Tzu-Wei Fang (Grandpapa), 2024 World Agritourism Award winner, is a regional revitalization practitioner who integrates agriculture, education, and culture. Based in Yilan’s century-old traditional market, he founded the “Market School”, promoting farm-to-family learning journeys that connect young people, farmers, and the wider world. In 2026, he collaborated with Chiu Chao-ming of Green Impact Organic Farm to jointly present the concept: “Climate culture as a response to climate change—Agritourism is a solution.” a culture-centered framework that brings sustainability from "reports and indicators" back into "daily life and relationships."

Dr. Girish Mude is a passionate agritourism researcher dedicated to exploring sustainable rural development and experiential travel models. With a Ph.D. focused on agritourism development in Maharashtra, his work bridges agriculture, tourism, and community empowerment. He actively studies how farm-based tourism can enhance farmers’ livelihoods, preserve local culture, and promote responsible travel. His research has been presented at leading academic institutions, and he has received international recognition through research scholarships and fellowships in the USA and Europe. Blending academic insight with practical field engagement, he advocates for policy-driven, community-centered agritourism models that create economic, social, and environmental value.

Caroline Paras is a Research Analyst at the Maine Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine, where she also teaches Local Food and Agritourism. For over 20 years, she served as a regional economic developer, where she specialized in downtown revitalization, business retention and expansion, Brownfields redevelopment, tourism, affordable housing, and the sustainability of working waterfronts and local food systems. An Interdisciplinary PhD student at the University of Maine, Caroline is exploring the role of agritourism in transforming visitors into lifelong consumers of Maine farm and fish products while cultivating a premium for local food.

Noilyn Ramírez Arias is an entrepreneur and rural community tourism developer in the South Pacific region of Costa Rica, Central America. In 2013, she co-founded Turismo Cultural Costa Rica to diversify the ecotourism offering of Bahía Ballena, integrating biodiversity, heritage and community exchange with the support of local partners and more than twenty host families. The initiative is focused on safeguarding the region’s history and culture through circular economy principles and the active engagement of community stakeholders. She is also a founding member of Fundación Somos de Costa Rica, contributing to sustainable local development and community empowerment initiatives.