Prospects of agritourism development for the domestic market: case of Mauritius

Abstract

Since agritourism is in its infancy in Mauritius and limited information is available on the topic, the aim of the study was to examine potential visitors’ perceptions of agritourism development. A qualitative approach to inquiry was used and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 respondents through convenience sampling. Information were collected on the awareness of agritourism, desired expectations and experiences and potential challenges to engage in agritourism. Interviews were supported by the photo-elicitation technique where pictures were selected by the research team prior to the interviews to aid participants to visualise agritourism in case they were not familiar with the concept. The findings reveal that agritourism is an unfamiliar and new concept for the domestic market although the literature acknowledges that it is a widely adopted form of tourism in many parts of the world. Moreover, the study also showed that contextual considerations might pose challenges to the development of agritourism specially the very small size of farms in this island destination. Low income and limited level of service may also be a challenge for small entrepreneurs, yet, this study showed that visitor experience can still be enhanced with minimal primary facilities. Moreover, enterprises with small farm settings may be able to consolidate their product offer by focusing on authenticity and engaging experiences such as the discovery of the local food journey and hands-on food preparation.