The town of Watkins Glen is part of Schuyler County with a population just under 20,000– yet the region hosts almost 2 million visitors a year due to the wineries and other nearby attractions. We would certainly label this region as an “agritourism destination.” While I was greatly impressed by the marketing and participation of the wine trail, I felt the other types of farm agritourism operators just weren’t as well organized to reap the benefits of the tourism guests.

Trail systems are a great method to package and market a region for the traveler.  I’d suggest all of you with trail systems think “bigger” and make it easier for the traveler to locate everything in your area to get them to visit you and stay longer.  Isn’t that what tourism is all about? I hope the next time I go back to Watkins Glen that I’ll read about the Seneca Wine & Farm Trail!

Creating agritourism partnerships will create more consumer interest and media “buzz” as we all work together to expand this industry. Rural Bounty.com is a good example of what can be accomplished when we develop creative partnerships to grow agritourism as a major travel niche.