Abstract

                                Gender is one of the important socio-demographic variables affecting tourist behaviourand preferences. The prime objective of this study was to identify the attractive features in agricultural landscapes and to know about gender preferences in agri-tourism. Data were collected in farm resorts located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Forty customers were randomly selected as respondents in ten resorts with total arrival of 400 respondents. Results showed that customers liked primarily natural features than agricultural and cultural features. Native plants and flowers, historical elements, a variety of specialty crops, water resources, wetlands, and intensive crop farms were the most preferred features by customers. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) showed significant differences between males and females. Mean scores for significant variables showed that femalespreferred native plants and flowers, grassland and pastures, intensive crop farms, and petting animals more than males

Key words : Gender;Customer Preference;Agri-tourism;Landscape