TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The desire to marry agriculture and economic vitality regionally is why Ashira Young created “Visit Southern Indiana,” a Web-based travel and tourism guide.

She explained her family’s agritourism operation and new travel business during last month’s Indiana Rural Summit at Indiana State University. Young, executive director of the travel firm, explained how her family’s 120-acre farm and vacation rental site, Blue River Valley Farm near Milltown, cinched her view that guests want a breath of country away from life’s busyness – and how southern Indiana could use a promotion boost.

“Owning our farm and vacation rental property brings new awareness of what the public enjoys and why they visit. When people come to stay, they fish in the Blue River and kids put down their video games. Relaxing gives them the opportunity to reconnect with the roots of this country.

“Agriculture is what feeds and nurtures us, but we’ve gotten away from it,” she said. “Kids are amazed at the open space; they like walking the farm and feeding the chickens. We want to capture those kinds of moments for as many as possible.”

Young began looking at how tourism is developed and implemented in Indiana. “I was disappointed to see how tourism is viewed at times, so I realized we needed to marry ag and opportunities to drive economic vitality. We need to promote regional tourism,” she explained.

“That’s how I launched the www.visit southernindiana.com website in July 2011 to connect people with the southern part of the state. We have it all in our 33 counties – caves, wineries, farms and education. We want people to say this is where they need to come.”

Young emphasizes “to make a living growing your operation, you have to grow your crops, grow your business, grow your network of relationships and grow your knowledge. Ask yourself, ‘what do tourists want?’ They want unique and memorable experiences, top-notch service and value for the cost.

“At Blue River Valley Farm, we offer lots of care and service. We’re on the property, so we can help whenever and for whatever they need.”

Developing a powerful and appealing website that taps into what tourists want and desire is critical to success, said Young.

“Investing in a great website is as important as investing in your physical business. It’s your calling card. It must be quick, easy to use, have engaging, vibrant photos and make potential guests say, ‘I like what I see and I will plunk down my tourism dollars to visit and stay at your place.’ They are trusting you when they make that commitment.”

Young reminds entrepreneurs to not forget “to assess which websites will best draw traffic to your business. Develop links to your business website. Networking today is all about technology, and Internet marketing is now the premier form of advertising for your product, service or business. The site I developed has numerous links to other businesses.”

Agritourism is an active trend being incorporated into people’s vacations, according to Young: “In the last five to seven years, the emphasis on the impersonal communication and technology has left people feeling they want to get back to their roots. They are seeking more natural food, they flock to farmers’ markets, they love wineries, tasting the grapes grown locally and they weave these experiences into their vacations.”

Even more importantly, according to Young, is giving people opportunity to experience the connection between where food originates and how it gets from farm to fork.

“Our guests love the idea of gathering their own eggs for their breakfast,” she said. “That’s a personal connection they’ll never forget. Ultimately, we hope the children who visit our farm will not only learn how important nature and agriculture is, but that they will want to protect our land and food supply instead of destroying it.

 “I like to apply the ‘five Rs’ in making our farm welcoming,” said Young. “Resonance means they like the feeling they get when staying with us. Our guests want to have experienced relaxation and rejuvenation at the end of the vacation. They’ve re-learned what’s real and natural. And they’ve built relationships with the location, with each other and with the experience.”