Status and Prospects of Agri-tourism in the Province of La Union, Philippines

This study deals on agri-tourism farms in the province of La Union, branded as the “Heart of Agri-tourism in Northern Luzon”. This study identified the socio-economic profile of the farm owners, business profile, current status, levels of awareness, acceptability and readiness of the farms for the requisites of the IRR in agri-tourism farm accreditation and its relationships with socio-economic factors. The descriptive research design was used. Farm owners/managers of 16 identified agri-tourism farms were the respondents of the study. Findings revealed that most of the farms were sole proprietorship and were owned dominantly by male who are college graduates and are married. Majority of the farms are accredited by DOT and ATI. There is an increasing trend of visitorship in the last three years while major problems encountered were unfavorable environmental factors and inaccessibility to clients. Age, sex and educational attainment were not significantly related with levels of awareness, acceptability and readiness of the farms for the requisites in accreditation. Considering the salient findings, a recommended strategic plan for agri-tourism was prepared for the enhancement of the provincial strategic tourism development plan. Salient findings of the study imply the need for the following: intensive trainings to enhance agri-tourism farm management skills; massive dissemination and promotion of the IRR for agri-tourism farm accreditation; provision of avenues for financial and marketing assistance; and product diversification to boost revenues during low season. The results of the study are deemed contributory to the current limited research data on agri-tourism in the Philippines.

Keywords –accreditation, agri-tourism, correlation, strategic plan