The Tyranny of Time and Distance: Impediments for Remote Agritourism Operators Accessing Support in the Northern Territory, Australia

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the perceived impediments that prevent remote agritourism operators in the Northern Territory (NT) Australia from expanding and accessing support from governmental and industry organisations. Five primary themes emerged from 11 in-depth interviews with remote agritourism operators across the NT. These included distance from urban centres, limited human resources, infrastructure gaps, high capital requirements, and difficulties navigating and accessing support organisations. In addition, all businesses acknowledged they required support, the vast distance from urban centres often prevented participation in relevant programs due to a lack of time (for both travel and participation), seasonality and the patchwork range of support resources. A key recommendation is for government and other support organisations, as well as policymakers to improve their engagement with the sector in order to develop appropriate supports.

KEYWORDS:

• Agritourism
• small business
• northern territory
• rural tourism
• remote tourism
• agribusiness

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, M. Bugno. The data are not publicly available due to the privacy of research participants.

Notes

1 Information sheets and consent forms were emailed or mailed to people, with consent forms signed and returned via email or mailed back before interviewers took place.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Deakin University, Australia.