AGROTOURISM Principles and PracticesAcademic Year: 2009-10

Semester: SpringCourse Code: GRK209U

Istructor:

Student Name:Word Count: 3341

1. Gigliotto Agriturismo, <http://www.gigliotto.com/Gigliotto%20ENG/gigliottoENG.htm>

2. The enterprise (15 points)

Geographically, the

agritouristic enterprise

“Gigliotto” is situated in

the prosperous Sicilian

countryside of Southern

Italy, outspread on 300

hectares of fertile land,

cultivated by preserved

peasant tradition.

Initially, in 1296 the fief

belonged to Guglielmo

Padula, whereas

afterwards during the Aragon period, the Gravina Family became the new possessor

and split it in many parts in order to sell them. Furthermore, in 1794 Michel Gravina

sold Gigliotto to Silvio Bonnano and since then Gigliotto has always been property of

the Bonanno Family. Lastly, in 1990, the fief was bought by the Savoca Family.

Nowadays, as modern farmhouse refurbished from an old 14th century monastery,

the farm has idyllic surrounding; offering short distance availability to various touristic

places such as: Piazza Armerina (distinctive with its historic centre), and the well-

known Villa Imperiale del Casale (containing the world’s widespread compilation of

Roman mosaics). Consequently, other nearest places for trips are: Caltagirone,

Taormina, Agrigento, Siracusa, Noto and Ragusa Ibla. In addition, the farm owner’s

priority was to improve the contiguous region, thus invested in planting Nero d’Avola

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grapes with respect to scrupulous plan of minimizing the environmental impact.

Therefore, all the products offered are coming from biological and regional

cultivations accompanied by all flavored olive oil, and unsurpassed quality of organic

wine from the grapes of the Nero d’Avola variety. Nevertheless, the resources, which

the destination possesses, are extremely important towards generating agritourism

popularity and attractiveness.

3. Internal and external environment of the enterprise (10 points)

The internal environment of Gigliotto could be articulated in terms of

management practices including the agritourism products/services the farm offers,

as well as, customer relationships. Therefore, regarding the services the farm is

offering: 14 spaciously rooms, large dining room, traditional Sicilian cuisine,

swimming pool, free parking lot, conference room, and banquet facilities. Regarding

the accommodation, all rooms are fully equipped with traditional Sicilian furniture

giving the sense of an ancient atmosphere. The restaurant accommodates 250

guests, proffering traditional Sicilian kitchen with large portfolio of products coming

from biological and regional cultivations that are prepared by two highly professional

kitchen chefs and served by hospitable waiters (a waiter for every 15-20 people).

In addition, customer services in Gigliotto could be described as having moderate

communication with the hosts, high quality of food and various activities throughout

the vacation. Bur, however, slight improvement in the customer approach philosophy

could be considered as vital step towards future growth of the company.

The external environment comprises all the activities occurring in the general

environment outside of the company. These activities could directly or indirectly

affect the company’s operation, whereas the company itself does not have any

control over them. This environment is composed of numerous factors, commonly

depicted by the PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental

and legal) analysis (Kotler & Armstrong 2006, p.68).

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Political

Politically, the country maintains stable intercontinental relationships with all the

EU countries with reasonable level of democracy, ethnical and religious freedom in

the country. Therefore, there is a susceptible political regime with a multi-party

system, which can not equally ensure the certainty of law and the respect of

contractual rights in every region of the country. However lawsuits tend to be lasting

and expensive, thus could represent a risk in case of a contractual breach (Lucifora

& Moriconi 2009).

In southern Italy (including Sicily) the politics is based on factionalism and

corruption. In this region the Mafia has large impact on residents in terms of

socioeconomic level, holding back the prosperity of numerous businesses, and

bribing the political system. The Mafia is capable to provide safety measures that

other forms of government could not, conversely, in return they have a complete

supremacy over the economic development. Taking into consideration the political

instability of the southern region, Gigliotto enterprise is also affected by these forces,

which as a great threat decelerate the further growth of the company, holding it back

from the entrepreneurial capitalist economy. (Micali 2009).

Economic

The Italian economy is based on services and industry. The most influential

economic factors which might affect the tourism effectiveness in one country are:

discretionary household income, GDP, unemployment rate, and inflation rate.

According to (Global Property Guide 2010) the GDP (Gross Domestic product) per

capita in Italy is $38.966, with intervals alike to UK and Spain, but comparable lower

from countries such as: Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland, which is however, an

adequate amount of money to ensure the population to allocate some of its budget

for acquirement of deluxe products. In addition, the income in Italy is unequally

distributed, whereas Sicily characterize with high unemployment rates, considered to

be the poorest region of all. The employment rate at this area is divided into three

clusters: agricultural (12%), industry (20%) and tourism/commerce (68%) (Lane

2009). Therefore, merging the agricultural and tourism sector by developing

agritourism sites seems the best opportunity for enhancing the region’s economy,

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and creates a broad opportunity for Gugliotto’s company to grow progressively in the

years to come.

Social

Concerning the social life, the southern part of Italy (including Sicily)

characterize with more traditional and family oriented lifestyle where people are

getting married younger and then continue to live with their parents until the time

when they could afford a place on their own. Moreover, this type of particularism

could positively affect Gigliotto in terms of collectivism and hospitality in comparison

to universalism/individualism in the northern part of Italy. For example, southern

Italians are regarded as more hospitable because are showing more considerable

interest in worrying about other’s negative feelings in comparison to northern Italians

where they account greater worry for self achievement rather than developing

relationships with others (e.g. tourists) (Micali 2009).

Technological

Nowadays, almost all agrotourism enterprises are actively involved in

marketing their products, whereas most of them are using the internet technology to

reach their customers. The Gigliotto company could be considered as avant-garde

company because shows reliance on modern technology for communication by

using a Web page to promote its products/services. But, however, more

sophisticated technology is needed in the other sectors (e.g. production), if the

company wants to stay competitive in the area. For example, if Gigliotto wants to

preserve the ecosystem and be officially regarded as environmentally friendly, has to

implement renewable sources of energy such as solar panels and introduce

recycling practices by using the up-to-date technology.

Environmental

Concerning the Gigliotto’s impact toward the environment, the farm has already

disturbed the ecosystem of the area because its entire infrastructure is straddled

only in one area. Thus, to preserve the natural beauty the biodiversity of the area

must also be conserved so that the plants and animals that live there can continue to

do so. So far, the activities that are offered by the farm have diminutive damage to

the ecosystem, as long as most of these activities do not have to be changed in near

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future. Moreover, as long as the number of tourists is kept low, the threat of polluting

the environment through waste materials such as trash and sewage would remain

minimal. The company has great potential to expand on the biodiversity ecosystem

services by growing medicinal and herbal gardens (e.g. tea) for the tourist’s

enjoyment. However, the company should stimulate the preservation of the

environment by putting more pressure on the fragile eco system and the landscape,

thus will reduce the level of residues and scarcity of resources.

Legal

Agrotourism firm may face a broad range of legal issues, which all of them depend

mostly on the activities offered and the regulations within the state or locality where

the company operates. For example, some of the regulations that farmers should

implement before offering any food/beverages to customers is to ensure to apply the

local food standards as well as to obtain liquor licenses if alcohol is served within the

premises. Moreover, an insurance policy should be also provided if any transport

means are provided to tourists. Some additional legal issues could also be: zoning

restrictions, building codes, compliance with the Europeans with Disabilities Act,

taxation and business permits. However, Gigliotto enterprise fulfills almost all of

these regulations and one of them is that the company in its accommodation facilities

offers special room for people with mental/physical disabilities (Agritourism - An

Overview 2009).

4. List ten points that support the reasons for choosing this enterprise (10 points)

Situated in the heart of Sicily, (a wonderful artistic city distinguished by the old

buildings in baroque style).

Benedictine monastery constructed in the 13th century and then used as a

farmhouse for centuries, whereas present proprietors have refurbished it into

a flourishing Agriturismo cite.

Farm-based events such as weddings, festivals.

Farm-based attractions that might feature farm and regional familiarization.

Farm-based lodging such as bed and breakfasts on a farm

Farm-based recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, and camping

Sicilian cuisine prepared with organic products traditionally harvested by

hand.

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Mediterranean place due to its peculiar geographical position between the

Erei Mountains, and the presence of woods.

Educating consumers through instructive programs such as demonstrations

and guided tours.

Maintaining work at home rather than working off the farm.

5. Define agrotourism, rural tourism and sustainable development. Show how

agrotourism can provide opportunities for sustainable\ development. Explain

the reasons why the company you chose is an agrotourism enterprise and

discuss its role in providing (or not) opportunities for sustainable development.

(15 points)

The Agrotourism concept could be defined as an activity, or business venture that

combines primary elements and characteristics of agriculture and tourism, and

provides an experience for visitors that stimulates economic activity and impacts

both farm and community income. Nowadays, agrotourism plays a crucial role in

sustaining the rural way of life, allowing farmers to intensify their activities while

contributing to the conservation of the area’s historical and cultural heritage.

Therefore, the numerous advantages that agrotourism proffer is to provide seasonal

employment opportunities within a society and new/supplementary sources of

revenue for farmers. Thus, agrotourism represents a modern approach for many

farm families to retain their farming traditions (Wolfe & Bullen).

(Cooper et al., 2005, p. 264) used the WTO (1980) definition as the best way to

describe the Sustainable Tourism Concept: “Sustainable tourism development meets

the needs of the present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing

opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources

in such way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while

maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes and biological diversity

and life support systems”. The three main elements: economical, social-cultural and

ecological, of the process of sustainability are used within this theory, implying that

the sustainable tourism concept is made up by correlation between the community-

based economics, conservation with equity and integration of the environment with

the economy.

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Rural tourism is conceived as any type of tourism that displays the rural life,

historical and cultural heritage at rural places, thereby contributing socially and

economically to the wellbeing of the rural inhabitants, as well as, facilitating contacts

between the tourists and the locals for enhancing tourism practices. In other words,

rural tourism is basically an activity (fishing, hunting, eco – tours, hiking), which takes

place in the countryside (less than 2000 habitants) (Wolfe & Bullen). According to

this definition, rural areas offer special enchantment to tourists because of the

inscrutability associated with the rural environment by providing fabulous glimpse of

the village atmosphere with local cuisine, whereas the housing for tourists is

constructed in traditional village architecture. Consequently, rural tourism may or

may not be designed to generate a supplemental income for the farmer, but could be

regarded as a business venture of travel and tourism professionals (Pakurar & Olah

2008).

The prime reasons why Gigliotto enterprise was chosen is the fact that

represents a real agrotourism company with corrective actions toward sustainable

tourism development. According to (Utama 2007) the company comprises several

principles of the agrotoursim concept that are regarded as essential for sustainable

development. Therefore, Gigliotto commences and influences local community as

being regulator and preserver of the tourism, where the tourism activities are

regulated by the governmental bodies of the host district. Furthermore, the farm

creates employment opportunities and enhances farmer’s awareness on tourism

sustainable development through continuous education and training programs. Thus,

results in eventually sustaining cultural/natural conservation and increases tourist

arrivals and continuity of the business in the village.

6. Show what the experience that agrotourism gives to tourists are and what

their main interests are. Indicate which of these your enterprise offers and

what should be done in order to attract more tourists. Indicate, according to

your opinion, whether your enterptise offers a full and differentiated

agrotourism product. (15 points)

Nowadays, agrotourism is developing incredibly fast because tourists aspire

to escape from their everyday worries in order to visit and experience different

natural places. Therefore, users of agrotourism services want to avoid mass tourism

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and their main purpose is to getaway from the stress and working places. In most

cases, tourists seek destinations that provide value for their holiday money. They are

interested in maximum contact with nature and in warm relationships with people.

Additionally, they seek for authentic local culture that will provide them natural

products, activities and quality accommodation ensuring peace and rest.

Consequently, these visits are mainly beneficial for the locals to gain additional

income by providing guided tours in their regional most attractive surroundings (Beus

2008).

In Gigliotto’s case, all the resources which the farmhouse possesses are

important towards generating agrotourism popularity and attractiveness. The

activities which could encourage people to come to Gigliotto are numerous such as:

horseback riding including lessons, excursions and guided tours, trekking, daily

cleaning and linen changes, camping, agricultural activities (wine tasting, olive oil

picking, mushrooms and tea

collection), fishing on the small

lake near the farm, hunting and

archery. These set of activities

have minor impact toward the

natural environment that make the

company an authentic touristic

place to be visited. Moreover, for

the company to attract more customers, it could be suggested to create a more

scrupulous plan of future activities with more appropriative ways of managing their

impact to the environment. Concerning the existing products/services, the company

characterize with full and differentiated products/services such as: personal contact

with guests and traditional local agricultural produce (e.g. local cuisine).

7. Define and explain the congruence and dissonance between agrotourism and

other alternative forms of tourism. Indicate how your enterprise is using (or

not) other forms of tourism in order to increase the services provides. Present

what you think are the most suitable key steps your enterprise should take on

order to be stronger in the tourism market. (15 points).

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The difference between agritourism and agrotourism is that the term agritourism

defines the totality of tourist activities taking place within the framework of the farm,

by individuals primarily occupied in agriculture, with a view to creating supplementary

income for the family members. While the term ‘agrotourism’ refers to tourist

activities developed by permanent residents of rural areas for whom farming is not

the principal occupation and who create small scale agrotourist units offering both

services and products, of a family-run or co-operative form (Grigoryan 2010).

In addition, alternative tourism is used to portray the opposite of mass tourism,

distinguished by having negligible impact toward the environment, by being small

scale and locally based and preferably

stimulating the local economy while

preserving cultural identity. Moreover,

many types of alternative tourism exist

such as: sports tourism, religious

tourism, spa tourism, wildlife and

adventure tourism. Therefore, it is

acknowledged that agritourism as an

umbrella definition comprises all the

alternative types of tourism, thus

Gigliotto, besides the regular

agritourism activities, indirectly provides

other types of tourism such as:

ecotourism, natural and cultural tourism

(Williams 2004, pp. 171-185)

Ecotourism is conscientious form of tourism that conserves natural resources and

sustains the welfare of the local population/community. In this case, tourists would

expect to be guided by well-informed person, to visit places of natural exquisiteness

such as: caves, waterfalls, wildlife, forests etc. However, if not properly managed

due to unsustainable and inequitable resource use, this sort of tourism could be a

major source for degradation of local ecological, economic and social systems

(Williams 2004, pp. 206-224).

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Natural tourism, as an interrelated part of ecotourism, is primarily described in

terms of recreation with diminutive ecological impact that includes broad spectrum of

activities such as: water rafting, skiing, fishing, hunting etc.). This type of tourism has

positive attributes due to the pollution free environment and heaps of greenery

(Haldar 2007, p.115). Moreover, the region on which Gigliotto is located is not scarce

in natural biodiversity, since it involves presence of local animals and plants,

especially found in that area. Additionally, the natural attributes of the lake area near

the farm are considered as valuable asset for the farm because it gives the

opportunity for tourist to be engaged in fishing activities, bird watching, and picking of

herbs/teas.

Cultural tourism is associated with the cultural, historical and archeological

characteristics of local people that could involve forts from medieval period,

archeological excavations, festivals, etc (Haldar 2007, p.116). The farm itself offers

cultural tourism because of its ancient architectural surrounding, based on a

historical background from the medieval period. The farm is near to many places of

historical heritage such as the well-known Villa Imperiale del Casale that contains

the world’s widespread compilation of Roman mosaics and Piazza Armerina,

distinctive with its historic centre. Some fairs/festivals are also arranged within the

farm, which makes the farm sociable and admirable place to be visited.

Nevertheless, in order to be stronger and attract more customers, the enterprise

should keep track and be up to date with the competitors’ activities and technological

developments.

8. Identify the company’s marketing tools and evaluate the company’s strategy.

Explain how agrotourism is interrelated with small business economics,

service marketing, sustainable agriculture, and what legal issues an

agrotourism firm may face. Make recommendations according to the strengths

and weaknesses of the company. (15 points)

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To market the agritourism business, Gigliotto should start offering extensive

quality products/services and marketing them more efficiently, thus guests would be

more interested to come and visit the agritouristic site. So, with more attentive

management strategy, these guests could become loyal/repetitive customers that

through word of mouth could also encourage their friends to come. Consequently,

this could enhance the forthcoming farm revenue projections. For example, through

the festival/fair activities that the company provides, it creates opportunities to

promote its products/services to travelers, as well as to enhance awareness of

agricultural issues and stress the importance of farming to society.

In addition, an extensive range of governmental laws and regulations compose

the system in which an agrtourism enterprise should operate, thus all agritourism

companies must act in compliance with these regulations. Since, Gigliotto is

considered as relatively novice firm in the farm county, the legal obligations for such

activities are likely to differ regionally. Therefore, in this region, the policies that

influence the agritourism development are interrelated to broader governmental acts

and regulations. Being familiar with these rules and knowing how they relate to these

particular agritourism cite prior to development activities could evade unnecessary

time and money investments (Cultivating Agritourism p.21)

In addition, SWOT analysis was used to easily determine the strengths and

weaknesses of the company, as well as the presence of opportunities and threats as

external factors affecting the company (see Appendix 1). Moreover, SWOT analysis

is in fact a technique by which could be identified the strengths, and weaknesses, as

well as observed the opportunities and threats of an organization. This technique is

frequently used to measure the company’s efficiency and effectiveness. (SWOT

Analysis 2008).

Recommendations

The encouragement of tourists to revisit the place is provisional and mainly

depends on infrastructure development. For example, the Gigliotto farmhouse should

provide up to date technology to foster communication channels between locals and

tourists, and to take the advantage of existing commercialization processes of

certain tourist destinations (e.g. Piazza Armerina). In this way the company must

promote itself, as well as the vicinity of the area in order to be recognized and

Module: Agrotourism Principles and Practices Page 11 of 18 Spring 2010

exploited outside to prospective agro tourists. For instance, in this particular case

study, there is no rail in the area, which confines the potential of those who do not

have cars, but are willing to visit the place. Moreover, considering the average level

of languages spoken (preferably English), it is unavoidable that inhabitants must

constantly improve their English terminology and gain knowledge of other languages

as well, if they want to stay competitive, and attract or keep customers. However,

more intensive promotion of the place on the Internet or in other media sources is

considered to be crucial precondition that might result with greater number of foreign

tourists in near future.

Conclusion

To summarize, in the light of the above considerations, the case study

represents a preliminary examination of the issues and challenges associated to

Gigliotto’s agritourism development. The enterprise has clearly articulated its

products and services in association to agritourism policies/practices. Therefore,

since agritourism is considered as an apparent alternative of supplementary income

for many farmers, the development of the region through rural tourism is

proportionally linked to the recorded revenues of Gigliotto. In this way the socio

economic status in the area is improved from the offerings of new jobs by the

company. Moreover, by using the wonderful circumambient of the location, Gigliotto

as well-structured enterprise is able to offer genuine agritourism experiences with

relatively moderate range of activities. But, however, because of the state of the agri-

tourism industry, Gigliotto appear reluctant to embrace and to endorse agritourism in

its marketing campaigns, being unable to successfully promote itself to potential

customers. Nevertheless, further research is needed in order to convey insights that

will improve the future development of the company.

Module: Agrotourism Principles and Practices Page 12 of 18 Spring 2010

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Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D and Wanhill, S. (2005), Tourism:

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Module: Agrotourism Principles and Practices Page 13 of 18 Spring 2010

Cultivating Agritourism: A Guide for Establishing Agritourism Resource Centres in

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Module: Agrotourism Principles and Practices Page 15 of 18 Spring 2010

Appendixes:Appendix 1. SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

   

The only agritourism enterprise in the locale having extensive historic background

Inadequate promotion of local agro-tourist potential (e.g. inconspicuous online marketing)

Maintains a prominent brand name in the area

Not presence of renewable sources of energy or recycling.

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In propinquity with famous touristic cites and major cities

Limited amount of activities offered

Excellent Sicilian cuisine made of organic products

Limited possibility of using modern means of payment: credit cards, traveler’s checks

Conditions conducive to engaging in agro-tourism The absent of transport by rail

Mountainous area with attractive landscape

Poor proffesional training of personall providing services in the agrotouristic place

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

Feasible opportunities for subventions from European/World organization’s funds

Economic downturns could result in tourist decline

Extending the portfolio of activities offered

Possibility for the company to transform itself into a mass tourism organization

Implementing/developing new renewable sources of energy and recycling practices

Probability of rapid growth of new/existing competitors in the forthcoming years

Promoting the area image and The continuous deterioration of

Module: Agrotourism Principles and Practices Page 17 of 18 Spring 2010

the possibilities for attracting aboriginals and foreign investors.

Valorization of the tourist area

the environment and the existing deficiency in restoring ecological balance.

Inconsistent policy on tourism and rural tourism at central level

Fructification of cultural exchange to understand better customer’s expectation

Misunderstanding of tourists expectations

 

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