempts to study the visitors satisfaction in the products and services offered by the farm tourism providers in Kerala. Farm tourism is the latest concept in the Kerala tourism industry. This study helps to improve the present farm tourism scenario in Kerala. Objectives of the study 1) To have an insight into the present farm tourism scenario in Kerala 2) To know the satisfaction of farm tourists regarding the services of farm tourism providers Hypothesis of the study H0: There is no significant difference in the satisfaction level of farm tourists regarding the different services availed from farm tourism providers H1: There is no significant difference in the satisfaction level of farm tourists belonging to different age groups, sex and nationalities Methodology Research design planned for the study is descriptive in nature. Both primary and secondary data will be used for the study. Structured questionnaire will be used for collecting primary data from tourists regarding their satisfaction about the services of farm tourism providers. Defined target population will consist of international tourists who visited Kerala and used the services of farm tourism providers from May and June 2011.

146 SRAVANA. K and M.A. JOSEPH Farm Tourism A Conceptual Framework Farm tourism is somewhat similar to farm tourism. The farms are beautifully decorated, despite the fact that their chief products are fruits, vegetables and flowers. In fact, the owners of these farms develop these for the purpose of relaxing during the weekends. Their employees grow crops, fruits, vegetables and flowers and sell these in the open markets. So, owners earn profits while their employees also stand to gain. This concept slowly became a luxury concept during the early eighties of the last century. Under this concept, these tourists were taken to these farms and bestowed the best in terms of food, liquor and hospitality. Such facilities attracted tourists who wanted to go away from the urban settings and relax in the lap of nature. In the last 25 years of twentieth century the term farm tourism appeared in international literature. It is the style of vacation that is normally spent on farms. The term farm tourism is understood differently by tourists and providers of farm tourist services. For a tourist, farm tourism means familiarising oneself with agricultural production or recreation in the agricultural environment or it may include an opportunity to help with farming tasks during the visit. It can be defined as, any accommodation facility and receptive activity practiced by farmers, their families whereas they play an active role within the family, and any form of farm association through the usage of farm and its structures, the latter should not be currently used by the farmer and his family for production or personal use. Farm tourism activities Farm tourism is a new generation activity. Today s farmers offer various services to attract tourists to the agricultural field. Following are the activities involved in farm tourism:- Staying on a farm Educational visits Wine tours Outdoor sports Participation in the rural life style and local community Enjoyment of natural environment Rural heritage Enjoy truly locally produced food Gift shop

ANALYSIS OF VISITORS SATISFACTIONS IN KERALA 147 Processing and production tour Cultural activities Multi-cuisine restaurant Tree house Underground house Boating, hunting, fishing and trekking Farm tourism in Kerala Kerala, the state with network of azure backwaters, rivers and streams, boasts of an agrarian economy. Rice, coconut, tapioca, spices, tea, coffee, cashew, pulses, areca nut, ginger and rubber are major agricultural products of the state. Farm tourism in Kerala is being developed as a relatively new tourism product. Kerala, being an agricultural dominated state, has tremendous potential for developing farm tourism in a big way without much additional investment. There is a possibility of converting potential cropped areas of the state as tourist attractions with minimum intervention to transfer the benefits of tourism directly to the farmers. The various schemes underway are intended to prepare the farms/plantations of Kerala to receive tourists by presenting a positive image of the farm end of agriculture sector of Kerala through tourism. The government decision to allow 5% of the farm area for tourism purpose has been an encouraging factor for the tourism industry. Numerous projects are being planned by the state to prepare the farms of Kerala to receive tourists by presenting a positive image of the farm and of agriculture as a whole, in view of revitalizing the agriculture sector through tourism and increasing tourist traffic to the state. Data Analysis and Interpretation Many tourists are coming to Kerala for visiting farm tourism Centres. They are of different age group. From the Table No. 1, it is clear that majority of the foreign visitors are belongs to first category. In other words, 44% of visitors are up to 30 years of age category. 42% visitors are between 31 years and 45 years category. Only 4% and 3% visitors belong to the age category of between 46 years and 60 years and above 60 years respectively. Thus, we can interpret that majority of the farm tourists (86%) are youngsters.

148 SRAVANA. K and M.A. JOSEPH Table no. 1 : Age of the farm tourists Age No. of tourists Percentages Upto 30 22 44 31-45 21 42 46-60 4 8 Above 60 3 6 Total 50 100 Source: Primary Data Among the visitors, 54% are male and 46% are female. Majority of the visitors are coming from neighboring countries of India i.e. Burma, SriLanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh etc. (58%). 22% of the visitors are coming from European countries, 14% from USA and only 3% from Arabian countries. Western and Arabian countries are less interested in the farm tourism activities in India. Table no. 2 : Nationality of the farm visitors Nationality No. of Tourists Percentages Europe 11 22 USA 7 14 Arab 3 6 Neighbours 29 58 Total 50 100 Source: Primary Data The services of farm tourism providers are divided into four categories:- Travel arrangement services Services provided by their employees Hospitality services Agricultural services Majority of the visitors are satisfied with the services provided by them. But it is clear from the following tables that visitors are highly satisfied with the services rendered by the farm employees. Mean value of these services is 4.43 illustrated in the table no. 4.

ANALYSIS OF VISITORS SATISFACTIONS IN KERALA 149 Table no.3 : Satisfaction level of farm visitors Travel arrangement services Mean value Std Deviation V1 3.02 2.1 V2 4.3 0.58 V3 4.2 0.84 V4 4.2 0.69 V5 4.3 0.64 Total 4.008 0.97 Table no.4 : Satisfaction level farm visitors Services provided by the employees Mean value Std Deviation V1 4.48 0.50 V2 4.5 0.54 V3 4.4 0.57 V4 4.4 0.57 V5 4.4 0.57 V6 4.4 0.60 Total 4.43 0.56 Table no. 5 : Satisfaction level of visitors Hospitality services Mean value Std Deviation V1 4.6 1.16 V2 4.3 0.78 V3 4.3 0.89 V4 4.3 0.74 V5 3.9 1.22 V6 4 1.13 V7 3.9 1.29 V8 4 1.10 V9 4.2 0.77 Total 4.17 1

150 SRAVANA. K and M.A. JOSEPH Table no. 6 : Satisfaction level of visitors Agricultural services Mean value Std Deviation V1 4.3 0.74 V2 4.3 0.78 V3 4.4 0.72 V4 4 0.60 V5 4.4 0.56 V6 4.4 0.66 Total 4.3 0.67 The visitors are satisfied in different services from the farm tourism providers. But these services are different in nature. Visitors are highly satisfied in the services of employees in the farm tourism centres. But it is not clear when comparing the mean value of each service. Table no 7 shows the test results of different services, that the visitors are less satisfied in travel services and moderately satisfied in the agricultural services and hospitality services. Table no.7 : Test results Services z- value Results at 1% significance level Travel services & employee services 4.96 Rejected Employee services & hospitality services 6.5 Hospitality services & agricultural services Rejected 0.52 Accepted Agricultural services & travel services 1.00 Accepted Travel services & hospitality services 1.45 Accepted Employee services & agricultural services 0.59 Accepted Farm tourism visitors are belonging to different age group, sex and nationality. There is no significant difference in the satisfaction level of farm

ANALYSIS OF VISITORS SATISFACTIONS IN KERALA 151 visitors according to their age group. All categories of visitors are satisfied with the farm services. But in the case of sex and nationality, their opinion is different. Female visitors are less satisfied than male visitors. Neighbour countries are more satisfied in the farm services of the providers. Arabs are less satisfied and also less in number. Table no. 8 : Test results Variables z-value Results at 1% significance level Age 1.6 Accepted Sex 3.16 Rejected Nationality 4.67 Df: Findings of the study Rejected Majority of the visitors are youngsters. They like to come to the farm centres for engaging the agricultural activities. Male and female visitors are almost equal in number. Majority of the visitors are coming from our neighbouring countries i.e. Burma, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, china and Bangladesh. Rests of them are from European countries and USA respectively. Very few visitors are coming from Arabian countries. Majority of the visitors are satisfied in the farm tourism services. They are highly satisfied in the employee services and less satisfied in the travel arrangement by the farm tourism providers. They are moderately satisfied in the agricultural and hospitality services. There is no significant difference between the age group and satisfaction level of visitors. There is significant difference between sex of the visitors and their satisfaction level. There is significant difference between the nationality and the satisfaction level of visitors. Suggestions of the study Identify more farm tourism centres in Kerala. Find out more farm tourism activities for attracting the middle age and old age visitors and also for existing the young visitors.

152 SRAVANA. K and M.A. JOSEPH Disseminate maximum information about the farm tourism centres in Kerala to all over the world through various media like television, internet etc. Improve the quality of travel services to the visitors in which they are less satisfied. Identify more agricultural activities that are interesting to the female visitors. Conclusion Survey results of this paper indicate that providing services at farm tourism centre sappers to be successful marketing strategy to increase the number of farm tourists and generate revenue to Kerala. These attractions provide interesting diversions to farm tourists in agricultural activities and allowing farm tourism providers to make profit from this situation. The relationship between agriculture and tourism in rural economies needs to be examined further to ensure that the potential of agriculturally based leisure attractions can be realized. REFERENCES Bowen.R.L, Cox, L.J. & Fox. M. (1991). The interface between agriculture and tourism, journal of tourism studies, 2(2), pp 43-53 Demoi.L.A. (1983). Farm tourism in Europe, tourism management, 4(3), pp 155-166 Frater.M. (1983). Farm tourism in Europe, tourism management, 4(3), 167-178