Agri Tourism

What Agri Tourism does

Agri Tourism India (ATDC) is a Pune-based private company founded in 2003 and formally registered in 2005 by Pandurang Taware, recognized as India's Father of Agri Tourism. ATDC operates an umbrella network of 700+ registered Agri Tourism Centers spread across more than 200 villages, primarily in rural Maharashtra, and supports small and marginal farmers in converting their agricultural land into tourism destinations. The company does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its operations are facilitated through a website (agritourism.in), social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram), and a 30-acre Baramati Agri and Rural Tourism Training Research and Development Centre at Palshiwadi that anchors its training and capacity-building activities.

ATDC generates revenue through three streams: recurring affiliation and registration fees paid by farmers enrolling their farms under the ATDC umbrella; unit-priced training programs offered in three formats (One Day Physical at Pune, One Day Virtual, and Three Days Residential at Baramati); and downstream tourist spending at individual Agri Tourism Centers (day tours, overnight stays, and experiential activities such as bullock cart rides, pottery making, and organic farming demonstrations). The company serves a long-tail customer base of small and marginal farmers on the supply side and urban Indian and foreign tourists on the demand side, with secondary segments in educational institutions and corporate groups.

The business model is community-led, scaling through word-of-mouth among farming communities, training programs, and peer referrals. National visibility was amplified by the 2021 Shark Tank India appearance. ATDC exerts policy influence through its founder's authorship of the Maharashtra Agri Tourism Policy 2020 and the Karnataka Agri Tourism Policy, and has extended its international reach via the Global Agri Tourism Network launched in April 2023 with participation from 30+ countries. The company is privately held, founder-owned, and bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding.

Name

Agri Tourism

Legal name

ATDC Pvt Ltd

Website

https://agritourism.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Agri Tourism India (ATDC) is a Pune-based private company that operates a network of 700+ registered Agri Tourism Centers across rural Maharashtra, training small farmers to host urban and foreign tourists seeking authentic farm experiences and generating revenue through affiliation fees and paid training programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agritourism Services

NAICS

Farm Management Services (115116), Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry (115)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAAAHAL

Agritourism Eco-Lodges & Farm Nature Stays

Travel & Hospitality/Adventure, Amusement Parks & Ecotourism/Nature Lodges & Eco-Resorts

SECONDARYTHAMADAH

Farm Stays & Agritourism Lodges

Travel & Hospitality/Vacation Rentals & Short-Term Stays/Boutique & Unique Stays (Cabins, Tiny Homes, Treehouses, Yurts)

SECONDARYTHAHABAM

Agriculture, Farming & AgriTech Shows Organizers

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Exhibition & Trade Show Organizers

SECONDARYAFACAJAN

Capital Projects & Farm Expansion Advisory (Feasibility, Site Planning, ROI)

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Services (Custom Farming, Agronomy, Veterinary)/Farm Management & Operational Advisory Services

Keywords

• Agricultural tourism services
• Farmer training programs
• Rural tourism network
• Farm-based tourism
• Agritourism consultancy

Headquarters

HQ city

Pune

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Agri Tourism Center Registration and Affiliation: Farmers register their farms under the ATDC umbrella organization, paying affiliation fees to be part of the network and receive visibility, marketing support, and training.
2. Training Programs: ATDC offers One Day Physical, One Day Virtual, and Three Days Residential training programs for farmers wanting to start Agri Tourism activities. Revenue generated from program fees.
3. Agri Tourism Experiences: Individual Agri Tourism Centers generate revenue from tourist visits including day tours, overnight stays, and experiential activities such as kite flying, bullock cart rides, tractor rides, pottery making, and farm product purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ATDC operates as an umbrella organization for agricultural tourism in India, providing farm registration and affiliation services, training programs (One Day Physical, One Day Virtual, and Three Days Residential), and managing a network of 700+ Agri Tourism Centres across villages in Maharashtra. The company connects urban tourists with rural farm experiences including bullock cart rides, tractor rides, pottery, kite flying, traditional cuisine and farm stays, while training farmers to establish tourism activities on their existing agricultural land through a 30-acre Baramati training centre.

Product overview

Agri Tourism India (ATDC) operates as a platform offering agritourism services through a network of over 700 registered Agri Tourism Centers across villages. The core offering includes the ATDC umbrella organization that provides farm registration services, training programs (One Day Physical, One Day Virtual, and Three Days Residential), and booking/reservation support. The flagship Baramati Training and Development Centre serves as the primary capacity building facility. Additionally, World Agri Tourism Day serves as an annual international conference connecting the global agritourism community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• World Agri Tourism Day: An annual international event organized by ATDC, bringing together Agri Tourism practitioners, policymakers, scholars, and enthusiasts from around the world. The event has grown to include participants from 30+ countries.
• Global Agri Tourism Network (GAN)

Products and services

• Agri Tourism Centre Registration / Affiliation Subscription-style registration service for farmers to enrol their farms as official Agri Tourism Centres under the ATDC umbrella organization, receiving visibility, marketing support, training access and booking facilitation in return for affiliation fees.
• Agri Tourism Training Programs Three training program formats for farmers and aspiring agritourism operators: One Day Physical (at Model Colony, Shivaji Nagar, Pune), One Day Virtual (on Zoom), and Three Days Residential (at Baramati centre). Programs cover Agri Tourism concept, operations, marketing and registration.
• Baramati Agri and Rural Tourism Training Research and Development Centre 30-acre dedicated facility at Palshiwadi village in Baramati taluka offering residential training, research, conferences and demonstration of agritourism activities. Functions as the flagship operational and capacity-building infrastructure of ATDC.
• Agri Tourism Experiences (Farm Tours and Stays) Tourist-facing farm experiences offered through the 700+ ATDC-affiliated Agri Tourism Centres, including day tours, overnight stays, bullock cart rides, tractor rides, kite flying, pottery making, organic farming demonstrations and traditional food. Tariffs are customizable by individual centres.
• World Agri Tourism Day Annual Conference Annual international conference bringing together panelists, speakers, scholars, practitioners, policy makers and students from 30+ countries on 15-16 May each year to discuss agritourism development. Now in its 19th year, recognized by UNWTO since January 2010.

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped over 600 farmers earn Rs 58 Crore through agritourism
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CBSUA - Central Bicol University of Agriculture, PhilippinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2024MOA signed for academic and research collaboration in Agri Tourism. Central Bicol University of Agriculture from Philippines partnered for knowledge sharing and international Agri Tourism development.
• John Deere Tractor CompaniesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023American guests from John Deere visited Palshiwadi Agri Tourism Center in March 2023, indicating international agricultural industry interest in the Agri Tourism model.
• Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar PradeshcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023MOU signed for developing Agri Tourism in Uttar Pradesh. ATDC founder Pandurang Taware has been actively involved in discussions with UP government officials including Hon'ble Meshram Sir regarding Agri Tourism development.
• Global Agri Tourism Network (GAN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2023Pandurang Taware appointed as South and West Asia Committee Chair and World Agri Tourism Day Committee Chair. Designed the prestigious Global Agri Tourism Network LOGO. Launched virtually in May 2023.
• Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Uttar PradeshcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022MOU signed on World Tourism Day 2022 for collaboration in Agri Tourism research, training, and academic programs. Pandurang Taware delivered keynote speech at the university on this occasion.
• National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, ICAR, PunecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Collaboration signed for research and knowledge sharing on agricultural tourism and extension activities. ICAR institute focused on abiotic stress management collaborates with ATDC for sustainable agriculture tourism practices.
• International Agri Tourism Conference, Vermont University, USAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Selected as member of International Steering Committee of International Agri Tourism Conference organized by Vermont University. Regular Facebook live sessions conducted during 2020 with US farm stay organizations.
• Government of MaharashtracoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020ATDC founder Pandurang Taware drafted the Maharashtra Agri Tourism Policy 2020 which was declared by the state government. ATDC serves as the governing body member on Forum for Maharashtra Tourism.
• Government of KarnatakacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Pandurang Taware served as Team Leader to draft Agri Tourism Policy for Karnataka Government in 2020.
• MANAGE (National Institute of Agriculture Extension Management)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2018ATDC founder served as faculty trainer for Agri Tourism at MANAGE, contributing to extension education for agricultural extension professionals.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb Experiences: Global platform offering hosted experiences including farm visits, rural immersions, and agricultural activities. Competes with ATDC's farm experience offerings via a much larger global marketplace reach.
• Responsible Travel: UK-based responsible tourism marketplace that curates community-based and agritourism holidays globally. Comparable for its responsible-tourism positioning, though it operates as a broader online marketplace rather than association/operator.
• Booking.com Farm Stays: Global OTA with farm-stay and rural-accommodation filters connecting travelers with rural properties worldwide. Functions as a broad incumbent distribution channel and indirect competitor to ATDC's network.

Others

• MakeMyTrip: India's largest online travel aggregator offering tours, activities, and rural experience packages. Adjacent ecosystem player that could partner with or disintermediate ATDC's network via its scale and distribution.

Direct peers

• Mahindra Homestays: India-based rural homestay network operated by Mahindra Holidays, offering curated stays including farm and village properties. Comparable Indian rural/accommodation aggregator that competes for similar urban-tourist demand.
• Hipcamp: US-based marketplace platform connecting travelers with unique outdoor stays including working farms and ranches. Comparable to ATDC's farm-stay aggregation model, though more tech-platform-led than association-led.
• Village Ways India: India-focused rural tourism operator offering village homestays and walking/cycling experiences through farming communities. Comparable as a competing rural-tourism platform targeting similar urban Indian and foreign tourist segments.
• Grassroutes India: India-based rural experience provider offering farm stays, village immersions, and curated rural tourism packages. Directly comparable offering targeting the same urban Indian and foreign traveler segments.
• FarmStay UK: UK-based farm stay network and membership organization connecting tourists with farmer-owned accommodations and rural experiences. Directly comparable to ATDC's umbrella model of registered farms offering tourism experiences.

Regional players

• Philippine Farm Tourism (DOT Program): Government-recognized Farm Tourism Sites program in the Philippines partnering with entities like CBSUA and ATDC founder Taware for knowledge exchange. Comparable as an Asian agritourism network operating in a different national market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PandurangTaware
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@pandurangtaware7878
• Facebookfacebook.com/AgriTourismIndia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/agritourismindia
• Instagraminstagram.com/agritourismindia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agri Tourism