The aim of this study was to create a profile of the agricultural tourism industry in the Garden Route area of South Africa, and to determine what general influence agricultural tourism has on the macro environment (rural area) with regard to socio- economic development, as ell as on the micro environment (farm) with regard to the generating of additional income. This study only includes agricultural operations (farms) in the Garden Route area that practice tourism activities. Out of 54 potential agricultural units that were identified, 46 were willing to participate in the study. Information from only 40 of the abovementioned units was finally included in this study. Six agricultural units could not supply sufficient information during the surveys. Data were gathered by means of a scientifically compiled questionnaire. All the individuals involved in this study completed this questionnaire by means of a personal interview. The aspects investigated in order to compile a profile were the characteristics of the suppliers, activities and the extent of the agricultural tourism industry. In order to determine the contribution of agricultural tourism on micro- and macro levels, aspects such as the contribution to farming turnover were investigated as well as the socioeconomic contribution in view of the infrastructure development, job creation, education and housing. The results of this study indicate that 78% of respondents are aged 40 years and older, are mainly male, and, in most of the cases, married (95%). Agricultural tourism enterprises in the Garden Route area are, in most cases (60%), managed by the farmers’ wives. The business type whereby respondents’ agricultural tourism enterprises are conducted, is as follows: in 72.5% of the cases a sole ownership, 17.5% a private company, 5% a partnership, 2.5% a closed corporation and the other remaining 2.5% is managed as a trust. The majority (65%) of persons involved in the management of the agricultural tourism enterprise has received some form of tertiary education. A degree of statistical significance (p = 0.0728) exists between the education level of the type of person/persons that manages the tourist branches and the type of activity category that is offered. In 65% of the cases the farms that offered agricultural tourism, were smaller than 500 hectare. A negative correlation (r² = -0.31700; p<0.0001) was found between farm size and the total farming turnover per year. This trend is even more distinctive (r² = -0.47156; p<0.0001) for farms smaller than 1 000 ha. A statistically meaningful (p = 0.0115) relationship exists between farm size and the number of activities that were offered. This occured in cases where farms were smaller than 1 000 ha. In 25% of the cases only one agricultural tourism activity was offered, 12.5% of these farms were 100 ha or smaller. The maximum number of activities that were offered was 11 and it was found in 3.13% of the cases. A highly statistically meaningful (p = <0.0001) connection exists between the percentage tourism turnover per year and the different types of activity categories that were offered. In 35.75% of the cases these activity categories earned between 1 and 10% of the yearly tourism turnover. A highly statistically meaningful (p = 0.0036) connection also exists between the degree of popularity and the type of activity category that was offered. In 53.07% of the cases the most popular activities were those that are nature-based, followed by accommodation-based activities (23.46%). In 82.5% of the cases additional income was the main reason for offering agricultural tourism. Other distinctive reasons were the love for people (50%) and the desire to share the farm life and beauty with others (25%). The tourism activities that were offered on the farms were respectively, guest houses (62.5%) followed by hiking trails (57.5%) and swimming opportunities (32.5%). Wildlife viewing was the activity that has been offered for the longest period of time, some 11,5 years. The general location of the agricultural tourism operations were 21.9 km from towns and 9.65 km from main routes. Word-of-mouth was the most successful marketing method, followed by the use of own brochures (90%) and local tourism bureau brochures (87.5%). A degree of statistical significance (p = 0.0902) exists between the number of marketing methods and the average percentage of the tourism branch as a total part of the total farming turnover per year. A positive correlation (r² = 0.29118; p<0.0001) exists between the number of marketing methods and the total farming turnover per year. Visitors to the agriculture tourism operations were in 55% of the cases mainly domestic tourists, followed by 25% that includes both domestic and foreign tourists, and a further 20% that mainly includes foreign tourists. The majority (67.5%) of operations indicated that agricultural tourism formed less than 30% (between 2% and 30%) of their annual agricultural turnover, 5% between 30% - 50%, 25% between 80% - 100% of their turnover, while 2.5% generated no income from agricultural tourism. A highly statistically meaningful (p = 0.0010) relationship exists between the percentages that the tourism branch contributes as a total of the farming turnover per year and the number of years that the respondents hade been involved in the offering of agricultural tourism. A positive correlation (r² = 0.30005; p<0.0001) exists between the number of years involved with the offering of agricultural tourism and the average percentage of the total farming turnover per year. New infrastructure was created by 40% of the providers, a further 12.5% partially created new infrastructure, while 47.5% made use of infrastructure that was already in place. Thus far job opportunities have been created for 58 people of whom 13.79% are male and 86.21% are female. A statistically meaningful (p = 0.0406) relationship exists between the number of workers that had to be appointed additionally and the number of activities that were offered. In 17.5% of the cases it was only needed to appoint one worker, followed by 2.5% that appointed three workers each, 5% that had to appoint four workers each and a further 2.5% that had to appoint seven workers each. There are 27.5% of agricultural tourism providers that had to appoint additional workers, 20% provided education to those workers and 36.36% of the above-mentioned provided housing to those workers and their dependants. A statistically meaningful (p = 0.0209) relationship exists between education provided to workers that had to be appointed additionally and the type of activity combination that was presented. A degree of statistical significance (p = 0.0691) exists between housing provided to additional workers and the number of activities that were presented. A statistically meaningful (p = 0.0455) relationship further exists between housing provided to workers that had to be appointed additionally and the type of activity combination that was presented. From the results of this study it appeared that the development of agricultural tourism in the Garden Route area has a positive impact on the micro- and macro environments of the rural areas. This impact can make a direct or indirect contribution to the socio-economic development of this region and it can induce the generation of additional income, infrastructure development, job creation, education and housing. This study suggests that there is significant potential for the further development and exploitation of agricultural tourism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:10954 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | De Jager, Jacobus Lodevicus |
| Publisher | Port Elizabeth Technikon, Faculty of Science, Department of Agricultural Management |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | Afrikaans |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MTech (Agricultural Management) |
| Format | xxii, 175, xvii leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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