Culinary & Agritourism Development

Travel Oregon strives to advance world-class culinary and agritourism experiences in every corner of the state. Whether visitors pick apples in a sixth generation family orchard, practice yoga with goats at a vineyard, taste an array of artisan salt products drawn from Netarts Bay or stroll through rows of lavender or tulips, we want to foster shared experiences that embrace the sense of place and taste of our state.

Agriculture has been a hallmark of Oregon for hundreds of years. Today, each of Oregon’s seven tourism regions have active agricultural communities with more than 34,000 farms covering nearly 17 million acres of the state and accounting for more than 326,000 jobs. And unlike most states, 96% of Oregon farms are family owned.

Agricultural Tourism, or agritourism, is the name of the sector that integrates farm and ranch enterprises with the travel and recreational sectors of our economy. Agritourism covers a wide variety of recreational, educational and other leisure activities and services, offers these experiences to consumers.

Agritourism presents a unique opportunity for businesses to expand their operations and be active participants in both the tourism industry and the agriculture industry.  When effective, agritourism operators provide a number of experiential, social and economic benefits for communities and the visitors they welcome. Agritourism also represents a strong avenue for producers to increase their bottom line by selling directly to consumers looking to bring a taste from their visit back home.

Agritourism has been found to bolster community tax bases, engage multiple generations of family members in business and provide new employment opportunities. The success of these results also provides educational opportunities to the public and helps to preserve agricultural lands and our rich agricultural heritage.