Georgia Agritourism Outlook

COVID-19 hit the tourism industry pretty hard in 2020, as quarantining and social distancing made travel pretty difficult. Agritourism is no different, as many locations had to shut down due to the pandemic, but thanks to a steady decline in the virus, vaccine roll-out, and travelers wanting to visit low-density destinations, the outlook for agrotourism in 2021 is looking promising, especially in Georgia.

On the recent Georgia Ag Forecast online summit, Dr. John Salazar gave a breakdown on the outlook for Georgia agritourism throughout the state and its 87 rural counties. As Dr. Salazar noted towards agrotourism, quote: “Now is the time for rural communities to really embrace agritourism. That’s because people are shying away from major urban markets and they’re looking for activities and experiences that are more conducive to social distancing.” (end quote).

Agritourism in Georgia has seen a vast improvement over the past few years as it has increased from $260.5 million in 2015 to $314.9 million in 2019. State-wide tourism for Georiga resulted in around $32 billion in 2019, with about $3 billion of that coming from rural communities, offering experiences like parks, hiking, historic location, and even agritourism.

As we slowly go back to life as normal, agritourism seems to be the industry gaining the most steam as people are ready to explore nature instead of their home offices.