The main purpose of this research paper are aims to explore the
cooperative role of stakeholders in the public, private, community and public sectors
in the development of agricultural tourism networks in Chiang Mai. As well as to
study the level of participation in the development of an agro-tourism management
network and to evaluate the efficiency of cooperation networks in agro-tourism
management in Chiang Mai Province also to describe how developing linkages amongagriculture producers as government sector, private sector and famers who were
needed there to become tourism destination. The 280 respondents of this research
as all leaders, managers, owners, and members of agro-tourism activities in Chiang
Mai Province. Data collection during October 2015 - September 2016 was analyzed
by descriptive statistics using the following methods; 1) structured interview, 2) group
discussion, 3) observation by researcher 4) group forum and 5) questionnaire.
Agro-tourism is a marriage between two major industries. It is a
collection of Agricultural-based attractions, events and services that include
experiences like farm visits and tours, farmer’s market, agriculture festivals and fairs,
country vacation farms, guest ranches and market gardens. Agro-tourism can help to
bridge the gap between urban and rural populations. It is also one opportunity for
farm families to diversify revenues sources for their operation. It provides new market
opportunities and adds value to what they are already producing. In some cases the
addition of an agro-tourism venture has been known to assist in succession planning,
encouraging the younger generation to say or the farm and add enough revenue to
support more than one generation. Variable farms contribute to variable rural
economics. An agro-tourism cluster was defined as a group of like-minded
stakeholders and operators who come together to increase the profile for their
operations and geographic area along an agro-tourism theme. A flexible process such
as the agro-tourism cluster development initiative does not come without its
challenges. For example: 1) bringing together different players who are at different
level of development and commitment, and who have different needs, can present
a strangle when trying to find common ground. Even when common goals and
objectives are set, groups can sometime lose size of these as projects develop and
evolve, 2) learning tends to happen or an incremental level and marketing continues
to be a learning progression. Marketing strategizing and tracking have presented a
significant uphill learning curve, not only for operators, but also for stakeholders as
the specific market demands for agro-tourism are still in the process of being realized
and understood. In fact, the concept of agro-tourism can still carry a somewhat
negative stigma among some conventional or traditional players in both the tourism
and agriculture industries, as any emerging sector often does, 3) the result of an
industry still in its infancy stages is that there are operators who do not even realizethey have something to offer in agro-tourism and thereby don’t consider themselves
a part of the industry and 4) with the exception of one cluster group, most have
opted to maintain a fairly loose business structure. Although the flexibility can be
beneficial for changing players and needs, it can also present a challenge when
issues arise or the need for a formal body is required to apply for funding or speak to
the group needs.
Keywords: Agricultural Innovation, Sustainable Tourism