Maybe for .01% of ranchers. I grew up on a ranch in Utah. Ranchers that make money from tourism or the rodeo are few and far between compared to the total number of ranches in Utah.
Utah is one of the most beautiful parts of the world though, imo.
It's a heck of a thing to (seemingly) cast your family's legacy aside to serve 'tourists' especially when it's the only life you've ever known and you're venturing out into uncharted territory.
My mother stayed in a lovely homestay in a mansion/chateau (closest analog?) in the Kolkata region recently and the owner/proprietor joked to her one time as he mopped the floor that his grand-father was a Raja and here he was mopping floors.
Not everyone wants to take up mopping floors...
Cadillac Ranch is old, scrap cars embedded in nondescript dirt. I've visited there from the other side of the planet.
Salvation Mountain is a low, plain hill adorned with plaster and paint. I've visited there from the other side of the planet.
There's a wall in San Luis Obispo that is literally covered with chewing gum. It's disgusting but awesome, and I've been there. Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch is basically junk arranged in an interesting way. Visited that too. I went to a restaurant because it has a novelty sign talking about "Ho' Made Pies". I've got loads of examples.
If given 5-10 properties remotely near a driving route or international drawcard (like Zion), I'm confident I could invent a unique thing for each that would attract tourists and not be overly expensive to create. I suspect land-owners don't have the imagination or inclination though.
Email in profile if you have a property and want motivation.
There is a medium sized dairy farm I know of (1,200 dairy cows) that started making compost out of their manure and selling it. I know some of the nicer/larger spreads that do dude-ranching or guided hunts etc.. I just don't see most ranches as even having the opportunity to transform even if they wanted to.
>But in the 21st century, as climate change triggers periods of drought, land values continue to skyrocket, and the attraction of Zion expands along with its hotels, restaurants and bike shops, the family operation finds itself “squatted at the intersection of the old and new Wests.”
I think the thing we can only be 'thankful' for is that that quote was from 1807. Our 'modern' issues are hardly modern!