Tourism meets agriculture – University of Innsbruck
The tourism and agriculture sectors benefit greatly from close cooperation. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the Research Center for Tourism and Leisure at the University of Innsbruck and UMIT Tirol. In the past two years, they have been investigating the strategic cooperation between the two sectors on behalf of the state of Tyrol.
On behalf of the state of Tyrol, in cooperation with the Association of Holidays on a Farm in Tyrol and the Mayrhofen-Hippach Tourism Association, the researchers have under the title “Tourism meets Agriculture” the added value and the challenges in the cooperation of both sectors for a more sustainable, regional development examined. “Our study focused on current trends such as sustainability, gentle tourism, regionality and resilience, which should form the focus of future sustainability strategies,” explains project manager Alexander Plaikner from the University of Innsbruck.
mutual benefit
The results of the study show that both sectors benefit from each other and that close cooperation between tourism and agriculture has a positive effect on the preservation of the cultural landscape and tradition. Rural tourism is also benefiting from the trend towards more sustainability. “Holidaymakers are specifically looking for sustainable offers. This also includes the experience of farming and an insight into life on a farm. Our study also shows that the target group is willing to pay more than the current market prices for it,” reports Plaikner.
Regional products are particularly important for a sustainable holiday in the country. This also leads to a sharp increase in direct marketing – a potential that can be used even more by farmers and tourism professionals, as Andreas Lackner from the Mayrhofen-Hippach Tourist Association also knows: “Agriculture and tourism are the two key factors in order to local production also to be consumed locally. The regional economic cycle between agriculture and tourism is already working very well in some areas. Nevertheless, there is often a lack of knowledge about the local availability of currently available products across several companies. With digital solutions, which are also already available, these knowledge and sales gaps can be closed, and unnecessary exports or imports of products on the road reduced.”
Diversification in agriculture through the Farm Holidays concept also plays an important role in regional development: Tourist rentals mean that resources can be used more efficiently, and jobs are also created – especially within the families who live on the farm. Initiatives such as the “Holidays on the Farm” association play an important role in this. “We are the central contact for our members for everything to do with renting and we provide them with the professional, up-to-date tools so that they can ultimately achieve the highest possible added value,” explains Astrid Rollinger, Managing Director of the Ferien am Bauernhof in Tirol association.
follow-up project
Building on the concrete success of this study, the state of Tyrol has approved the research partnership between the University of Innsbruck, UMIT Tyrol, the Mayrhofen-Hippach tourism association and the Ferien am Bauernhof in Tirol association with the initiative “Smart Data Management: Creation of sustainable, digital cooperation between agriculture and tourism ” instructed. Over the next two years, they will develop digital applications and interfaces between agriculture and tourism throughout the Zillertal. In the long term, a state and nationwide implementation is to follow.