Abstract:
Agritourism is increasingly recognized as an important strategy that can contribute to
agricultural development through diversification of farming activities and providing
opportunities to rest, relax, enjoy and study about farming for the visitors. At present,
agritourism is promoted by most of the countries in the world aiming at sustainable rural
development. Since Sri Lanka is an agricultural country, it is the time to analyze the potential
of this strategy under local conditions. Thus the main aim of this research is to study the
possibility of application of agritourism in Sri Lankan context. The study was conducted in
five districts of the central part of the country using a field survey and some group
discussions with farmers and respective state officials of these districts. Results revealed that
there are several possibilities for the establishment of agritourism in the country. However,
there are few problems militate against the success of the agritourism development.
Provision of solutions for these main problems related to; infrastructure development,
relevant training and education for the farmers, access to farm credit, proper measures to
waste management as well as suitable environment protection methods in those areas will
enhance the benefits of agritourism as a sustainable rural development strategy.
