Ponencia impartida por Katia Sidali. profesora e investigadora de la Universidad de Gottingen, Alemania, sobre "Cómo crear un produto innovador" que tuvo lugar durante el desarrollo del IV Congreso Internaciona de Turismo Rural en Pamplona en febrero de 2013

1. Cómo crear un producto innovador /
Creating innovative products
Dr. Katia L. Sidali
13.04.2013
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2. The role of tourism in rural areas
• In rural economies, diversification towards non-farming
activities is considered a key factor among rural
development policies (Hjalager 1996, Jang &Yong-Lyoul
2007, Knowd 2006)
• Above all, tourism is recognized as a tool to increase the
income of farmers and employment opportunities in rural
regions (Embacher 1994, Wood et al. 2000)
Farm tourism: a cross-country empirical study in 2
Germany and Italy

3. Image of rural areas has changed!
• Shift from an undifferentiated space for food
production (Lowe et al., 1993) to a diversified
space performing multiple functions!
• Increasing demand looking for alternatives to
mass tourism
• Opening of new economic opportunities!

4. ...However, rural operators are faced to several challenges:
• ... have limited financial capabilities due to deteriorating agricultural
subsidies
• ... lack of entrepreneurship skills
• ... are overtaxed by flexibility of “new“ customers
• ... are territorially isolated (e.g. infrastructural digital divide)
• ... lack of information technology skills (e.g. cultural digital divide)
• Rural operators require counselling with respect
to implementation of successful strategies!
Farm tourism: a cross-country empirical sudy 4
in Germany and Italy

5. DIFFERENTIATION

6. Research
project! Farm tourism in Germany
• Almost 25 000 farm operations
• Turn over 943 million euros
• 1.6 million guests
• 1997 farm tourism reached a peak of almost
3.9 million guests!
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7. Reasons for the decreasing trend
• Decrease of the birth rate of the German
population
• New appealing tourist destinations (i.e. new
European countries, Turkey)
• Rapid increase of low-cost airlines (Ryanair,
Tuifly etc.)
• Lack of awareness of German farm tourism
among the population?
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8. Experimental approach of the present study:
• Identification of 4 possible scenarios of farm
tourism (n=500)
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9. Stated interest1 for farm tourism in the whole sample
Manor house farm tourism
= 0.26 (σ = 1.21 )
Organic farm tourism
= 0.13 (σ = 1.16 )
Current farm tourism
= -0.02 (σ = 1.20 )
Beauty farm tourism
= -0.05 (σ = 1.29 )
Wild-west farm tourism
= -0.08 (σ = 1.21 )
1five-point Likert scala from +2 totally agree to -2 totally disagree
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10. Interesting niches
• Organic farm tourism:
– guests and potential guests seem to appreciate this scenario
– encouraging sign for farm operators thinking about converting to
organic farming
– Inclusion of organic farming activities in the leisure programs
– Integration of organic-products shops within the farms
– Explicit promotion of the sustainable nature of organic farm tourism
Section Marketing of Food and Agricultural Products Sidali / Spiller 10

11. • Wild-west farm tourism:
– guests of current farm tourism appreciate to challenge their skills in a
natural environment
– Inclusion of “adventure-oriented” activities in leisure programs
Section Marketing of Food and Agricultural Products Sidali / Spiller 11

12. Risky niches...
Beauty farm tourism:
– guests and potential guests clearly show to dislike this scenario
– Current guests might perceive an “image-conflict” with the current
supply of farm tourism
Section Marketing of Food and Agricultural Products Sidali / Spiller 12

13. Managerial implications:
Beauty farm tourism:
• Do not invest if you want to retain the current
customers segment
– Image-correction techniques would be too expensive and little
efficient
Section Marketing of Food and Agricultural Products Sidali / Spiller 13

14. Preliminary conclusions
• Farmers greatest power of attraction is their „mediating role“ between
nature and individuals
– Farmers as teachers (e.g. organic farming)
– Farmers as entertainers (e.g. re-inventation of tradition)
– Farmers as backstage providers for rural-tourism activities (e.g. sole
accommodation)
Differentiation is the right strategy to orient the farm
business towards customers‘ needs
Section Marketing of Food and Agricultural Products a cross-country empirical study in
Farm tourism: Sidali / Spiller 14
Germany and Italy

15. GOVERNANCE

16. Community-type destinations (Franch, 2010)
• A territorially differentiated supply
succeeds to attract tourists!
• However this implies a creative and
innovative governance of rural areas:
– Actors’ involvement and coordination
– Valorisation of all actors (empowerment)
• The symbolic capital of a region needs
community-based strategies
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17. “Albergo Diffuso”
Best practice!

22. Best practice????

25. PERSONAL TOUCH

26. Dagevos, 2009

27. From a Asian authentic food specialty ...
Personal
experience!

28. ...to an icon of territorial identity:
the German festival of Asian authentic food!

31. What do all these examples have in
common?
• Strong support of governmental body
• Interdisciplinary and pluralistic approach (e.g.,
inventory of food specialty or artistic objects
are commonly created by marketers,
historians, anthropologists, citizens, etc.)

32. What do all these examples have in
common?
• Bottom-up approach!
• Supply: each farmer, each retailer counts
• Demand: development of innovative practices
in the field of adult education (e.g. Grundtvig
and Leonardo Da Vinci European projects!)

33. Thank you for your kind attention!
Contact: Dr. Katia Laura Sidali
University of Göttingen
Dpt. of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
Göttingen
E-Mail: ksidali@gwdg.de
Tel: + 49 (0) 551 39 78 38
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34. Challenges posed by changing consumer behaviour
Nowadays, tourists...
• ... travel more frequently but stay shorter
• ... need flexible tourist products (e.g. „glamping“)
• ... want to be independent on holiday
• ... prefer to directly search and book their holidays (Web 2.0)
• ... value real, authentic experiences (e.g. favela tourism)
• ... are more environmentally conscious
• ... have new cultural horizons (cultural context vs single attraction)
Farm tourism: a cross-country empirical sudy 34
in Germany and Italy