Innovative Forest-based Tourism in the Northern Forest: Renewing the Countryside
Rapid landownership changes and a declining forest products industry have motivated many family forest landowners in the Northern Forest region to incorporate innovative forest-based tourism enterprises with timber production. Forest-based tourism ventures include maple sugaring, Christmas tree farms, fee-based public recreation, educational forest tours, and haunted forests, among others. NSRC researchers explored what motivates family forest landowners to pursue forest-based tourism enterprises, what goals they share, what non-economic and economic benefits they gain, and what challenges face forest-based tourism enterprises.
Researchers conducted interviews with 21 participants from the region. Participants and forest-based tourism enterprises varied, but each shared inspiration and commitment to renewing forest land through forest-based tourism ventures. Participants cited other motivations as desire to share knowledge, family tradition, and market opportunity. Their goals included educating the public and exposing them to nature, expanding the market, earning income, enjoying the work, and keeping land in the family. They benefit through personal satisfaction, customer appreciation, meeting new people, working with family, financial gains, and working at home. The challenges they face include lack of community support, competition, insufficient training, limited marketing, and financial constraints.
Findings suggest that increasing community support of forest-based tourism enterprises would assist in the stimulation of rural economies. Also, tourism planners can help enterprises by marketing them on government tourism websites and by supporting rural entrepreneurial development policies. Extension agents and forestry professionals should offer courses on financial planning, technology, and marketing as well as developing educational websites.
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