Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF): A Neglected Aspect of Farm Tourism in New Zealand
Alison McIntosh and Tamara Campbell

Despite the importance of farm tourism to many rural communities in New Zealand, there has been no attention given to the contribution of the Willing Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF) venture to farm tourismin New Zealand. While the primary objective of the venture is organic farming, the facilitation of tourism experiences on the farmremains an additional concernamongWWOOF hosts. This paper is basedon a postal surveyof 67WWOOFhosts locatedin fourmainregions ofNewZealand’s South Island. The study sought to understand themanagement ofWWOOF farms in relation to their role in providing tourismopportunities, to determine the reasons for becoming a WWOOF host, to provide a demographic profile of hosts and evaluate the environmental values and attitudes held by hosts. The study findings highlighted that WWOOF hosting has over recent years provided an increasing contribution to farmtourism in New Zealand. The study also provided some evidence to suggest that the
motivations and experiences of WWOOF hosts were notably different from that of other farmtourismhosts. In particular, environmental ethic and shared knowledge of organic practices were considered essential.
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