Agritourism research : a perspective article

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarize the substantial descriptive, ontological and epistemological advances of agritourism research from its origins. It also envisions how agritourism spaces and research will develop in the next 75 years. Design/methodology/approach: Building upon the existing literature and existing agriculture and tourism trends, this paper elucidates on the future of agritourism spaces and research. Findings: Agritourism research has made substantial descriptive, ontological and epistemological advances to consolidate its scholarly significance as an object of study. Future agritourism will be a continuum ranging from ag-interpretation to ag-themed spaces. Future research efforts should address where agritourism, as a farm diversification strategy, ends along the educational–recreational continuum, and how can agritourism spaces better assist to negotiate societal growing dissonances emanated from the rural–urban gap. Originality/value: This note envisions how agritourism spaces will evolve in the next 75 years, and thus the issues that future research should address, as a result of agricultural and tourism trends.