A Comparative Study on Knowledge of Agritourism among Tourists in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

India is an agrarian country with a substantial proportion of marginal farmers possessing limited land and income sources. Agritourism is a cutting-edge enterprise promising potential benefits to marginal farmers generating supplementary income from existing resources and mitigating unforeseen agricultural losses. Despites all the benefits its adoption by farmers remains limited. Understanding of previous studies suggests that insufficient knowledge among both hosts and tourists may be a key constraint. In this context, present study was carried out to assess and compare tourists’ knowledge levels of agritourism across genders. The investigation was conducted in Uttarakhand, a state recognized for its considerable agritourism potential. According to the Uttarakhand Tourism Policy Report, eight districts were identified for having significant tourism prospects; from those Almora (Kumaon region) and Pauri Garhwal (Garhwal region) were selected using simple random sampling. A purposive sample of 98 tourists was drawn and data were collected using a questionnaire using an exploratory research framework, examining personal, socio-economic, demographic, and knowledge-related variables. Results indicated that the majority of respondents were middle-aged, predominantly male, and had limited higher education. Most participants demonstrated a medium level of knowledge related to agritourism. Gender-based comparisons using Levene’s test revealed significant variance differences (F = 6.788, p = 0.011). However, Welch’s t-test indicated no significant difference in mean knowledge scores between genders, t (69.78) = -0.202, p = 0.841, with a mean difference of -0.382. These findings enrich the academic discourse on agritourism and provide practical insights for farmers, policymakers, and tourism operators to enhance agritourism promotion and sustainable rural economic development.