Project

Tourism mindset in agriculture

of farmers in the Wilder Kaiser region

How do farmers perceive the current development of tourism and what is their attitude towards tourism? What expectations are there for cooperation between agriculture and tourism?

Theresa Mitterer-Leitner (Senior Lecturer MCI Tourism) investigated these questions on behalf of the Wilder Kaiser Tourism Association and conducted in-depth interviews with 21 farmers, their partners or successors from a total of twelve different farms.

Objective

This study examines the perception of and attitudes towards tourism among farmers in the Wilder Kaiser tourism region, which comprises the Tyrolean municipalities of Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau and Going. The region is characterized by a balanced share of winter and summer overnight stays, with summer tourism growing at an above-average rate compared to other regions in Tyrol. Agriculture in the region is characterized by grassland-based cattle farming and has an above-average proportion of organic farms (52%) and full-time farms (42%).
Specifically, the following research questions are addressed:

What are the attitudes of farmers and their families towards tourism and the leisure industry in the Destination Wilder Kaiser and how do they perceive current developments?
What expectations do farmers have of cooperation with the tourism and leisure industry (destination management organization, cable cars, hotels and restaurants, guides)?
What specific aspects are particularly important to farmers in cooperation with the tourism and leisure industry with regard to the use of their land (compensation, non-monetary aspects, visitor guidance, maintenance of infrastructure, etc.)?

Method

In this study, a qualitative survey design was used, in which guided, semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to collect data. A total of 21 people from twelve different businesses in the Wilder Kaiser tourism region were interviewed. The interviewees in this study are the business managers and their partners or successors.

Results

In addition to the presentation of the results on the development of agriculture, the results of the analysis are presented according to the five sources of conflict, whereby the factor "attitude and relationship" comprises the basic attitude of agriculture towards tourism. Finally, implications and recommendations for action are derived.

All results and recommendations for action can be found in the final report "Farmers' attitudes towards tourism in the Wilder Kaiser region".