Peak Body for Queensland Agritourism

This project, to establish a peak advocacy body for Queensland agritourism, ran from July 2023 to June 2024, with Agritourism Queensland commencing operations on 1 July 2024.

Agritourism Queensland is the not-for-profit peak body that represents the interests of primary producers who have established agritourism operations as well as those primary producers looking to diversify their farming business with agritourism.

Agritourism Queensland will lead the sector’s innovation and growth while ensuring the primacy of agriculture and the authenticity of agritourism in Queensland as a true reflection of our farmers, our farms, our produce and our passion for why and how we farm.

Visit Agritourism Queensland, the peak body by farmers for farmers.

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Project Details

Purpose of this project
Agritourism helps to maintain the viability of active farms and rural communities.

Queensland’s primary producers recognise that agritourism allows them to diversify and generate additional income through on-farm activities and that agritourism enterprises support and promote agricultural resources, traditions and culture.

Prior to the establishment of Agritourism Queensland there was currently no representative body to advocate for and provide advice to primary producers with agritourism operations.

The establishment of a peak body to represent the sector is critical, as agritourism and policy creation for linking tourism and agricultural development are essential to leveraging key opportunities for the sector and creating a united voice.

Agritourism offers opportunities for farmers to:
- Create brand, establish provenance, and build reputation by sharing their farming story in the context of their people, place and produce
- Innovate and diversify through value-added products and services
- Increase income through agritourism revenue streams
- Smooth volatility of cashflow
- Monetise underutilised assets such as farm buildings and natural aesthetic
- Connect with locals and visitors to the area.
How this project came about: Agritourism work at QFF

In 2020, QFF in partnership with agritourism specialists Regionality Pty Ltd developed the Queensland Agritourism Roadmap (the Roadmap) to assist Queensland to realise the $4.5 billion dollars that could be generated by the agritourism sector for the Queensland economy by 2030.

The Roadmap identified the core themes and strategic actions where collaborative effort is required to establish a thriving agritourism sector across regional Queensland. The three core themes were: Strategic Leadership; Regulatory and Policy Reform; and Agritourism Sector Development.

In the spirit of this collaboration, DAF partnered with QFF to provide funding to deliver the Queensland Agritourism Grants Program which concluded in June 2023. That program offered primary producers a 50% co-contribution up to a maximum of $25,000 to match their own funds, to help them establish or expand into agritourism.

In early 2023 QFF won further funding to establish a peak body for agritourism and to develop a local government planning guide for agritourism.

Queensland Agritourism Success Stories

A special thanks to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for providing these videos.

This project is made possible with funding from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Queensland Farmers’ Federation.