Motivations, challenges, and self-transformations of farmers engaged in farm tourism on a tropical island

摘要

Few studies of agritourism have focused on farm tourism on tropical islands, and even fewer have explored the motivations, challenges, and/ or self-transformations of farmers engaged in farm tourism in such settings. To help fill these research gaps, this article reports on a qualitative field study of farmers engaged in farm tourism in Hawai'i. The results revealed that farmers' motivations for such engagement included a desire to achieve higher profits, efficiently utilize farm resources, better educate people about the origins of their food, and/or perpetuate rural cultural traditions. Some farmers found it challenging to manage tourism in the midst of ongoing farm operations; others felt that farm tourism enhanced the image of farmers. As farmers became involved with farm tourism and interacted with other social groups, new identities, such as educator, culture disseminator, service provider, marketer, and product designer, fused with their traditional identities as agribusiness operators. The success or failure of the adoption of these new identities appears to have been affected by the structure of farms and feedback from other social groups, and influenced farmers' decisions about being a farmer and managing tourism-related operations. Many results corroborate those of inquiries conducted in very different geographic settings.