Full report available in pdf format

Canadian Travel Market

Participating in Agro-Tourism While on Trips of One or More Nights

 

A Profile Report

December 3, 2007

Executive Summary

Over the last two years, 11.7% (2,891,876) of adult Canadians participated in an agro-tourism activity while on an out-of-town, overnight trip of one or more nights. Fruit-picking at a farm or open field (8.3%) was the most popular agro-tourism activity followed by dining at a farm (3.7%) and visiting a harvesting or other farm operation (2.1%). Participating in an agro-tourism activity while on a trip was the 11th most frequent culture and entertainment activity type undertaken by Canadian Pleasure Travelers in the past two years. Of those who participated in an agro-tourism activity, 21.5% (621,453) reported that this activity was the main reason for taking at least one trip.

Travelers who participated in agro-tourism activities while on trips are more likely to be female (54.6%) and are predominantly 35 to 44 years of age. Most are married and they are more likely than average to have dependent children (less than 18) living at home. They are less affluent than the other activity segments and report the lowest household income ($72,288) of the 21 culture and entertainment activity types.

Those who participated in an agro-tourism activity are predominantly domestic travelers. They were the 7th most likely of the 21 culture and entertainment activity types to have taken a trip within their own province or region (90.7%), the 12th most likely to have traveled to an adjacent province or region (56.4%) and the 14th most likely to have visited a non-adjacent province or region (36.5%) in the past two years. However, their out-of-country travel is below-average. They were the least likely of the 21 activity segments to have visited the United States (52.8%), the 19th most likely to have visited Mexico (13.5%) and the least likely to have taken a trip to the Caribbean (14.8%).

Travelers who participated in agro-tourism activities are more active than the average Canadian Pleasure Traveler while on trips. They frequently participated in activities closely associated with agro-tourism (e.g., tastings, garden-themed attractions, equestrian & western events) as well as other participatory activities (e.g., aboriginal cultural experiences). They were also frequently involved in nature-oriented activities (e.g., horseback riding, fishing) and family-oriented activities (e.g., cycling, sports & games). They take budget-conscious vacations that often involve camping and that offer learning opportunities, novelty and lots to see and do for both adults and children.  

Those who participated in an agro-tourism activity were the least likely of the 21 culture and entertainment activity types to use the Internet to plan (61.5%) and book (38.3%) travel. They can best be reached through travel media as well as ‘home-related’ media (e.g., home-related websites; craft, antique & collectible magazines; cooking shows).

---

To view Adobe Acrobat PDF files, you need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.