Montefrio, Marvin Joseph, and Sin, Harng Luh (2019) Elite governance of agritourism in the Philippines. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27 (9). pp. 1338-1354.

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Abstract

Agritourism, particularly in the West, is imagined to be an organic assembly of family farms driven by urban middle class demand for new rural tourism experiences. In the developing world, it is increasingly advocated as a rural development tool with the promise of uplifting the lives of small farmers in sustainable ways. We challenge the assumption of the farm family at the helm of agritourism development, advocating instead for a more complex understanding of agritourism governance. We argue that agritourism involves multisectoral governance networks that are subject to the political economic realities of where these networks are situated. Thus, agritourism may endure the same social inequalities one would find in other rural development initiatives in the Global South. Agritourism in the Philippines is a case in point. Based on qualitative research, our findings show that agritourism in the Philippines is driven by a complex elite network involving state and private entities that are engaged in patronage politics. The uneven power dynamics associated with this governance arrangement create conditions that favor old and new landed elites and exclude marginalized small farmers, contradicting any official statement that promises inclusive rural development.

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