| This study was carried out to examine Agritourism operation among small and socially disadvantaged farmers in North Carolina, this study examined outreach program, promotion methods, and plan for future expansion among small and socially disadvantaged agritourism operators in North Carolina.;The socio economic characteristics of the operators showed that majority of the operators are between 55 and 64 years, while close to 60% of the operators have a college degree or higher. The result also showed that more of the respondent were male 66%, and larger percentage of small farmers practicing agritourism in North Carolina were white.;One of the challenges faced most by the adopters of agritourism is the lack of Information needed by the farmers, most of these adopters have no access to information to have the full benefit of agritourism and promotion methods. The result revealed needed information by the farmers, 53% of the operator would like to receive more information regarding direct marketing and advertising strategies, while 52 % will like to know how to get financial sources and opportunities such as grants and loans. For promotion methods 94.5% of the farmers stated that "the word of mouth" is the most effective, more than half of the respondent recognized the effectiveness of having a presence on the Internet/ website (65.6%) as a very effective mechanism for promoting agritourism operations.;The agritourism operator were asked about future expansion or changes to their agritourism activities. Sixty percent of the operators have plans for future expansion while 40% of the operators, have no plan for future expansion nor changes in their agritourism operation. |
