Agritourism: Farmers Cashing in through Hipcamp

Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech)

Farmers are taking advantage of the domestic tourist boom and diversifying their income streams by renting out their land for camping. In the last 18 months, the number of landowners selling their property to private campers has doubled to over 2000, with the vast majority of them being farms, hobby farms, or lifestyle blocks, according to the website Hipcamp. The number of registered campers on the site has increased to over 150,000, with 4.2 million searches and nearly 140,000 nights spent on a Hipcamp host’s property in 2021, a 60% increase over the previous year.

As COVID-related questions loom over overseas vacations, Hipcamp spokesman James Jooste predicted that the trend of local travel would only rise in the coming years. Additionally, Hipcamp hosts make an average of $10,000 per year, with some earning well into the six figures. Agritourism activities include buying fresh eggs, cattle feeding, permaculture and organic farming courses, horseback riding, and fruit picking and tasting at several Hipcamp facilities. Agritourism is a natural extensions of what farmers already do, allowing them to remain productive and continue farming the land. Hipcamp has no sign-up costs and includes insurance and a support team for hosts in exchange for a percentage on each booking.

Hundreds of visitors have visited Lucy Shepherd’s property in Eungai on the NSW North Coast over the last year thanks to Hipcamp. “It’s been absolutely fantastic,” Ms Shepherd said. “It draws the proper kind of customers who want to be out in nature.” Ms Shepherd said her agricultural pals were “extremely interested” about her camping operation, and she encouraged others to give it serious thought. “If someone has an old shears’ quarters or anything like that, it’s a great opportunity to diversify their income by bringing in a few tourists,” she added. Hipcamp takes care of a lot of the work; they handle the money, bookings, cancellations, and insurance.” This provides you with the opportunity to just be the host. Thus, having someone there to coordinate you and hold your hand is a really wonderful set if you’ve never run a business before.

Farmers are taking advantage of the domestic tourist boom and diversifying their income streams by renting out their land for camping. In the last 18 months, the number of landowners selling their property to private campers has doubled to over 2000, with the vast majority of them being farms, hobby farms, or lifestyle blocks, according to the website Hipcamp. The number of registered campers on the site has increased to over 150,000, with 4.2 million searches and nearly 140,000 nights spent on a Hipcamp host’s property in 2021, a 60% increase over the previous year.