Compiled and edited by members of the National Extension Tourism Network (NET) Communications and Executive Committees: Natalie Chin, Kristen Devlin, Mercedes Fraser, Molly McManus, Ann Savage, Gwynn Stewart, and April Turner.
Table of Contents
- Letter from NET Chair, Ann Savage
- Updates from the NET Design Team and Partners
- NET Design Team elects new Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary for two-year terms
- NET Announces 2025 award recipients
- 2025 NETtra Tourism Conference Recap and Reflections
- 2027 NET Conference Save the Date
- Webinar update
- Regional Spotlight on the Northeast Region
- Northeast highlights from the 2025 NETtra Tourism Conference
- University of Maryland Eastern Shore shares new agritourism research
- Updates from Agritourism and Outdoor Recreation Working Groups
- Agritourism Working Group Update
- Outdoor Recreation Working Group Update
Letter from NET Chair, Ann Savage
Dear National Extension Tourism NETwork,
As we near the end of the year, I am still relishing in our time “Connecting through Tourism” during our conference in partnership with NETTRA in early October. After a year full of changes and challenges, it was special to come together, learn from one another, make new connections, and find inspiration for our work. We hope that, while the conference was themed “Connecting through Tourism,” we can continue to embody that theme in the year ahead, building new ideas and relationships with organizations, leaders, and communities.
In the spirit of gratitude, I want to thank Xinyi Qian, Andy Northrop, and April Turner for their time, ideas, and leadership on the executive committee. Also, a huge thanks to Lisa Chase, Lindsey Pashow, Doug Arbogast, and Jake Powell for starting and leading their respective working groups. Watching these working groups come to life under this leadership has been energizing, as new ways to learn and connect with NET have emerged.
As we enter the new year, NET will have exciting updates to its strategic plan, welcome new leadership to its Executive Committee, Design Team, and Agritourism and Outdoor Recreation Working Groups, and offer a variety of new webinars and opportunities to connect, so make sure to follow us on LinkedIn.
Sincerely,
Ann Savage,
North Carolina State University Extension,
Chair, NET
Update from the NET Design Team and Partners
NET Design Team elects new Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary for two-year terms
Earlier this year, the National Extension Tourism (NET) Design Team elected new officers, who will provide leadership and guidance to the all-volunteer organization, which serves a collaborative network of more than 800 educators, researchers, and technical experts interested in tourism and recreation. The leadership transition formally took place at the 2025 National Extension Tourism Conference held jointly with the Northeast Travel and Tourism Research Association (NETTRA) in Meredith, NH, last month. Meet the new Executive Officers.
NET announces 2025 Award Recipients
The National Extension Tourism Network (NET) recognized the impacts and accomplishments of several of its members during an awards banquet held during its biennial national conference, held in partnership with the Northeast Travel and Tourism Research Association (NETTRA) in Meredith, NH, in early October. This year’s NET Awards program honored four deserving teams and individuals with awards. Read all about this year’s award recipients here.
NETtra 2025 Conference recap and reflections
In early October, colleagues from across the country gathered in Meredith, New Hampshire, for the 2025 NETtra conference — a first-time collaboration between the National Extension Tourism Network (NET) and the Northeast Travel and Tourism Research Association (NETTRA). The conference was hosted by University of New Hampshire Extension, with UNH Extension State Specialist Jada Lindblom serving as Conference Chair. It convened more than 100 researchers, educators, and practitioners around the theme, “Connecting Through Tourism.” Between numerous networking meals, four mobile workshops, five panel discussions, 18 presentation sessions, and a poster session, the event provided ample opportunities for attendees to connect — with colleagues, with content, and with the New Hampshire tourism experience. Here’s a recap (with photos), and some reflections from those who attended:
- Finding Agritourism Inspiration: A Student’s Reflections from the 2025 NETtra Tourism Conference, by Cecilia Martinez, sophomore student in UNH Recreation Management and Policy program
- Paddling Together: Lakes, Tourism, and Balancing Uses, by UNH Extension Professor Shannon Rogers
2027 NET Conference Save the Date
Mark your calendars for the 2027 NET Conference, scheduled to take place Oct. 18-21, 2027, in the Jackson Hole Area of Wyoming!
NET Webinar Series Updates
The next NET webinar will take place in the first quarter of 2026. Watch your email for updates, and in the meantime, enjoy a recording of a previous NET webinar!
Spotlight on the Northeast Region
In each newsletter, we’ll feature NET-affiliated people and programs from a particular region. This time, we’re shining a light on the Northeast.
Small but mighty: The Northeast was well-represented at NETtra 2025!
Submitted by Doug Arbogast, West Virginia University Extension, and Kristen Devlin, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
The 2025 NETtra conference provided a platform for people from across the country to share their tourism research and programming. For this Regional Spotlight, we’re shining a light on conference presentations that included Northeast authors. They represented nine of the 12 states in the region, along with the District of Columbia. See the list of Northeast presentations and authors here.
The conference brought together Extension, academic faculty, students, and practitioners to highlight innovative programming. With the conference hosted in the Northeast, it was well represented by each of the target audiences. Presentations topics from the Northeast were diverse, demonstrating the depth and breadth of programming occurring in this region including agritourism, community entrepreneurship, tourism internships, tourism webinars and training programs, rural DMO start-up, sustainable tourism indicators, an outdoor workforce toolkit, ag + art tours, COVID-related tourism impacts on small communities and workforce, astrotourism, First Impressions, medical tourism, mindfulness, safety & sustainability, wellness tourism, mental health, historic barns, climate and social change, and outdoor recreation economies. The conference kicked off with an annual meeting of the NE2251 Hatch integrated project, designed to help foster multi-state collaboration among Extension and Academic faculty on tourism-related projects. Learn more about the Hatch project, Tourism Resilience and Community Sustainability: Adaptation and Recovery of Rural Businesses and Destinations.
Forthcoming agritourism research from University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) focuses on “Direct Sales Approaches, Visitors, and Profitability of Agritourism Operations in the US”
Submitted by Prem Bhandari, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
This forthcoming research article will be available at the NET Resource Library once it’s published. Abstract: Agritourism operations aim to enhance economic viability and sustain the business by opening farms to visitors for education, recreation, entertainment, and direct sales of farm products and services. Previous studies in the US show that the experience of on-farm direct sales, in general, shows a positive association, whereas off-farm direct sales shows a negative association with the profitability of agritourism operations. There are several approaches to direct sales such as U-pick, through a farm stand/store, subscription farming, or community supported agriculture (CSA), and selling at a farmers’ market. Which approaches of direct sales attract more visitors to a farm and generate higher profitability remain underexplored. Our findings using the recently collected data from a U.S. national survey of operators showed that on-farm direct sales such as a U-pick and a farm stand/store attracted significantly more visits to an agritourism operation, which ultimately yielded higher profitability. In contrast, the off-farm direct sales approach, specifically selling produce at farmers’ markets, attracted significantly fewer visits to the farm and reportedly reduced profitability. As previously shown by other studies, community-supported agriculture (CSA) and off-farm direct sales through farmers’ markets were not significantly associated with profitability. This empirical evidence offers a lesson to agritourism operators, policymakers, and Extension educators engaged in starting, expanding, and promoting direct sales at agritourism operations for their economic viability and sustainability.
Updates from the Agritourism and Outdoor Recreation Working Groups
Agritourism Working Group Update
Great to see so many members of the Agritourism Working Group in person at the NETtra Conference in New Hampshire! Lindsey Pashow and Lisa Chase led a roundtable discussion, where colleagues from several states discussed their programming and addressed the following questions:
- What types of educational outreach have you provided and are currently providing?
- What types of educational outreach worked well and why?
- What types of educational outreach did not work well and needed improvement? Why?
- How can NET help support your educational outreach?
We also talked about the future of the Agritourism Working Group, including transitioning leadership. More on the transition coming soon!
Outdoor Recreation Working Group (NEORWG) Update
A big thanks to all of the National Extension Tourism’s Outdoor Recreation Workgroup members who attended the NETtra Conference in New Hampshire. It was great to spend time together and learn from all of the amazing work happening around the country. During the conference, the workgoup shared the first two case studies in a new series they have planned to share examples of the Extension’s impact in outdoor recreation development. If you are interested in developing a case study, contact Jake Powell (jake.powell@usu.edu) or Kristen Devlin (krd111@psu.edu).
The workgroup also hosted a roundtable session where attendees gathered in small groups and discussed the role they plan in the outdoor recreation economy in their state, what needs remain unmet, what partnerships need developing, and the remaining barriers they are experiencing in their current roles.
There were many fruitful conversations and exciting realizations regarding the amazing and expansive work that workgroup members are engaged in. Moreover, it was apparent that Extension is contributing to this exciting growth sector, and there remains untapped potential to engage it further.
To that end, if you are engaged in outdoor recreation within your Extension role, and/or would like to be more involved in the Outdoor Recreation Workgroup, please reach out to Jake Powell (jake.powell@usu.edu) for more information.
Thanks for reading! The next NET newsletter will be published in February. View older newsletters here.