Tourism development in agricultural landscapes: the case of the Atherton Tablelands, Australia

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how the landscape is an integral component in the development of tourism experiences in agricultural regions. It proposes that agricultural landscapes are composed of three components: naturescape, farmscape and culturescape. Building on the tourist gaze, this research demonstrates how tourists can move from viewing the landscape to engaging with it. A case study of the Atherton Tablelands, located in the Wet Tropics region of Australia, was conducted using content analysis and field observations. The results show that the development of activities within the culturescape enables tourists to engage with the agricultural landscape. This finding has important implications for the farmscape, where agricultural resources (produce) are often used in the creation of memorable tourism experiences in agricultural regions.