Agritourism has become a powerful tool for Hawaiʻi farmers looking to diversify their income and connect with consumers.
Farm tours, tastings and hands-on experiences are ways for Hawaiʻi farmers to help people understand the labor behind food and the value of farm-to-table.
Kea Keolanui has helped pioneer agritourism on Hawaiʻi Island through her company, Hawaiʻi Eco Experiences.
She launched it in 2019 to bring visitors to her family's OK Farms in Hilo, and also to other farms and ag-related businesses in East Hawaiʻi.
She says state regulators told her then she was the first tour operator in Hawaiʻi focused just on agricultural experiences. Now the business has grown — with private contracts connecting to cruise ships that dock in Hilo.
Hawaiʻi Eco Experiences now brings thousands of visitors to local farms each year. Keolanui says the tours encourage visitors to buy local food. And she often hears from guests who leave her tours inspired to support farmers in their communities back home.
Brandon Lee owns the Lehua Restaurant at Imiloa Center in Hilo and the Napua Restaurant at Mauna Lani Resort. He also owns Kaunamano Farm, where he raises pigs.
He was initially resistant to agritourism because he thought farmers should be able to survive on farming alone.
But rising costs, especially for feed, have made it essential to diversify. Now he's planning to build a website, organize tours and connect the farm experience to his restaurants.
Lee says turning the farm into a tourist business will mean losing some of the quiet serenity of farming. But marketing and tourism are more important than ever to farming's survival.
