Dataset - Agritourists' contribution to grassland conservation

This study investigates whether agritourism can mobilize private financial support for agricultural ecosystem conservation within European Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) food systems. Focusing on Normandy’s grassland-based dairy regions in France, the research examines how farm-based experiences influence tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) a price premium on PDO cheeses to fund permanent grassland preservation. These grasslands are essential not only for biodiversity, carbon storage, and water regulation, but also for sustaining the ecological foundations of cheese quality and regional identity.The study integrates embeddedness theory with environmental valuation methods. It conceptualizes three complementary dimensions of embeddedness: geographical embeddedness (territorial attachment and sense of place), ecological embeddedness (understanding the link between ecosystems and food quality), and experiential embeddedness (direct on-farm engagement). Using face-to-face contingent valuation surveys conducted with 322 agritourists across 13 PDO farms (310 observations retained after cleaning), the study estimates WTP through probit and spike-at-zero models to account for structural zero responses.Results indicate a mean WTP between €1.05 and €1.25 per cheese unit. Geographical embeddedness emerges as the strongest predictor of support, exceeding the influence of general pro-environmental attitudes. Ecological embeddedness also significantly increases WTP, suggesting that context-specific environmental understanding matters. Importantly, experiential engagement moderates the effect of environmental attitudes: environmental concern translates into financial support primarily among visitors who actively participated in farm-based activities.The findings demonstrate that agritourism can function as a socio-ecological interface, transforming place attachment and experiential learning into measurable conservation-oriented behavior. Beyond theoretical contributions, the study highlights the potential for hybrid conservation funding mechanisms that complement public agri-environmental policies within territorial food systems.