Agritourism Helping Boost Small Businesses, Allowing People To Travel During Pandemic

Jan 24, 2021

During a time where the coronavirus pandemic has curtailed tourism and travel and has hit local small businesses like farms and farmer’s markets, agritourism has helped businesses see a boost and travelers get their travel itch taken care of.

Harvest Hosts is one of those agriculture programs, working with over a thousand local farms, vineyards, distilleries and other small businesses across the United States and Canada.

"They want to experience small-town America,” Joel Holland, the CEO of Harvest Hosts, said. “They want to see the wineries, the breweries, the farms, the museums."

He said the members are recreational vehicle users, also know as RVs. Holland called RVing a safe and ideal way to take a road trip during the pandemic, as travelers would be mitigating contact with others as much as possible.

Holland also said the businesses have reaped the rewards of being part of the program, saying participating host businesses have seen a combined total of $24 million spent at the small businesses.

Check out the full article from WTKR here.