Inflation and general economic uncertainty have spurred Ontarians to tighten their financial belts — but they’re still spending money on farms.
Last year may have been one of the best years yet for those in the agritourism trade.
What that looks like and what’s driving interest in farm experiences has changed, however.
Why it matters: There are farm diversification opportunities in agritourism while consumers are focused on authenticity and buying Canadian.
“From what I heard, this past season was one of the busiest for agritourism operators. Definitely not a drop,” says Kevin Vallier, chief executive officer for Agritourism Ontario.
“The spends on farms (are) up. Attendance is up, generally speaking, across the province. And I think a lot of people, given the political climate — especially across the border — people want to stay in Ontario.”
Joanne Wolnik, executive director of Ontario’s Southwest Regional Tourism Organization, says surveys of agritourism tourists across her organization’s operational jurisdiction indicate the number of U.S. tourists has dropped. Like Vallier, though, she says the number of Ontarians visiting farms is “holding steady” despite inflation and other economic pressures.
“From our primary survey, nature and local food are big travel motivators right now. People want to experience nature and culinary. So, whether that be through farm experiences, tastings, local food trails through outdoor environments — I think that has really good alignment,” says Wolnik.
“Small-town and rural escapes are growing in appeal as well … and value for money and simplicity are top of mind for people.
“There’s higher intention of doing day trips with lesser number of overnights.”
Part of the impetus driving the desire for rural escapes, nature and simplicity appears to be technology and the complexity of modern life. Citing the Expedia Group’s 2026 “Trends in Travel” report, Wolnik points to “JOMO” — the joy of missing out, as opposed to a fear of missing out — as a common travel motivator for those interested in “farm charm” and farm stays.
“That’s when people are wanting to be disconnected from their phones, from the internet. Wellness continues to be one that’s growing as a whole,” Wolnik says. “They both beautifully align with agritourism. When it comes to operators who are looking to market, when they consider what their messaging is, those are things they can allude to.”
Diversification and red tape
The recent introduction of legislation to better protect agritourism businesses from frivolous lawsuits — and stop double-digit increases in insurance premiums, by proxy — was a significant step forward in creating an environment where farms could diversify with agritourism, says Vallier.
“It doesn’t mean your liability insurance premiums are going to plummet. But what we hoped and what the goal was is it would stop those 20, 30, 40 per cent increases. It would allow some folks to get insurance coverage that couldn’t. And then, over time, we hope that the cost of getting liability insurance will decrease.”
Vallier adds results from Agritourism Ontario’s yet-to-be-published economic growth study indicate 71 per cent of Ontario farmers offer agritourism in some form and 58 per cent of Agritourism Ontario’s membership expect the number of agritourism ventures to increase going forward.
“The interesting thing is some farm owners do agritourism but don’t even realize it,” says Vallier.
“There may be people selling a little bit of produce at the end of the farm driveway. That’s agritourism but they may not see it that way. Theres a really complicated definition of what agritourism is, that the Global Agritourism Network came up with. But I’m a pretty simple guy so I like to say it’s any farm that welcomes the public onto their property.”
For Wolnik, agritourism ventures offer another means of diversifying farm businesses, particularly involving the next generation and in succession planning. Local government restrictions — including those specifically designed to preserve farmland — can be a particularly pernicious barrier to such diversification, though.
“Anecdotally, we’ve talked to people who have spent years trying to add certain experiences onto the farm to welcome people, and it just takes time because they do have to go through these processes that what they’re offering is safe for visitors. Needless to say, when you’re years in the making of something that you’re trying to build new revenue streams from, it’s tough,” Wolnik says.
“It’s expensive, it takes time, it’s not always a clear process when you’re not used to doing it. It’s also different based on the municipality you’re in, the health unit your apart of.”
Vallier says about half of his organization’s membership report challenges with local bylaws and restrictive policies.
“It’s not about protecting the farmland, it’s about protecting the farmer,” says Vallier, citing a phrase employed by an Agritourism Ontario member.
“If municipalities are going to implement all kinds of fees and regulations and red tape, then the next generation that’s watching their parents go through all their headaches when they’re just trying to grow their business — they’re out. They don’t want to do it. Now you’ve got 70- or 80-year-old folks that don’t have anybody to take the farm over. So, what do they do? They end up selling it. The irony is, municipalities and regions, this isn’t their intent. But they put in all these restrictions because they think it’s keeping farmland, when in fact sometimes it has the opposite outcome.”
Challenges aside, both Vallier and Wolnik reiterate Ontario’s agritourism sector faces significant opportunity, and expanding the diversity and number of ways the public can connect with agriculture and nature also brings ancillary benefits.
“The benefit of having people come onto the farm is so many people have never set foot on an active working farm before. They’re getting that education on where their food comes from. Sometimes they get to see how it’s processed, produced. That education piece is huge. A lot of time, they probably don’t even realize they’re getting that education walking around, having fun,” says Vallier.
“They’re getting that appreciation for local Ontario farms, how they operate and their importance.”
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