BOSTON — Tourism generates billions of dollars in New England. Maine and Vermont rely heavily on the iconic imagery of lobstering and dairy farming to attract visitors to their states. The collapse of either industry would not only deal a direct economic and cultural blow but be compounded by their impact on the tourism industry. To what extent do farmers and fishermen benefit from tourism and how might its benefits be more effectively shared with them? Using in-depth interviews with producers, a new JAFSCD article by researchers Caroline Paras (the corresponding author), Tracy Michaud, and Matthew Hoffman explores the symbiosis between farming, fishing, and tourism.
KEY FINDINGS
In this article, researchers discovered the following:
- Tourism generates 8%–10% of the gross domestic product in Maine and Vermont.
- Positive externalities created by farmers and fishermen attract millions of visitors to these iconic landscapes.
- Despite this attraction, tourists consume less than 10% of the bounty from Vermont dairy farmers and Maine lobstermen.
- Beyond direct sales, producers capture a variety of economic benefits from tourism, such as the opportunity to promote their company or industry brand, attract new customers, generate supplemental income, and create employment opportunities.
- Non-economic benefits include the opportunity to provide authentic experiences, create great places, showcase their conservation efforts, and highlight their family’s pride and heritage.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH
Public policy could be developed to better redistribute the economic benefits of tourism:
- Implement state subsidies for farming and fishing. For example, support of noncommodity benefits of agriculture with “public money for public goods” is a standard feature of European policy.
- Support land conservation for agriculture and fisheries. For example, the statewide programs have invested millions to permanently protect working farms, forests, piers, and wharves.
- Expand the marketing and branding of products to visitors. For example, the Maine Aquaculture Association and the Vermont Cheese Council both sponsor culinary trails that list over 50 sites that welcome the public for tours, direct sales, samples, and meals.
- Develop cooperative infrastructure that engages producers in aquatourism and agritourism. For example, tour operators can include farms and fisheries in their itineraries while compensating them for cultural labor and product samples.
Click here for the full article.
–Caroline S. Paras (U of Maine),
Tracy S. Michaud (U of Southern Maine),
and Matthew Hoffman (College of Agriculture and Rural Development, Norway [Høgskulen for grøn utvikling])
JAFSCD
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