Strengthening Agritourism with Value-Aligned Marketing in a Digital Environment
Agricultural Economics & Community Development
Stacey Stearns
Educational Program Administrator
University of Connecticut
Storrs
Abstract
Agritourism is a crucial farm diversification strategy that is increasingly shaped by consumer interest in authentic, place-based experiences that reflect values such as agricultural stewardship, heritage, literacy, and transparency. For agritourism operators, communicating these values effectively is not only a marketing imperative, but also a way to attract values-aligned visitors, differentiate their offerings, and strengthen farm-to-community connections. As marketing becomes more digital and data-driven, county Extension practitioners play an important role in helping operators translate their values into clear and effective consumer-aligned messaging.
Building on work in agritourism marketing, market orientation, and technology readiness, this project used a structured survey of 58 agritourism operators to examine how operators communicate farming-related values, utilize market information, and employ digital tools to support marketing decisions. Findings show that while operators communicate values through storytelling, websites, social media, and signage, these efforts are not always supported by strategic systems for measuring/refining marketing performance related to visitor values. Sixty percent of respondents reported not using data analytics, 79% reported not using specific place-based marketing strategies, and 82% indicated that although they promote certain values, those values are not always embedded in a clearly defined place-based strategy. Results also identified barriers related to time, skills, and uncertainty regarding technology use, pointing to an opportunity in Extension programming.
These findings directly informed the development of Extension programming and outreach focused on values-aligned agritourism marketing. In response, the project identified priority educational needs in customer insight, digital tools, analytics, storytelling, and market positioning, and is using these findings to guide training materials, decision-support resources, and future programming for agritourism operators and practitioners. This presentation demonstrates how Extension can use applied research to help operators create values-aligned strategies to improve marketing effectiveness while strengthening farm viability and the public value of agritourism across diverse regions.
Authors: Stacey Stearns, Dee Singh-Knights, Chadley Hollas
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Stacey Stearns Educational Program Administrator, UConn Extension, Connecticut, 06269-4134
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Dee Singh-Knights Extension Professor, West Virginia University, West Virginia, 26506
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Chadley Hollas Principal, Cultivating Tourism, Georgia, 30603