Progress 05/15/22 to 12/16/24

Outputs
Target Audience: The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer services (NCDA&CS) was involved in the design of the project and assisted in its implementation. They received regular updates on the projects progress and a report on marketing and management actions. Through presenting at the Tourism Travel Research Association (TTRA) we have also reached out to other agritourism and tourism practitioners and academics. We have also reached over 100 undergraduate students through the Entrepreneurship Panel Discussion hosted by NC State's Entrepreneurship program. Changes/Problems:The execution of the project has faced varied challenges that have delayed the timely completion of the activities. First, the project started on September 1, 2022, that is three and half months later than expected. The delay was due to the administrative requirements of NC State University when hiring the Project Director. Second, although there was a timely implementation of Survey 1, the data collection did not go as planned as the necessary number of respondents was not achieved due to technical difficulties with the push notifications. Yet, the open question included in Survey 1 provided valuable input to decide the next steps. Third, this hurdle led us to reformulate Survey 2. To explore the potential reasons why engagement through the app was limited, 11 in-depth interviews with the app administrators that work at the county level were conducted. This activity proved to be very useful to understand the different challenges the implementation of the app has faced and oriented our attention to understanding why the app has not engaged more users or assets. Therefore, after consulting with the NCDA&CS, it was decided to conduct Survey 2 at the North Carolina level through an online panel to understand their preferences in terms of on an app such as the Visit NC Farms. Thus, this change in plans represented additional delays. Nonetheless, the measures taken to remedy the shortcomings in Survey 1 has provided a deeper understanding of the functioning of the app and the necessary input to design Survey 2 which will better inform decision-making for the NCDA&CS and expand the understanding of agritourism mobile apps in general. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided PD Brune with the opportunity to design, manage, and implement a research project that built upon her dissertation research. The budgeting, project management, and translational research skills she developed during this project made her a competitive candidate for tourism research positions in the industry. PD Brune also had the opportunity to engage with members of agricultural leadership teams at the state level (i.e., in collaborating with North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) staff in project design). She also developed skills in teaching and student engagement by presenting this work to over 100 students at North Carolina State University through courses in the Entrepreneurship academic program. Brune also developed management skills by supervising multiple research team members in the implementation of the project and communication of its findings. Additionally, the project provided training and professional development skills for a research associate (Emily Smith) and undergraduate research assistant (McKenzie Bracken) giving both the opportunity to engage in data analysis and communication of research to both academic and industry audiences via conference presentations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Throughout the project ongoing meetings were conducted the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) team responsible for developing and implementing the app. This team received a report on marketing and management recommendations (in line with accomplishing Goal 2, Objectives 5 & 6) for the Visit NC Farms App. Additionally, academic communities of interest were reached via presentations at the Travel and Tourism Research Association's Annual International Conference in 2023 and 2024. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?With PD Brune leaving the project her advisor, Dr. Whitney Knollenberg, will close out project activities including an additional conference presentation that will reach. both the tourism industry and academic communities is planned for the Southeast Tourism Society's Connections conference in September 2024. No project funds will be utilized to accomplish these remaining tasks.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research goals: Advance the knowledge of how mobile apps can be used to market agritourism and local food by: Objectives 1 (Establish typologies of agritourism visitors for a mobile app promoting agritourism) and 2 (Link user typologies with agritourism preferences): An initial survey was sent to Visit NC Farms App users through push notifications on the app. Due to unanticipated challenges with the functionality of the app only 11 responses of the original survey (Survey 1) were obtained. Reliable analysis could not be conducted with such a low response rate. So, a second survey (Survey 2) was designed to investigate potential users' needs and motivations towards a mobile application to connect consumers and local farms in North Carolina (which would be used to create typologies for Objective 1). The objective of the survey was to understand what aspects would motivate the public in North Carolina to download a mobile to find local farms to visit in North Carolina (which would be used to link typologies with preferences for agritourism information on the app). A panel survey provider was used to gather survey responses, yielding 497 usable responses. Analysis of these responses could not be completed before PD Brune left the project. Objective 3 (Assess user experiences and satisfaction with the itinerary building feature of a mobile app promoting agritourism): Open ended responses from Survey 1 provided opportunities to qualitatively examine app users' experiences. Additionally, 11 Visit NC Farms App administrators (typically employees of County Extension or tourism offices) were interviewed to assess their perceptions of users' experiences and satisfaction with the app. Survey 1 responses and interviews revealed "glitches" in the app that created challenges for uses - e.g., push notifications not functioning, freezing of the app when accessing asset information. Additional analysis of Survey 2 related to interest in app itinerary features could not be completed before PD Brune left the project. Objective 4 (Investigate the degree to which the itinerary feature promotes awareness of agritourism farms and encourages visitation): Open ended responses from Survey 1 and interviews with 11 Visit NC Farms App administrators (typically employees of County Extension or tourism offices) were examined to determine the potential for itinerary features to encourage visitation to local farms. Based on these data it was found that primary existing features of the app - such as sustaining current and accurate asset information and streamlining access to valuable information (e.g., which farm products are currently available) were priorities over developing an itinerary. Extension goals: Provide the Visit NC Farms app managers (e.g., NCDA&CA, staff responsible for app development), app administrators (e.g., county extension agents), participating farms, and other businesses with recommendations for improving marketing efforts and identify specific opportunities for app improvement. Objectives 5 (Establishing marketing recommendations to reach each agritourism visitor typology) and 6 (Develop recommendations for itinerary feature improvement and factors that may maximize effectiveness at promoting visitation): Data from the Survey 1 open ended responses and interviews with app administrators were used to create a report for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) agritourism team who manages the overall development and implementation of the Visit NC Farms app. This report provided a: 1.) summary of the current state of the Visit NC Farms App from the user and administrators perspectives; 2.) challenges identified in the present and future implementation of the app; and 3.) suggestions for future development of the app (e.g., itinerary functionality, increasing the impact of the app on farm visitation). Additional integration of Survey 2 data could not be reported to the NCDACS team before PD Brune left the project. Objective 7 (Host a virtual or in-person workshop for agritourism farmers and rural businesses to communicate marketing strategies targeting visitor typologies and encourage farm visitation): While PD Brune hosted multiple meetings with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) team regarding this project a workshop for farmers and rural businesses could not be completed before she left the project. Objective 8 (Disseminate findings through two extension publications targeted to the agritourism industry to advance agritourism marketing and app development): Members of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) app team utilized content from the report (Objective 5 outcome) to create a communication that could be shared with app assets and administrators with recommendations on how to improve marketing efforts through the app. This was distributed through a Visit NC Farms App asset and administrator listserv and on NCDACS social media channels.

Publications

Progress 05/15/23 to 05/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience: The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer services (NCDA&CS). We have worked closely with them to determine their research needs and we have provided marketing insights. Through presenting at the Tourism Travel Research Association (TTRA) we have also reached out to agritourism and tourism practitioners and academics. We have also reached over 100 undergraduate students through the Entrepreneurship Panel Discussion hosted by NC State's Entrepreneurship program Changes/Problems:The execution of the project has faced varied challenges that have delayed the timely completion of the activities. First, the project started on September 1, 2022, that is three and half months later than planned. The delay was due to the administrative requirements of NC State University when hiring the Project Director. Second, although there was a timely implementation of Survey 1, the data collection did not go as planned as the necessary number of respondents was not achieved. Yet, the open question included in Survey 1 provided valuable input to decide on the next steps. Third, this hurdle led us to reformulate Survey 2. To explore the potential reasons why engagement through the app was limited, 11 in-depth interviews with the app administrators that work at the county level were conducted. This activity proved to be very useful to understand the different challenges the implementation of the app has faced and oriented our attention to understanding why the app has not engaged more users or assets. Therefore, after consulting with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS), it was decided to conduct Survey 2 at the North Carolina level through an online panel to understand their preferences in terms of on an app such as the Visit NC Farms. Thus, this change in plans represented additional delays. Nonetheless, the measures taken to remedy the shortcomings in Survey 1 has provided a deeper understanding of the functioning of the app and the necessary input to design Survey 2 which will better inform decision-making for the NCDA&CS and expand the understanding of agritourism mobile apps in general. At the moment, Survey 2 data collection is being conducted. Thus, more time will be needed to complete data collection for Survey 2, and analyze the data. This data, in conjunction with the app administrators interviews and Survey 1 will inform that two extension publication and the journal publication. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Parts of the results have been shared with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture which at the same time will inform the work of app administrators at the county level. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Once the data collection for Survey 2 is completed, a journal publication to disseminate all research findings and two extension publications will be written.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Establish typologies of agritourism visitors for a mobile app promoting agritourism: Survey 2 in its final stages of data collection Objective 2: Link user typologies with agritourism preferences (e.g., types of activities preferred, distance willing to travel). Survey 2 in its final stages of data collection Objective 3: Assess user experiences and satisfaction with the itinerary building feature of a mobile app promoting agritourism: Interviews with app administrators conducted have provided necessary feedback to understand some of the challenges implementing the functionality Objective 4: Investigate the degree to which the itinerary feature promotes awareness of agritourism farms and encourages visitation: Interviews with app administrators conducted to answer this question. Objective 5: Establishing marketing recommendations to reach each agritourism visitor typology: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services marketing report delivered.

Publications

Progress 05/15/22 to 05/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience: The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer services (NCDA&CS) was involved in the design of the project and assisted in its implementation. They received regular updates on the projects progress and a report on marketing and management actions. Through presenting at the Tourism Travel Research Association (TTRA) we have also reached out to other agritourism and tourism practitioners and academics. We have also reached over 100 undergraduate students through the Entrepreneurship Panel Discussion hosted by NC State's Entrepreneurship program. Changes/Problems:The execution of the project has faced varied challenges that have delayed the timely completion of the activities. First, the project started on September 1, 2022, that is three and half months later than expected. The delay was due to the administrative requirements of NC State University when hiring the Project Director. Second, although there was a timely implementation of Survey 1, the data collection did not go as planned as the necessary number of respondents was not achieved due to technical difficulties with the push notifications. Yet, the open question included in Survey 1 provided valuable input to decide the next steps. Third, this hurdle led us to reformulate Survey 2. To explore the potential reasons why engagement through the app was limited, 11 in-depth interviews with the app administrators that work at the county level were conducted. This activity proved to be very useful to understand the different challenges the implementation of the app has faced and oriented our attention to understanding why the app has not engaged more users or assets. Therefore, after consulting with the NCDA&CS, it was decided to conduct Survey 2 at the North Carolina level through an online panel to understand their preferences in terms of on an app such as the Visit NC Farms. Thus, this change in plans represented additional delays. Nonetheless, the measures taken to remedy the shortcomings in Survey 1 has provided a deeper understanding of the functioning of the app and the necessary input to design Survey 2 which will better inform decision-making for the NCDA&CS and expand the understanding of agritourism mobile apps in general. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided PD Brune with the opportunity to design, manage, and implement a research project that built upon her dissertation research. The budgeting, project management, and translational research skills she developed during this project made her a competitive candidate for tourism research positions in the industry. PD Brune also had the opportunity to engage with members of agricultural leadership teams at the state level (i.e., in collaborating with North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) staff in project design). She also developed skills in teaching and student engagement by presenting this work to over 100 students at North Carolina State University through courses in the Entrepreneurship academic program. Brune also developed management skills by supervising multiple research team members in the implementation of the project and communication of its findings. Additionally, the project provided training and professional development skills for a research associate (Emily Smith) and undergraduate research assistant (McKenzie Bracken) giving both the opportunity to engage in data analysis and communication of research to both academic and industry audiences via conference presentations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Throughout the project ongoing meetings were conducted the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) team responsible for developing and implementing the app. This team received a report on marketing and management recommendations (in line with accomplishing Goal 2, Objectives 5 & 6) for the Visit NC Farms App. Additionally, academic communities of interest were reached via presentations at the Travel and Tourism Research Association's Annual International Conference in 2023 and 2024. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?With PD Brune leaving the project her advisor, Dr. Whitney Knollenberg, will close out project activities including an additional conference presentation that will reach. both the tourism industry and academic communities is planned for the Southeast Tourism Society's Connections conference in September 2024. No project funds will be utilized to accomplish these remaining tasks.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research goals: Advance the knowledge of how mobile apps can be used to market agritourism and local food by: Objectives 1 (Establish typologies of agritourism visitors for a mobile app promoting agritourism) and 2 (Link user typologies with agritourism preferences): An initial survey was sent to Visit NC Farms App users through push notifications on the app. Due to unanticipated challenges with the functionality of the app only 11 responses of the original survey (Survey 1) were obtained. Reliable analysis could not be conducted with such a low response rate. So, a second survey (Survey 2) was designed to investigate potential users' needs and motivations towards a mobile application to connect consumers and local farms in North Carolina (which would be used to create typologies for Objective 1). The objective of the survey was to understand what aspects would motivate the public in North Carolina to download a mobile to find local farms to visit in North Carolina (which would be used to link typologies with preferences for agritourism information on the app). A panel survey provider was used to gather survey responses, yielding 497 usable responses. Analysis of these responses could not be completed before PD Brune left the project. Objective 3 (Assess user experiences and satisfaction with the itinerary building feature of a mobile app promoting agritourism): Open ended responses from Survey 1 provided opportunities to qualitatively examine app users' experiences. Additionally, 11 Visit NC Farms App administrators (typically employees of County Extension or tourism offices) were interviewed to assess their perceptions of users' experiences and satisfaction with the app. Survey 1 responses and interviews revealed "glitches" in the app that created challenges for uses - e.g., push notifications not functioning, freezing of the app when accessing asset information. Additional analysis of Survey 2 related to interest in app itinerary features could not be completed before PD Brune left the project. Objective 4 (Investigate the degree to which the itinerary feature promotes awareness of agritourism farms and encourages visitation): Open ended responses from Survey 1 and interviews with 11 Visit NC Farms App administrators (typically employees of County Extension or tourism offices) were examined to determine the potential for itinerary features to encourage visitation to local farms. Based on these data it was found that primary existing features of the app - such as sustaining current and accurate asset information and streamlining access to valuable information (e.g., which farm products are currently available) were priorities over developing an itinerary. Extension goals: Provide the Visit NC Farms app managers (e.g., NCDA&CA, staff responsible for app development), app administrators (e.g., county extension agents), participating farms, and other businesses with recommendations for improving marketing efforts and identify specific opportunities for app improvement. Objectives 5 (Establishing marketing recommendations to reach each agritourism visitor typology) and 6 (Develop recommendations for itinerary feature improvement and factors that may maximize effectiveness at promoting visitation): Data from the Survey 1 open ended responses and interviews with app administrators were used to create a report for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) agritourism team who manages the overall development and implementation of the Visit NC Farms app. This report provided a: 1.) summary of the current state of the Visit NC Farms App from the user and administrators perspectives; 2.) challenges identified in the present and future implementation of the app; and 3.) suggestions for future development of the app (e.g., itinerary functionality, increasing the impact of the app on farm visitation). Additional integration of Survey 2 data could not be reported to the NCDACS team before PD Brune left the project. Objective 7 (Host a virtual or in-person workshop for agritourism farmers and rural businesses to communicate marketing strategies targeting visitor typologies and encourage farm visitation): While PD Brune hosted multiple meetings with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) team regarding this project a workshop for farmers and rural businesses could not be completed before she left the project. Objective 8 (Disseminate findings through two extension publications targeted to the agritourism industry to advance agritourism marketing and app development): Members of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) app team utilized content from the report (Objective 5 outcome) to create a communication that could be shared with app assets and administrators with recommendations on how to improve marketing efforts through the app. This was distributed through a Visit NC Farms App asset and administrator listserv and on NCDACS social media channels.

Publications

Progress 05/15/22 to 05/14/23

Outputs
Target Audience:One of the target audiences is the Visit NC Farms mobile app administrators at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS). Although the extension work with them is centered on delivering actionable research findings so they can improve the Visit NC Farms mobile application, their involvement with the research process and implementation of the survey has provided them with the knowledge and tools that they could utilize if they wanted to implement more surveys on their own. Changes/Problems:Two factors delayed the project execution. First, the project started three and half months later, more specifically on September 1. That is the time that NC State University required to hire the project manager according to internal procedures. The second delay was due to understaffing at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA & CS) which is a strategic partner for this project. Activities were conducted as planned up to the point of the survey implementation. Our main point of contact was the Agritourism Marketing Specialist Annie Baggette who retired shortly after the project started. She had a team who expressed commitment to this research project, but the Agritourism Marketing Specialist position remains vacant, which means the remaining team is overloaded with work. Nonetheless, the survey implementation was only delayed for a month and is now back on track. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Since data collection is ongoing, research findings have not been disseminated. Yet, a paper about the theoretical and analytical framework and survey design to study mobile apps user typologies has been accepted for a presentation at the International Conference of the Travel and Tourism Research Association which will take place in June. This will allow a discussion around agritourism mobile app user typologies with an international tourism audience. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Once data collection is finished, data will be processed, and an extension publication will be written to reach practitioners and the agritourism industry audience. A peer-reviewed publication for an academic audience will also be written. The results will be presented at conferences to reach a wider range of practitioners and academic audience. The literature review and design for the itinerary building functionality survey has already started, so the next step will be to finish the design, pilot testing, and implementation in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and subject matter experts. The second survey is scheduled to take place during the fall of 2023. Following the second stage of data collection the research findings will be disseminated through an extension publication, a peer reviewed publication, and conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The main accomplishment under the research goal of "Establish typologies of agritourism visitors for mobile apps" was the development and implementation of the user typology survey in collaboration with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA&CS). The survey was also pilot tested for content validity with a convenience sample of undergrad students at NC State University which helped further improve wording, clarity, and overall content validity. The involvement of subject matter experts such as Hannah Dankbar (Local Food Program Manager at NC State) and Faculty member and Local Food Extension Specialist Dr. Dara Bloom in the survey development helped ensure the quality and reliability of the survey measurements. This collaboration with key stakeholders in the local food scene in North Carolina guarantees the relevance of the data collected with the survey instrument and that the research findings are actionable for the communities and groups of interests. The cooperative nature of the survey development also helped solidify the commitment of these key stakeholders and interest in disseminating and promoting the research findings. Collaboration for the following stage of the research has already started with the identification of the key aspects to be included in the second survey to be implemented during the fall of 2023.

Publications