Agritourism Development Program
Somerset
Just an hour inland from Brisbane, Somerset is an undiscovered beauty of farm and forest landscapes, interspersed with lakes and little country towns.
Project purpose
Neighbouring Scenic Rim’s success with agritourism, and the opportunities uncovered by a visitor accommodation review inspired Somerset Regional Council to fund a program to support the development of new farm stays and other agritourism experiences across the region.
Project overview
Tilma developed guides and templates to support agritourism development, and to be used in an agritourism mentoring program.
The guides included
What is agritourism?
What types of agritourism are permitted on my farm?
How to develop an agritourism experience
Risk management and safety
Marketing an agritourism offering
The guides linked to existing tools, such as Tourism & Events Queensland’s experience development resources.
The templates include a
Business case
Customer journey mapping worksheet
Financial scenario planning tool
Benchmarking and competitor worksheet
Marketing plan
Risk management plan
Mentoring
Following a well-publicised mentoring program request for expressions of interest, 9 farming families responded.
Tilma delivered weekly mentoring over several months to support the development of new accommodations and farm tours. This covered
Each participant’s reason to offer agritourism and desired outcomes
Benchmarking and competitor analysis to identify the agritourism offering’s unique proposition
SWOT analysis
Clarify and understand target markets.
Customer journey mapping
Securing planning approval, permits and licenses
A meeting with Council’s planning, environmental health, business development, and economic development and tourism staff to gain clarity on planning approval required for each participant’s specific development.
Mapping out the experience
Financial analysis and pricing
Risk management
Marketing
An optimisation meeting with Australian Tourism Data Warehouse to understand how to present an offering in an online listing.
A wrap up meeting was held to celebrate the wins, and to support ongoing collaboration between participants and to ensure they are connected with follow up support from Council (Experience Somerset) and Queensland Country Tourism.
A follow up check in meeting was scheduled for several months later to check in on progress, help overcome barriers, and reignite any flagging motivation.
Project outcomes
While a couple of the offerings would be ready to launch once the next tourism season started, such as using an existing stockman’s accommodation for tourism accommodation, others would take time to construct, such as new cabins.
The following experiences are planned to open:
A farm shop on a cumquat and ginger farm
Cumquat brandy and gin distillery tour and tasting
Cooking classes
Events in the cumquat orchard
A beef farm tour
A function venue with commercial kitchen, for destination weddings, functions and workshops
Short stay accommodation for families and couples, including premium luxury farm stays
A variety of farm and garden tours on one farm, including riparian revegetation, birdwatching, and night-time wildlife spotting tours
Gourmet beef meal events
Council has also updated its Planning Scheme to enable more types of agritourism development on farms, including hosting campers and short stay accommodation guests.
Referee
Veronica Eagle
Tourism Development Officer
Somerset Regional Council
07 5424 4000
veagle@somerset.qld.gov.au
Want to help your farming community tap into the visitor economy?
We design and deliver award-winning agritourism development programs that equip farmers with the tools, knowledge, and support to turn paddocks into places of purpose. Let’s work together to grow sustainable, experience-rich rural tourism.