Marijke Dunselman, founder and chief executive of AgriTourism NZ, has returned from the largest Global Agritourism Conference ever, which took place in Scotland and drew 550 delegates from 50 countries. New Zealand sent a delegation of 25 people to the three-day event.

“One of my main findings is that agritourism is no longer niche,” she says.

“It’s a powerful global trend.”

She delivered a talk at the conference on education and collaboration with Allison Clark of Agritourism Tasmania, using RockRidge in Canterbury as a case study.

“RockRidge is an amazing story of collaboration, where you have two farms working together and developing a high-end, high-quality experience with accommodation, all meals provided, and a two-day walk.”

She says New Zealand has more than 25 similar multi-day walks, whereas UK farms are smaller, and serve a larger population, leaning towards retail outlets and you-pick operations.

“That’s something that I haven’t seen a lot of in other countries around the world – our agritourism-based businesses are more focused around accommodation, because they’re usually further away from main centres.”

She visited agritourism operations in Scotland a year ago and returned this year for a day of conference field trips. She found that New Zealand’s industry is unmatched in quality.

“We are arguably the most beautiful country in the world, and our farms are in the most spectacular locations.

“If you look at the farms that people are walking on, you’re there with only 10 or 20 people, and that’s it. You’ve got the whole place to yourself.

She says the standard of professionalism in the industry is continually improving.

“People are willing to pay good money because they come away with something that they will remember forever.”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.