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Agritourism Diversification: A Business Planning Questionnaire

This article guides you through making changes to your agritourism business.

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Updated:

November 10, 2025

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If you are considering expanding agritourism activities on your farm, one of the most important steps is to develop a business plan. Selecting or making changes to the products or experiences that your agritourism business offers demands that you thoughtfully plan out how the new venture fits into your current business operations since you want to ensure that the venture is both profitable and an asset to your brand.

This document will outline your goals for the business, how you plan to achieve them, and the associated risk management and costs. It is important to be as detailed as possible in your business plan to have a clear idea of what you are getting into. This article will discuss the components of an agritourism expansion business plan.

The following questionnaire will guide you through the relevant topics you should consider and plan. If you have experience with business planning, you will notice the overlap with that process. However, since you have an existing agritourism business, this questionnaire will focus on the elements that should be considered when adding or changing your products or experiences.

Part 1 – Values and Goals

The first section of your business plan should describe your business mission and the goals and objectives of your agritourism operation. This includes outlining the activities you want to offer, how long they will last, what type of visitors are likely to come to your farm, and any potential revenue sources. You also need to discuss resources needed - who will be responsible for managing the operation and any additional resources or personnel requirements.

Proposed Diversification Option

Provide a brief general description of the product or experience you consider adding to your agritourism business.

Business Values and Mission

Your business values and mission statement guide decision-making and describe why you're in business and what you want to achieve. The success of your agritourism business plan depends on a clear vision for success that is in line with your values and mission statement. Establishing these items will help you create a roadmap for success and determine essential activities. Keep these in mind as you answer the following questions.

What are the critical values that guide business decisions? What is most important to you as owners?
How does the diversification option enhance your ability to fulfill your mission or demonstrate your business values?

Diversification Description

This section asks you to describe in greater detail the product or experience you are considering adding to your agritourism business. Try to be as specific as you can. Doing so will ultimately improve your decision-making ability to move forward with this option.

Brief description of product/experience to be offered (options, packages, prices, etc.)
What resources are necessary to adopt/implement the diversification option?
Brief description of owners, personnel, their qualifications, and anticipated responsibilities

Market Analysis

A solid understanding of the potential for success with your agritourism product/experience is essential. This section asks you to describe the market trends and the marketing plan to enable your business to reach its goals with the diversification option. You need to define who your target market is and identify how best to reach them with your product/experience.

Assessment of Market Demand. (How many potential customers exist for your proposed product/experience? Are they current customers, or will you be marketing to a new set of consumers?)
Sales Plan. (What are your sales targets, and who are the buyers? How will you determine if you are meeting your targets? Will you offer incentives?)
Pricing Levels. (Outline how your product/experience will be priced)
Analysis of Competition. (What other agritourism businesses in your geographic area offer the same or similar products/experiences? What will set your business apart?)
Promotion and Communications Plan. (How will you share with current and potential customers that you have this new product/experience?) Consider combining traditional and digital marketing tactics, such as social media, email campaigns, and website optimization.

Part 2: SWOT and Risk Analysis

A SWOT analysis is an integral part of any business plan. It helps you identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This information can help you make decisions about the direction of your business and how to best reach your target market.

SWOT Analysis

Describe this diversification option's major Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). Strengths (S) and Weaknesses (W) are internal to the business. These are items that you have direct control over or represent an internal feature of the business. This section may include the following: specific skills, quality of resources (buildings, equipment), cash flow position, access to credit, or labor/staffing.

Opportunities (O) and Threats (T) are external to the business. These are items you do not have direct control over, but they impact the business. This may include issues like weather, market trends, or changing regulations.

The first step in conducting a SWOT analysis for your agritourism idea is identifying your business's strengths. These could include excellent customer service experiences from previous customers or having a unique market niche that sets you apart from other agritourism operators. Next, you need to identify the weaknesses of your business. This could include a lack of capital or resources, a limited marketing budget, inadequate customer service experience, etc.

Thirdly, you should look for opportunities in the local area and industry. These could include a niche market that you can capitalize on, emerging trends or requests stated by your customers, or partnerships with other local businesses.

Finally, you should identify any potential threats to your business. These could include competition from similar businesses in the area, changes in customer preferences, or changes in the local economy.

By conducting a SWOT analysis, you can better understand your agritourism business and identify any areas that need improvement or strategies that could be implemented to increase success.

Management Analysis

Describe who will manage key aspects of the diversification option. Include the strengths of particular people, and it can also include plans for additional training. Management areas include operations and maintenance, human resources/employee management, customer service, food safety, and marketing.

Financial

Adding or changing products, events or experiences can be costly. This section asks questions intended to guide you in assessing the financial viability of your proposed diversification option. You should provide an overview of your start-up costs, projected revenue and expenses, cash flow forecast, and pricing strategy. This will help you understand your expansion plans' financial feasibility and how to manage your resources best.

You should account for all of the costs associated with running an extended agritourism operation, including operational expenses like supplies and equipment, overhead costs such as insurance and taxes; and any marketing or advertising campaigns you plan to launch. You need to ensure that your estimated income covers the business's total costs.

Address the following:

Are any large investments/purchases, repairs, or improvements required to adopt this option? If yes, explain what they are and give approximate expenses.
How will these items be paid for (from business revenue, loans, owner savings or other sources)? Will you apply for new loans, credit, or other forms of capital to adopt and implement the option?
What is the sales target for each of the first three years that the product/experience will be offered?
Developed financial projections for this product/experience. Financial projections include enterprise budgets, cash flow statements, etc.
Are projected profits satisfactory?
Does the current insurance cover the new activities? Is additional coverage needed?

Risk Management

Agritourism can be unpredictable. You have to manage your farm, the consumer, and the individual product/experience. This section will guide you through describing the risk factors that may impact your agritourism diversification option. Describe the risks that you may face in each of the following areas. Your plan should also include actionable steps to ensure success. This could include developing a customer service plan, creating marketing campaigns, hiring staff, etc. Identify the resources needed to achieve the above goals and manage the risk, such as labor or capital.

Production risk (weather, climate, pests). You'll need to understand the local climate and how it affects your business. Develop a plan to mitigate weather risks, such as scheduling events or alternative activities less likely to be affected by storms or other adverse conditions.
Human risk (labor, partnerships). This plan section should provide an overview of your current staff and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. It should also include a strategy for recruiting, training and retaining employees.
Market risk (price trends, consumer demand). The success of any business relies heavily on the quality of its services and how effectively it meets customer needs. You should assess your current operations and determine the areas where some improvements can be made.
Financial risk. It is important to keep general market conditions in mind as these can impact financing options.
Legal risk (food safety, regulations, contracts, or legal agreements). More information can be found here: Agritourism in Pennsylvania - Legal and Regulatory Issues. Will your agritourism product/experience require you to purchase additional insurance (policies and protection for buildings, product inventory, equipment, etc.)?

Part 3: Implementation Plan

Producing a new agritourism product or launching a new experience may seem daunting. Make sure to create a timeline for achieving your goals and objectives. This includes identifying when certain milestones are expected to be met and setting deadlines. Breaking things down into smaller elements can improve your ability to focus and plan.

Outline the following:

List key short-term (year 1 – 3) activities (including planning) that will enable the diversification option to achieve its goals.
List intermediate activities (year 4 and later) that enable the diversification option to achieve its goals.
Who is responsible for each activity? What is the timeline for the successful completion of each task?

Final Analysis

Synthesizing all of your answers to the previous questions, it is time to analyze the viability of the agritourism diversification option under consideration. Complete the following:

Describe key practices that are important to the success of the agritourism diversification option.
Describe ways the business can manage the negative consequences resulting from the "threats" described in the SWOT Analysis section

Finally, set aside some time to review your agritourism business plan regularly and ensure it is still on track for success. This will help ensure that you meet your goals and stay in line with your values. By regularly monitoring and making adjustments to the plan, you can be confident that you are proactive in working toward success.