This website serves Farmers and Ranchers in the Kansas AgriTourism Industry.
For family outings, go to http://www.travelks.com

Welcome to Kansas AgriTourism!

This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
The site is a project of the Kansas Agritourism Advisory Council, working in cooperation with:
the Kansas Agriculture Marketing Division and the Travel and Tourism Division of the Department of Commerce
and with financial assistance from Frontier Farm Credit.
We invite you to explore this website to find a variety of articles and resources that will help you succeed in agritourism.
If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, and ask for the Agritourism Liaison.
The Kansas AgriTourism
Advisory Council
 
Join the Kansas AgriTourism
Mailing List
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Resources for Kansas AgriTourism

Whether you are an established agritourism enterprise, or a farmer or rancher just starting to relate with the tourism industry, this website is collection of articles and resources that will help you advance to the next step.

  • How To Articles
    • Starting your new business
    • Marketing
    • Increasing Sales
    • Adding new enterprises
    • Obtaining Free Publicity
    • Developing Your Website
    • Evaluating Your Business
  • Case Studies covering a broad variety of Kansas agritourism enterprise
  • Resources-who to contact, who can help
  • Benefits and instructions to register your agritourism program
  • Buyers guide to find products and services for your farm or ranch

For additional assistance, please feel free to contact the Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, and ask for the Agritourism Liaison.

Why Agritourism?

Agritourism is the crossroads of tourism and agriculture.

The majority of our nation's population no longer lives in rural communities, and fewer and fewer have a clear concept of how their food is grown. They've not given much thought to the special equipment and very special people it requires to plant, nurture and harvest fruits, nuts, livestock, vegetables, and dairy products.

Surprisingly, many had also forgotten how very different life was in their own urban environment: they didn't have the clear blue skies and star lite nights, the air wasn't as clean and fresh, the pace wasn't as relaxed and natural.

Today, one of the biggest trends in the tourism industry is the return of these urban dwellers to their urban roots:

  • Family outings to the apple orchard or a morning picking their own strawberries.
  • A challenging weekend on horse back reliving an authentic cattle drive.
  • A fall outing to the pumpkin patch or the apple orchard
  • A relaxing weekend touring a wine trail of neighboring vineyards
  • A farm stay, retreated so far back in the country that a cell phone signal is out of the question, and out of mind!

Inviting guests onto the farm can create much needed supplemental income, or for some, it can become a major factor in your family livelihood, reducing dependency on varying commodity prices, seasonal weather patterns, and availability of labor and resources.

For the urban visitors, agritourism is an opportunity to rediscover the rural bounty of Kansas. It is a chance to relax and enjoy friends and family, to discover healthier lifestyles and foods, and in some cases to challenge oneself--either by exploring the solitude to be alone with your own thoughts, or the physical endurance required to put in a day's work on the ranch or farm.