GSD has prepared this ‘How to’ Guide to assist farmers in the Gulf Savannah region who are interested in establishing a farm stay business on their property. The guide has been developed to reduce some of the barriers to entry by demystifying the process to start and run a successful farm stay and provides key steps to help you in this process.
Farm stays are highly desirable for visitors, opening the door to new and unique experiences across the Gulf Savannah region. They also provide farmers with many benefits such as increased revenue and social interaction.
The guide has been developed with the support of the Queensland Government and directly supports initiatives aimed at growing the farm stay industry across the region.
An ideal region for farm stays
The Gulf Savannah region is renowned for its cattle industry, in fact it’s the third largest cattle rearing region in Australia. This presents a wonderful opportunity to offer new farm stay experiences that are unique to this region.
The following map outlines the Shires in our region and some of the farm stay experiences visitors currently enjoy.
What is a farmstay?
A farm stay provides accommodation and other experiences to paying visitors on a working farm or cattle station. Farm stay accommodation can be comparable to camping grounds, holiday houses and bed and breakfasts.
A farm stay can vary in size and type of accommodation and activities provided.
Here are a few examples of what’s involved.
Camp sites
Caravan sites
Existing rooms
Food and alcohol
Luxury retreats
Tours &activities
A unique experience
Creating the vision
When thinking about what your farm stay could be, there are no fixed rules. It may be as simple as providing an existing room in your homestead or offering self-contained accommodation (e.g. worker’s cottage or shed), camping grounds and caravan sites.
You may offer other activities to enhance the appeal of the experience, which can also be extended to day visitors. These include self-drive tours, 4WD tracks, self-guided walks, helicopter flights, and guided quad bike tours.
In practice, you will likely begin on a small scale and may choose to expand as you gain the confidence, knowledge, and resources to manage a larger business.
Who is this guide for?
This guide is for any farmer who is considering expanding their business into a farm stay business, or who is keen to know more about what’s involved.
You may have thought about a farm stay but you’re not sure where to begin. This guide will help you through key steps to starting a farm stay business. While it’s useful as a starting point, it requires you to navigate sometimes complex financial, regulatory and local planning requirements. It is recommended you seek professional financial and/or legal advice as required.
Key steps to starting a farm stay
Starting a farm stay business involves the following steps that with the right support can lead to a highly successful outcome. Toggle through each step in order or jump through to different steps as needed.
