World Agritourism Day (WAD)
organised by
The GLOBAL AGRITOURISM NETWORK & AGRI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (Agri Tourism India)
15th and 16th May, 2023
virtual mode only – International Conference
GREEN GROWTH THROUGH AGRITOURISM
Introduction:
Agri Tourism is a form of sound, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible tourism development which has the potential to contribute substantially to local socio-economic development and poverty reduction. Importantly, and with the right support and guidance, Agri Tourism can also contribute to the conservation and protection of natural, cultural and ethnical resources. There are many good examples of successful Agri Tourism Projects in the world but many of these exist in isolation or are relatively unknown. Thus, it is important that these good projects are brought together so that the mechanisms that have led to their success and the lessons learned can be used to form a set of over-arching guidelines for Agri Tourism development in the rest of the World.
Background:
AGRI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (ATDC – Agri Tourism India) has focused on enhancement of local socio-economic development and poverty alleviation of rural and remote communities since early 2000s through Agri Tourism and community-based agritourism development. Agri Tourism projects have commenced under the ATDC’s guidance. Maharashtra is the first State in India to have a formal “Agri Tourism Policy in September, 2020”
Conference Theme:
The overall theme for this conference of Green Growth through Agri Tourism is how development of agriculture and allied activities can be promoted through the development of Agri and Sustainable Tourism and how this can lead to diversification of local economies. This requires the involvement of a number of responsible key personnel with each playing their role and guided by sound development principles.
Conference Objective:
The International Conference on Green Growth through Agri Tourism has been organized to provide a forum to discuss Agri based Tourism. This will be achieved through the presentation of successful examples, examination of the mechanisms (both institutional and practical) that have led to successful implementation, discussion of the actors involved and analysis of the lessons learned.
Furthermore, it is aimed to showcase a vital role of environmentally sustainable and socially responsible tourism development in global warming – climate change and green tourism development to development partners or donor countries. Agri & Rural Tourism and ecotourism are regarded as green tourism as it respects and conforms to sustainability principles. This is reflected in ATDC’s afforestation program instigated under the theme of “One Tourist – One Tree” as it contributes substantially to local socio-economic development and poverty reduction. Above all, it further sustains the conservation and protection of natural environment (biosphere and biodiversity) and cultural resources.
Conference Outcome:
The information presented and results of the subsequent discussions during the conference will be collated with a view to providing input to the development of: 1) the Global Agri Tourism Standards and Guidelines; 2) Connect with member countries of Global Agri Tourism Network (GAN) ; and 3) a framework to attract development partners or donor countries to concentrate and support Agri tourism development projects.
Conference Format:
The conference will be organized over a period of two days and be comprised of keynote addresses from the Farmers, Agri Tourism Researchers and Academicians, Agriculture and Tourism Departments, Government of India, Agriculture and Tourism Departments from various Nations and as well as various State Governments in India, the UNWTO and The Global Agri Tourism Network along with International Agri Tourism Organizations. This will be followed by thematic presentations on different aspects of Agri tourism and development by invited speakers. The closing sessions will be moderated panel discussions on selected topics with the view to providing the overall guidance for the formulation of the Agri Tourism standards and guidelines. The final session will be a presentation of the key points discussed and an endorsement of any key findings or points to take forward. Awards will be announced for best performing Agri tourism centers across the globe.
Conference speakers:
Agri Tourism, green growth and ecologically sustainable tourism development is multi-faceted requiring many actors playing a wide range of roles and coming from an equally diverse set of backgrounds. To address this diversity, a panel of international speakers from a variety of sectors has been assembled.
Agenda & speakers
Coming soon
