There are 8 lessons:

The Scope and Nature of Rural and Agricultural Tourism

• Background and History of Farm Tourism
• Forms of Agribusiness for Managers and Farmers
• Agritourism Beyond the Farm
• Types of Agricultural Tourism
• Possible Issues
• Animal Welfare

2.  Creating an Agritourism Setting

• Planning Your Offering
• Resource Management
• Selecting Target Markets – Market Segmentation
• Marketing Approaches
• Legal and Health & Safety Requirement

3.  Managing an Agritourism Business

• Managing the Physical Resources
• Managing People
• Setting up and Running a Farm Shop

4. Agricultural Tourism Accommodation

• Styles of Accommodation
• Costing Accommodation
• Maintenance
• Farm Tours and Activities
• Identifying Major Target Groups
• Tours Within the Farm
• Tour Schedules and Bookings

5. Designing and Conducting Tours and Activities

• Creating and Delivering Activities
• Creating Activities Outside the Farm – Mobile & Online

6. Agritourism Events

• Types of Agricultural Events
• Planning for an Agricultural Event
• Phases of Delivering an Agricultural Event
• Dealing with Event Issues
• Managing Visitor Access

7. Marketing and Promoting an Agritourism Business

• Introduction to Customer Relationships
• Customer Care Policy
• Customer Care – Levels of Involvement
• Effective Communication
• Dealing with Complaints
• Self-Evaluation
• Maximising Customer Service
• Importance of Market Research
• Analysing Costs and Benefits

8. Special Project – PBL – Design a Farm Tour Activity Problem-Based Learning Project

• Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Determine agritourism prospects for a property or wider community in a rural area.
• Identify and plan development of potential agritourism attractions.
• Explain critical tasks that require management in an agritourism enterprise.
• Compare options for providing accommodation facilities and services for agricultural tourism.
• Explain some of the considerations for designing and conducting various activities for agricultural tourism, including farm tours.
• Explore the diverse activities possible for agritourism and your region and globally.
• Identify the most appropriate agritourism marketing tools to effectively promote your business.
• Create and present a plan with specific strategies for integrating an element of farm tourism into the operation of an existing agricultural business.

• Find and investigate marketing materials that promote agritourism.
• Observe behaviours of the animals in agritourism and consider the animal welfare.
• Identify potential hazards in agribusiness including how event organisers mitigate hazards.
• Perform a S.W.O.T. analysis to help identify the events Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in an agritourism business.
• Investigate the creation, sales or service of a food product related to an agribusiness, such as a café, food truck or road-side stall.
• Research how and where you might go to recruit staff for your business including seasonal workers such as backpackers or fruit pickers.
• Consider the physical and safety resources required to run an agribusiness.
• Identify utilities and furnishings that you both consider to be essential and non-essential.
• Identify of costs associated with the accommodation (budget, intermediate and luxury) and estimate amounts for each.
• Explore and experience virtual or mobile farm tour activities.
• Create a mind map for an agritourism event that you would like to run.
• Identify the apparent success of an agritourism attraction based on observations such as potential income and public interest.
• Research examples of advertising for agribusiness events in your area (billboards, signs, pamphlets, tv or radio advertisements, email etc) and conduct a cost benefit analysis, considering things like longevity, reach, target audience and monetary cost.
• Integrate theoretical information to derive sensible solutions to potential problems involved in integrating farm tourism.

HERE ARE A LIST  OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF AGRIBUSINESS IDEAS FOR FARMERS

A farm’s approach to agritourism is defined based on the level of income arising from its activities.

Whichever level of agritourism you want to incorporate into your farming business, you need to consider the range of attractions that might suit your purposes and fit neatly alongside your existing activities.

Some of the types of attractions that might suit a farm-based tourist attraction include:

• Wine or food tasting
• Demonstrations such as shearing, rodeo, mustering, and manufacturing (e.g., making wine, beer, cheese, blacksmithing,
• Talks, lectures, videos – educational agritourism can support both school-based activities and international agricultural tourism activities
• Displays- museums, animals
• Participation – pick your own fruit, cooking class, gardening class
• Guided tour of farm
• Entertainment (country music, drama/historic play)
• Scarecrow competitions/displays
• Tractor rides/hayrides
• Petting section or feeding goats/alpacas/pigs/chickens
• Picnic areas
• Trail rides/horse activities
• Farm shop (organic/local produce plus souvenirs)
• Scavenger hunts
• Maze activities
• Country markets/artisan products and services
• Farm stays/bed & breakfast/camping or glamping (yurts or unusual accommodation)
• Fishing – freshwater participation (catch your own), fish, shellfish farming plus aquaculture
• Paintballing/adventure tourism events
• Pilgrimage or retreat activities
• Horticultural therapy/Forest bathing
• Sponsor an animal
• Animal rehabilitation

OTHER TYPES OF AGRITOURISM AWAY FROM THE FARM

Agritourism attractions can be found or developed around any agriculture related activity. Apart from on farm experiences, it might also include attractions built around services that support farming or products derived from farms. For example:

• Factory – especially one that develops agricultural products, for example cheese or leather factories or a smokehouse (for smoking fish or meats).
• Railway
• Farm equipment supplies
• Purpose built attractions such theme parks
• Farm themed events, restaurants, shows, museums, historic village,
• Urban farm enterprise

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. What qualification will I receive?
A. For individual modules, you would be awarded a Certificate endorsed by TQUK (Training Qualifications, UK), providing you complete all assignments and the exam. If you just want to complete only the assignments and not sit for the exam or finish a Project, then a Letter of Achievement would be awarded. For more details on qualifications available please click here.

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.