Prospects and Problems of Agri-Tourism in Punjab State

The present paper analyses the prospects and problems of agri-tourism in Punjab state, India. The study was undertaken by randomly selecting 15 registered farmers from Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board. The data was collected by self interviewing the respondents and through mailed questionnaire. Majority of the respondents were satisfied from agri-tourism venture and perceived that there is high to medium prospects of agri-tourism development in Punjab. Insufficient fund for publicity, lack of government support, insufficient literature related to agri-tourism practice and lack of training for agri-tourism were the major problems reported by the farmers. Among the board employees the major problems were insufficient fund for advertisement, unwillingness of the farmers to renew their registration and placing of tourists. Provision of a complete tourism package, provision of sales and marketing support, more awareness programmes, developing contacts with the schools, colleges, NGOs, clubs and other organizations, provision of license to farmers for lifetime and training had been suggested.