Agritourism as a niche tourism market has become an alternative income-generating sector for conventional farmers that focus on both production and marketing. Agritourist activities involve joining production and harvest, receiving education and on site-training. However, unless individuals endeavor and they consistently demand these activities, agritourism cannot be promoted among farm operators. In other words, agritourism is a demand-driven sector and requires the loyalty of participants which was measured with respect to more than a single take up of agritourism in the past two years. With this research, the loyalty of agritourists and the factors affecting their persistent participation were estimated based on a sample from the Mid-Atlantic states of the USA. The findings infer that agritourism loyalty is stimulated by the rising level of agritourist education and increasing income. Married people with children also prefer rural participation. Agritourists, who have the potential to become loyal, focus above all on buying fresh and high-value products. Following this, they demonstrate a rising tendency to learn about agricultural production, and to spend quality time with family/friends. These results suggest that with proper marketing strategies, supportive actions designed for farmers that seek alternative income, and the involvement of regional/local authorities in decision making and promotional processes, may contribute to the development of agritourism and expand its market through assuring customer loyalty.

Although Türkiye is among the leading producers of cherries worldwide, its export performance does not fully reflect its production potential. This gap points to the importance of understanding how trade incentives, destination-market demand, and trade costs shape export outcomes in high-value horticultural products. This study investigates the determinants of Türkiye’s fresh cherry exports during 2015–2023 by combining a gravity trade model with machine learning approaches. The empirical framework incorporates export support mechanisms, macroeconomic indicators of partner countries, import demand, and geographical distance between Türkiye and its trading partners. It was found out that trade incentives have a positive effect on cherry exports; showing support mechanisms can strengthen Türkiye’s competitiveness in international markets. The findings also reveal that rising import demand in destination countries stimulates exports, while geographical distance and adverse changes in importer income conditions limit export performance. These results suggest that maintaining export incentives alone may not be sufficient; rather, support policies should be adjusted according to market-specific demand conditions, income dynamics, and trade-cost factors. By integrating policy variables with destination-market characteristics, this study provides empirical evidence for designing more effective export support strategies for Türkiye’s cherry sector.