Do you have a picturesque landscape that you want to share with others? Maybe you live near some natural features like rivers and waterfalls. Or existing tourist destinations such as ski fields or mountain bike tracks? Here are some ways you can maximize these opportunities.
Camping
Allowing camping on your land may require some checking of local planning regulations. You will need some basic infrastructure like an ablution block and a kitchen area. There’s also the decision to allow RVs or just tents. You might need a more formed roadway for heavier vehicles like RVs and campers. If there are no other camp sites in your area, this could be a great source of income.
Air BnB
Everyone seems to be doing this these days. The trick is to have something very niche and scenic. We are planning some fully self contained eco cabins in super private, special locations on our farm. Guests will want their privacy, so make sure it is away from your main home area. You can add extra value by including cook-your-own dinner meal packs from your garden, or breakfast offerings. Look around at what you’ve got, there might be an unused barn or stable that would make an amazing air BnB full of character!
Farm tours
People are really valuing experiences over material purchases. So when they travel, they want to do something local; something they haven’t done before. It doesn’t always need to be adrenalin-filled. Some ideas include pick your own berries. The options are as endless as the number of different berries you can grow. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, loganberries, gooseberries. You can add to your income by doing preserving demonstrations or gifts.
It’s not only berries, people want to pick flowers, too. This will more likely be local people rather than international travelers. But its a lovely opportunity to build a community of customers and families can make it a picnic day out. You can offer fresh flowers or dried. Again, you can demonstrate how they are dried, or do kids’ activities making crafts for them to take home.
Some tourists want to see what the countryside has to offer. They want to see animals and learn about where products come from. City-dwellers often have a disconnect between food and source, and when they travel they want to venture out of their comfort zone and learn something. Offering sheep shearing or cow milking demonstrations is a great way to bridge this disconnect and help others learn about their environment and the providence of their food.
You can link in with other small businesses such as local tours or accommodation providers and combine skills to make a tourism package.
Horse riding
A lot of tourists on holiday want to ride horses in exotic locations. Maybe you live near a beach or river and have some quiet horses. Make sure you have the right insurances and accident waivers in place before providing this. You could branch out and offer other tours or treks like donkey, camel or oxen depending on where you live. You can hire backpackers as tour guides. There are exchange websites where people arrange free accommodation in return for set hours of work or farm duties. And many people who want to volunteer on farms can ride horses or are willing to learn!
Workshops
If you have some specialist skills like wool processing or soap-making, cheese-making or bread-baking, you can create a workshop for tourists to enjoy. Combine your local flair and culture to create a day to remember! Something like this can draw tourists from near and far to learn new skills or have an experience like no other. Travelers want to spend their money on experiences rather than objects that will only take up space in their luggage. This will require some set up and space to hold the workshop, as well as duplicate equipment for guests to use such as ovens, forges, benches or spinning wheels. Here at Little Forge Farm, we’re planning on doing tool-making blacksmithing workshops such as knives, axes and hammers.