26-05-2025
Agritourism booms in WA as farmers look to future-proof businesses
Agritourism is helping farmers in southern Western Australia future-proof their businesses and legacies as experts predict the sector will continue to boom.
The CSIRO estimates the industry, which involves farmers using a combination of tours, accommodation and hospitality to attract guests, will be worth $18.6 billion by 2030.
Raquel and Murray Johnson have been leasing part of their regenerative farm, Galloway Springs at Bridgetown, to the third-party owner of a tiny house for more than two years.
"Agritourism has been a really positive shift for our farm," Ms Johnson said.
"I was reluctant in the beginning to have people come on our farm, but it's proved to be so positive.
"We started off with just some bookings and two years later we're back-to-back pretty much all of the year."
Ms Johnson said since they started leasing the land the couple's agritourism operations had expanded.
A separate farmstay offering was added and they were considering the addition of a second tiny house.
"We've had visitors straight from South Korea and from Singapore," Ms Johnson said.
The farm was also diversifying its income streams via other regenerative practices.
"I do my own farm tours, so that's exactly why they're booking — to get onto farm and to see farm animals," Ms Johnson said.
"I get the opportunity to explain farming to them and … why healthy food matters and why supporting farmers locally or directly is really important."
Olio Bello general manager Brett Roberts said his olive farm's expansion into agritourism had been a "holistic" process.
He said the shift, which began seven years ago, had helped to create connections with prospective customers.
"We're a certified organic property, so with that comes costs," Mr Roberts said.
"Tourism plays a major part in getting people to the property and — if they like our products and like our story and understand what we're about — it helps in the way we sell them."
Mr Roberts believed the marriage of farming and tourism was essential for his business.
"Without the tourism experiences, people wouldn't come to Olio Bello," he said.
"So they do piggyback each other, but if we didn't have the farm, then we wouldn't have the tourism facilities here.
"While they rely on each other, we didn't start out to be a tourist destination — it was a way for us to get our story out."
A study led by University of Western Australia Associate Professor Kirsten Martinus identified location, authenticity, interaction and learning as key areas of importance for agritourism operations.
She also highlighted the need to reframe competition as collaboration.
"If you're in agriculture, agriculture itself is quite difficult financially," Dr Martinus said.
"It's also highly competitive, but the question is, should you be competing or should providers be collaborating?"
She said WA winemakers had shown the way in working collaboratively.
"Places like wine-growing regions have been really good at this, because it's not just about going to buy the wine," Dr Martinus said.
"They've got chocolate, they've got cheese — you've got all sorts of other experiences you can have.
"You start to broaden out the cohort that might be interested.
"If you can collaborate with others … suddenly, you grow your market."
