PROMOTING FEE-FISHING OPERATIONS AS TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33809023
06/06/02

PROMOTING FEE-FISHING OPERATIONS AS TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Source: Michigan State University
ID: E-2409
Author: Chopak, Charles
Year: 1992

Aquaculture, the controlled cultivation of aquatic animals
and plants, is a small industry in Michigan. Commercial
trout farming began in Michigan around 60 years ago.
Because of increased national fish consumption,
aquaculture offers Michigan farmers an opportunity for
enterprise diversification. In particular, fee-fishing has
agriculture and tourism linkages that make it a unique
aquaculture enterprise.

Fee-fishing has many positive aspects. First, fee-fishing
offers family entertainment that is both fun and
educational. Second, the food fish products are healthy,
nutritious and safe. Third, no fishing license is required
because the fishing is in private ponds. Finally, because
fish are in densely stocked ponds, fee-fishing gives
younger anglers a chance to learn how to catch fish
successfully.

This report is intended to provide Michigan operators of
fee-fishing enterprises with useful information about how
to market their operations as tourist attractions or how
fee-fishing could add to the tourism potential of other
similar tourist activities (e.g., pick-your-own
operations).

The majority of the data used to prepare this report were
collected in a survey of Michigan fish growers.
Fee-fishing operators who responded to an earlier producer
questionnaire were interviewed.

What is fee-fishing?

The first step to improved marketing of a fee-fishing
enterprise is to understand the term "fee-fishing."
Fee-fishing is more than just inviting anglers to come to
fish in your densely stocked ponds. A better, more
complete concept of a fee-fishing operation takes into
account that the visitors, or guests, view fee-fishing in
the larger context of a tourism experience, with fishing
in densely stocked ponds as only one component.

There are two important reasons to view fee-fishing as
part of a larger tourism experience. First, this approach
treats customers as guests and therefore implies that they
have other needs beyond fishing. Second, this perspective
places the fishing within a larger context of why people
visit a fee-fishing operation: they are looking for a
family activity that is both fun and educational.

Fee-fishing in Michigan

Slightly less than 40 percent of all fish growers who were
interviewed have fee-fishing operations. The most common
species available is rainbow trout, though some growers
also stock brook trout, brown trout, catfish, bluegills
and largemouth bass.

Because there are few fee-fishing operations in Michigan,
and because fee-fishing is a tourism activity, its
competition comes primarily from other recreational
attractions and activities. Though some fish farms
specialize in fee-fishing, most growers also have game
fish or food fish operations. Not all operations produce
their own fish-many purchase adult fish from other growers
to stock in their ponds.

Growers vary in the services that they offer to customers.
Most of the growers surveyed in 1991 reported they will
clean, bag and ice the caught fish at no cost, while fewer
than half are willing to fillet fish. Few growers offer
additional services, though some innovative growers offer
hatchery tours, refreshments, paddleboats and fish feeding
demonstrations. They may also sell fish feed, sell
fish or have a gift shop.

More than half of the growers with fee-fishing operations
advertise. Growers who advertise do so in a variety of
ways, including local newspapers, brochures and
newsletters. Reasons reported by growers for not
advertising are that they have enough customers without
advertising, their facility is for members only, or there
are restrictions on putting up signs where they are
located.

Three sets of prices are possible in a fee-fishing
operation: entrance fees, cost of caught fish and fees for
other services (e.g., filleting, )(1). Most growers do not
charge an entrance fee, citing that they do not want to
scare off potential customers. The growers who do charge
an entrance fee do so in one of four ways: a flat rate per
carload or per person; a flat rate per person with no
charge for fish caught; a system based on the age of the
angler; or admission for members only. The prices for fish
caught vary both by species and unit of pricing (either by
the inch or the pound).

(1) For more details on the pricing systems of fee-fishing
operations, see Chopak (in press).

Fee-fishing operations are open from February through
October, but the peak period of sales occurs during July
and August. Most growers set their prices at the beginning
of the season and do not adjust them until the next
season.

Almost 70 percent of people contacted in a consumer survey
stated that they were aware of fee-fishing operations in
Michigan. But only 5 percent of those consumers who stated
they were aware of these operations reported that they had
actually gone fee-fishing.

Promoting a fee-fishing operation

To better market your fee-fishing operation you should
promote your operation and its products as part of an
overall tourist experience. This means engaging in both
on-farm and off-farm promotions to keep old customers and
attract new ones. In tourism, word-of-mouth is the most
effective means of advertisement.

On-farm promotions

On-farm promotions are designed to encourage repeat visits
from customers and to stimulate new business through
word-of-mouth. To attract and keep customers (guests) for
your fee-fishing operation, you need to provide:

1. A scenic, aesthetically beautiful setting.
Because your guests are on vacation, they prefer to have a
picturesque, relaxing environment when they fish. This
includes shade trees, grass, well maintained grounds,
benches, tables and flowers.

2. A good quality product. Growers should make available
to visitors a diversified line of products (species and
sizes) that look nice and are nutritious, healthy and
safe.

3. A friendly and helpful staff. Staff training is
critical to ensure that guests are well treated. Visitors
are more likely to return to a place where the staff is
friendly and cooperative.

4. An adequate number of workers. Even though your
customers are on vacation (if only for the day), they do
not enjoy waiting. To combat this, the operation needs a
large enough staff to handle the volume of visitors.

5. Clearly marked prices. This eliminates confusion and
avoids problems that would detract from the visitors'
experience. Also, this allows visitors to make better
decisions about what services they want to use.

6. Adequate facilities. It is important to minimize
congestion for services and facilities offered (restrooms,
ponds and picnic facilities).

7. Other on-site activities. Activities other than fishing
will enhance the visitors' tourism experience, including
hatchery tours, fish feeding, a picnic area or lake
activities (swimming and paddleboats). In deciding what
activities to offer, keep in mind that all members of a
travel party may not be interested in fishing but may play
a role in deciding whether to visit your business.

8. Souvenirs and memories. Have something for customers to
take with them to encourage return visits and to encourage
others to visit. Possibilities include a brochure about
the fish farm, information on cleaning or preparing fish
(a local recipe, if possible) and souvenirs (for example,
sun visors, hats, T-shirts, coffee mugs, key chains or
buttons).

9. Ensure product quality. It is important to ensure the
quality of fish products. This can be done by: having
healthy fish that bite well; carefully packaging the fish
(ask about visitors' travel plans to suggest how to keep
the fish fresh); and giving fish preparation and cooking
suggestions. The fee-fishing's reputation is only as good
as the on-farm experience and the quality of the fish
(appearance, texture, freshness and taste) when it is
prepared. Do whatever is possible to minimize quality
reduction for travelers.

10. Information about other area activities. It is
important to provide information (brochures or signs)about
other area activities. A variety of activities in the area
for tourists will help your business, not hurt it. In
addition, this will build a feeling of community among
operators of various recreational activities in the area.

Off-farm promotions

Off-farm promotions are designed to attract new customers
to your operation. Growers with fee-fishing operations
must direct their off-farm promotional efforts at both the
local and regional levels. Each type of promotion should
be directed toward different types of visitors and should
use different methods.

Local promotions (15-mile radius) should be directed
toward contact points where area travelers might request
information about the area's activities, including hotel
operators, the Chamber of Commerce, gas stations, the
tourist information office, the county Extension office
and anywhere else that tourists may ask for advice about
recreational activities. To build awareness of your
operation, you might offer a free fishing experience to
selected people who might recommend your business to
tourists. These contact points are important because
tourists already in the area ask them, "What are the fun
things to do around here?" A good working relationship
with these people will result in an overall stronger
business environment for both you and other operations in
your area. Visitors want to have a variety of experiences,
and your fee-fishing operation can complement other area
activities. In addition, local media, including
newspapers, brochures and flyers, should be used in peak
tourist periods to directly influence the tourism
decisions of visitors in your area. Finally, your
operation should be listed in both the telephone directory
and travel guides.

REMEMBER:
PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE FUN, LEARN AND EXPERIENCE NEW THINGS!
HOW THEY REMEMBER THEIR EXPERIENCE AT YOUR FARM CAN BE
YOUR BEST (OR WORST) FORM OF ADVERTISING!!

These are low cost ways of helping tourists more easily
find your facility. Other off-farm promotions should be
directed more at the regional level, including tourist
associations, newspapers in larger surrounding cities (for
example, Detroit and Chicago) and bus tour companies. The
goal of these promotions is to influence travelers when
they are deciding where to spend their vacations. Owners
of local tourism attractions can organize to jointly
promote the diversity of activities in their area.
Regional promotion generally is too costly for a grower to
tackle independently, so cooperation among growers and
other tourist service businesses is required to develop an
adequate promotion budget to address more distant markets.

What else should you do?

In addition to on-farm and off-farm promotions of the
fee-fishing operation and its products, you should also
listen to and learn from your customers.

Learn about your guests.

Information about your guests is critical to promoting
your business. For example, information on where they came
from, how many people are in their group, the number of
days they have spent in the area, how they learned about
your operation and so on, is important to guide both your
on-farm and off-farm promotions. Three ways you can
acquire information about your guests are:

Guest registry. As visitors arrive, you could request that
they write in your guest registry their names, where they
came from, the number of people with them and so on. This
is a non-obtrusive way of having people leave information
necessary for your promotional activities. The addresses
of visitors are useful because you can then send them a
flyer reminding them of future events and activities at
your site and in your area. Remember, your best future
business prospects are your past customers, and satisfied
customers are your best form of advertising.

Large wall map. Another popular way of acquiring
information about your visitors is to have a family member
put a pin in a wall map to show where they are from. This
is also fun and shows your guests the diversity of
visitors that your operation attracts.

Observation and informal discussion. The operator, or the
staff member who greets the guests, could observe and
informally question the guests to acquire the information
you need to conduct your promotional activities. This is
the least threatening method to get this information
because it does not require guests to decide whether they
want to write down certain information.

Solicit advice from your guests. It is also important to
demonstrate that you are willing to improve the quality of
the goods and services that you offer. This will generate
good will only if you listen carefully and follow through
with reasonable suggestions. It is important to remember
that youare providing a service, and that if your present
guests are not satisfied, your future guests won't be,
either. There are three ways to solicit advice from your
guests:

Verbally. Ask guests for any comments or suggestions they
have about their visit to your farm, and record them
later. It is important to remain positive and not be
defensive as people give their comments. Remember, you
asked them for suggestions! This method is good because
you are likely to get more responses and more detail per
response. On the other hand, not all questions that you
want answered will get asked, and people are less likely
to make negative comments orally.

Suggestion box. You could also have a small form (a note
card or 1/2 page photocopy) for interested guests to
complete. The card could either be blank or have some
questions about what they liked and didn't like, and what
additional goods and services they would like to have
available. This method is useful because all questions you
want answers to would be asked, and you will have a better
chance of soliciting constructive (both positive and
negative) comments from guests. Not everybody is willing
to write down their comments, so you will get fewer
responses and less detail per response, and you will not
be able to ask questions to clarify their comments.

Both. Guests could be asked orally for any comments or
suggestions they have, and invited to make use of the
suggestion box.

Summary

Only a small percentage of Michigan consumers stated that
they have ever gone fee-fishing, even though they are
aware of Michigan fee-fishing operations. Therefore, more
effort needs to be made to promote these operations, both
on-farm and off-farm. The critical issue, though, is to
recognize that fee-fishing is both an agricultural and a
tourism activity Promotional efforts have to include both
the product and service sides of the fee-fishing
operation. Few travelers go fee-fishing only to catch fish
and leave. Most travelers want to have fun and learn
something new. The challenge is to offer your guests a
complete tourism experience that includes not only
fishing, but also a variety of other activities and
experiences. Capturing a tourist requires that he or she
must first be attracted to Michigan, then to your region
of Michigan and finally to your business. Thus, you should
be willing to become involved in the full chain of tourism
industry promotional activities.

Sources of Information

Extension bulletins

To obtain any of these bulletins, contact your county
Extension office or the Michigan Cooperative Extension
Service Bulletin Office (10B Agriculture Hall, Michigan
State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824).

Fisheries

E-1179 Great Lakes Fish Preparation
E-1180 Freshwater Fish Preservation
E-1323 Commercial Freezing of Freshwater fish
E-1775 Making Plans for Commercial Fish Culture
E-1776 My Bluegills are Stunted, Help!
E-2028 Eating Great Lakes Fish
E-2016 Testing Contaminants-A Guide for Home and Farm
E-2410 What Consumers Want: Advice for Food Fish Growers
E-2411 What Brokers, Wholesalers, Retailers and
Restaurants Want: Advice for Food Fish Growers

Tourism
E-1937 Tourism and its Significance in
Local Development
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33520059.html

E-2004 Tourism Planning
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33000005.html

E-1958 Developing a Tourism Organization
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33520069.html

E-1959 Tourism Marketing
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33700082.html

E-1992 Feasibility Analysis in Tourism
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33119709.html

E-1939 Developing a Promotional Strategy
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33710086.html

E-1957 Creating a Promotional Theme
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33710088.html

E-1940 Information and Traveler Decision Making
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33710085.html

E-1938 Managing Tourism Information Systems
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33109703.html

E-2005 Selecting Promotional Media
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33710093.html

E-1999 Pricing Tourism Products and Services
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33740097.html

E-1960 Direct Marketing of Agricultural Products to
Tourists
http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modtd/33839811.html

Other related readings

Chopak, C.J. (In press.) Marketing Michigan Aquacultural
Products. Research report 526. East Lansing, Mich.:
Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station.

Chopak, C.J., and J.R. Newman. (In press.) The Status and
Potential of Michigan Aquaculture. Special Report No. Cl.
East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University
Agricultural Experiment Station.

Spotts, D.M. (Editor.) 1991. Travel and Tourism in
Michigan: A Statistical Profile. Research Monograph No. 2.
East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University Travel,
Tourism and Recreation Resource Center.

This work is a result of research sponsored by the
Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the Michigan
Department of Agriculture under the State Subject Matter
Project #3804.

MSU is an affirmative-action equal-opportunity
institution. Cooperative Extension Service programs and
materials are available to all Without regard to race,
color, national origin, sex, handicap, age or religion.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in
agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Gail L. Imig, Director, Cooperative Extension
Service, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824.

This information is for educational purposes only.
References to commercial products or trade names does not
imply endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service or
bias against those not mentioned. This bulletin becomes
public property upon publication and may be printed
verbatim with credit to MSU. Reprinting cannot be used to
endorse or advertise a commercial product or company.

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