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Agricultural TourismUnique Niches - Agritourism in Britain and New England
Section 4: Agritourism in New England continuedThe Agritourism Market in Connecticut, Vermont and New York Eastern Connecticut Tourism is an important component of the Connecticut economy and is considered one of the six key industry clusters in the state. Prior to the end of the cold war, the military was the largest employer in the area, with the nuclear submarine base at Norwich. In the last five years, two Indian tribes have developed gambling facilities. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council built Foxwood Casino five years ago near Preston, and the Mohegan tribe built a smaller casino across the river in a former nuclear facility. Under the guidance and oversight of 11 tourism districts, agritourism is an important niche. Farms, vineyards, apples, pick your own, and promotional trails are organized, published and promoted by the two district areas I visited. The area's dairies developed a farm diversity brochure describing products sold at their farms. Several dairy farms have set up retail ice cream stands near busy byways that have been quite profitable. Vermont In Vermont, the two biggest industries are tourism and agriculture. As University of Vermont Extension Specialist Bob Townsend said in his talk with participants at a recent agritourism workshop at the Sheep and Wool Festival in Killington, "Your customer is three to four generations removed from the farm and they've seen the Disney cow, and Ben and Jerry's cow but not a real cow." He added, "..they want the real thing, to see and talk with the farmer." They don't want to drive or travel too far as they're taking smaller trips more often of two to three day stays. This is the market that Vermont is geared towards in combining farm and tourism experiences. Vermont is fortunate enough to be the right size and scale that one equates Vermont's name with scenic beauty, agricultural products, farms and places to stay (Vallliere, 1996). Vermont has a very sophisticated, single minded tourism support group. The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing teamed with University of Vermont to create the Vermont Tourism Data Center whose staff in turn provide clearinghouse support and statistics to a variety of nature based, historical, recreational and agricultural tourism ventures. An agritourism committee formed recently and their activities are described in detail further ahead in this section. Roger Clapp handles the agricultural marketing support for the state's Department of Agriculture at the capital in Montpelier, and his department helps small groups starting up with organization and promotion. They're also working with 15 cheese producers in the state to promote Vermont cheeses. For example, the Vermont Land Trust provided funds to start an apprenticeship program with Major Farms to teach six apprentices how to milk and care for their herds, and make "green" sheep cheese. Roger states, "In Vermont there is a clear understanding that we need to diversify our attractions, letting people know we're more than maple syrup and maple leaves." Annually, 22 million people cross the state without stopping. The agritourism committee members are trying to package different experiences together such as gourmet get away packages with different meals and overnight accommodations at farms to encourage more of these travelers to stop and visit. New York New York's agricultural industry is the largest in the state, with over 32,000 farms selling produce valued at over $18 billion annually. Agritourism combines this industry with New York's second largest industry-tourism. Unfortunately New York suffers from some of the same marketing problems as California. Because it is so large, visitors tend to think of New York City as synonymous with the state, overshadowing it's rural or other more scenic aspects.
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