Farm Attractions

Market

Most farm attractions offer a standard range of "unthemed" activities such as: animals, countryside access, museum/exhibition, events, arts and crafts, children's entertainment and retail & catering.

A few are linked to the activity on the farm, such as cider farms and vineyards. ThThere was an 8% drop in visitor numbers to farm attractions between 1999 & 2000 after a 7% increase from the previous year.

Farms where admission was free did less well than those charging (17% fall compared to 5%). Forty one percent of respondents in a recent survey were open all year with the remainder having seasonal attractions.

Twenty nine percent said that they reached a maximum capacity on 11 days. An average of 51,300 visits over a season were made to farm attractions. However, this did range from 500 to 350,000.

In 2000, the average entry fee was £3.22 and 81% of attractions derived money from retailing and 84% from catering. Another survey showed that the total income per visit average £4.74 with 46% from admissions, 27% from catering, 23% retail, 3% other income.

Of 3 million visitors to farm attractions, only 3% were from overseas. The average stay per visit is 2.5 hours. There are some indications that activities which offer a unique experience do rather better.

Physical Requirements

Site located close to population centres, location close to a main road an advantage; attractive buildings, providing cover for wet weather; car parking; toilets; refreshment areas; free draining land (if all year round opening required) 5-20 acres normal.

Costs

The following costing information is general and current prices should be sought for budgeting purposes.

Capital Costs

These are varied, dependent on the type of building used. The range can be £120/m2 - £500/m2. Car parking: £15/m2 tarmac £3/m2 hardcore Fixtures and fittings.

Running Costs

Largest cost is labour, which may be in the range of 10-50% of turnover.

Marketing costs are also a significant cost, usually between £10,000 and £14,000, generating 3,000-7,000 visits per £1,000 spent on marketing.

Other costs to consider: casual labour, stock, feed, maintenance, rates, staff training and finance.

Returns

Returns vary considerably. At profitable attractions, profit on turnover is usually between 10 and 40% and an operating profit of between 44p and £2.20 per visitor, with a few exceptions higher.

Constraints

Planning permission required.

Environmental: Health and Safety regulations, hygiene acts, zoo licences, weights and measures.

Competition: Certain areas of the UK have significant numbers of attractions and competition is increasing.

Training

LANTRA, Scottish Tourist Board & Local Enterprise Companies.

Grants

Through the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) 2007-2013 funding is now available for rural businesses throughout Scotland for diversification and renewable energy projects. Specifically, support is delivered through Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities which was launched in April 2008. For further information about what support is available see the Section on Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities.

Further Information

Publications

Visitor Attractions: The Keys to Sucess - a Development Guide.

Harvesting the Benefit from Visitors to the Countryside `A Practical Guide to Farm Tourism', ADAS/Rural Development Council/Agricultural Training Board (now LANTRA)/West Country Tourist Board. (Probably now out of print).

Market Profile by Julie Paynter - English Tourist Board.

Farm Diversification

General