DEVELOPMENT OF DAIRY TOURISM MODEL FOR TRANS-GANGETIC PLAINS OF INDIA
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Date
2019
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Publisher
ICAR-NDRI, KARNAL
Abstract
Income enhancement of the farmers and attracting and retaining youth in agriculture are the two aspects of national importance. This study is an attempt to provide dairy farmers with new income-generating activity. With this intent, the present study was designed to develop a "Dairy tourism" model for the Trans-Gangetic plains of India. A total of 160 tourists were interviewed to assess their expectations from dairy tourism. Collectively, more than 60.00 percent of the respondent-tourists deemed all the identified expectations (assets, activities, and attractions) as important and very important. Tourist inclination towards Dairy tourism was assessed to understand their level of a mental tendency towards dairy tourism. Respondent-tourists were having a higher level of inclination towards dairy tourism. The dairy tourism model was developed by applying the partial least square- structural equation modeling. In the proposed theoretical dairy tourism model, all three research hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) were supported and confirmed by the findings of the study. Further, 300 commercial dairy farmers were interviewed to assess their individual entrepreneurial orientation towards dairy tourism. More than two-thirds (71.00 %) of the respondent-dairy farmers belonged to medium, through high to a very high level of the individual entrepreneurial orientation category. Dairy farmers' expectations were assessed to develop a model for dairy farmers' support for dairy tourism development. Collectively, more than 75.00 percent of the respondent-dairy farmers considered all the identified expectations from government and extension services as important and very important. Eight of the nine hypothesized paths (H1, H2, H3, H4, H6, H7, H8, and H9) in the “dairy farmers' support for dairy tourism development” model were statistically significant. One research hypothesis, "H5" was non-significant.; however, the direction was predicted correctly. This study identified the characteristics components of dairy tourism that will enable dairy farmers and entrepreneurs to start dairy tourism as an additional income generation activity. The “dairy farmers' support for dairy tourism development” model provided insights into the factors that are important to seek dairy farmers' support for dairy tourism development.