Willingness to initiate spice-tourism in the Kolonna District Secretariat of Ratnapura district in Sri Lanka: Farmers’ perspective

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the factors affecting the establishment of spice tourism in spice gardens in Sri Lanka, based on farmers' perception including their willingness to start agro-tourism destinations. A sample of 60spice-growing farmers was randomly selected for the study from among those who have registered under the Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) in the Kolonna District Secretariat (DS) division in the Ratnapura district of Sri Lanka. A field survey was conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data collection was conducted during from January to April 2014. Descriptive statistics and Chi Square test were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that the majority of the spicegrowing farmers were males and above 50 years old. They had education up to G.C.E. Ordinary Level (O/L), more than five members in a family, and long term experience in farming. The main reasons for farmers to start spice tourism destinations were better usage of the farm's resources, employment opportunities for the family members, support from other existing tourist location and the interest or being a hobby. Furthermore, middle-age farmers having a significant level of education, large size of farm, higher annual income of the family, high profit from farm, large family size and long term experiences had associations with willingness to start spice tourism destinations. The study concluded that there is a significant number of positive factors for farmers to establish spice tourism in the Kolonna DS division. The government of Sri Lanka could assist this endeavor by giving education and training, improving infrastructure facilities and also motivating and assisting farmers to establish spice tourism destinations in the Kolonna DS division as an extra income generating activity.

A Review of Quantitative Studies in Agritourism: The Implications for Developing Countries

“…Thus, identifying the general implications for agritourism development based on the supply and demand for agritourism development is necessary. Since agritourism in developing countries is in the developing phase [2,4], it is necessary to understand the conditions applied, as well as points requiring scrutiny, for agritourism development and modification. Therefore, agritourism development guidelines can be examined through supply, demand, and both supply-and demand-side perspectives (Figure 1).…”

“…Agritourism development in developing countries is essential for the alleviation of poverty and rural development. However, the pace of agritourism's growth in developing countries, especially in the South Asian countries, is delayed as compared with the pace of that in developed countries [1][2][3][4][5]. Agritourism development is primarily based on farmers' willingness [1,2] and the ability to establish the necessary infrastructure [6][7][8], as well as tourists' interest in visiting such attractions [9][10][11].…”

“…More specifically, agritourism development and sustainability depend on supply and demand factors and exploring those factors sheds light on the conditions for agritourism development from the supply and demand perspectives [10,12]. However, the agritourism studies are majorly focused on the developed countries [13], and research on agritourism in developing countries is limited [2,4]. Therefore, this study aims to review the literature on agritourism from the supply and demand perspectives, which were not performed fully in agritourism literature, and explore the possible implications for agritourism development in developing countries, especially in Nepal.…”

“…Agritourism boasts of a long history in developed countries [18], but its expansion in developing countries, especially in the South Asian countries, remains limited. As developing countries have either limited or no agritourism [2,4], reviewing the existing literature can provide a further understanding of the current agritourism trends, which contribute to developing new forms of agritourism and modify existing ones. More precisely, the review of supply and demand in this sector identifies reasons for the success of agritourism and the implications for developing countries.…”

Measuring the Success of Women Led “Dry Zone Home Gardening” Program with Organic Amendments in Sri Lanka

“…Further, any form of credit facilitation, establishment of women cooperatives and training would be able to help themselves. Malkanthi et al, (2015) has also highlighted these issues if they are to start as small ventures.…”