Executive summary. The rise of culinary tourism 2015 special report - Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance & Skift

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1 The rise of culinary tourism 2015 special report - Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance & Skift 5 We believe the best way to experience culture is through food. Food serves to connect us with the land, our heritage, and the people around us. It is a diverse and dynamic channel for sharing stories, forming relationships and building communities. By combining local food and drink with travel, food tourism offers both locals and tourists alike an authentic taste of place while contributing to a sustainable world economy Executive summary Food tourism tells the story of a destination s history, culture and people. Over the last decade, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have leveraged the rise of mainstream interest in food to open new consumer markets and drive business to a wider range of regional travel suppliers working in the food and beverage (F&B) sector. According to the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA), a non-profit organization that consults on F&B-themed tourism development worldwide, Food tourism is any tourism experience in which one learns about, appreciates, and/or consumes food and drink that reflects the local, regional or national cuisine, heritage and culture. While cuisine (has always been / was always) an important part of most travel experiences, the concept of traveling to a destination specifically for its F&B product is a relatively recent mainstream consumer trend. The 2013 American Culinary Traveler Report, published by Mandala Research, showed that the percentage of U.S. leisure travelers (who/which) travel to learn about and enjoy unique dining experiences (grew/dropped) from 40% to 51% between 2006 and In response, DMOs are creating major promotional campaigns and events revolving specifically around their food and beverage experiences, designed with multiple storylines targeting different market segments. This is big business. In 2012, it was estimated that tourism expenditures on food services in the U.S. topped $201 billion, nearly a quarter of all travel income. That makes food service the highest category of travel spend, according to the University of Florida report A Flash of Culinary Tourism. The report estimates that 39 million U.S. leisure travelers choose a destination based on the availability of culinary activities, while another 35 million seek out culinary activities after a destination is decided upon. Preferences revolving around food can also have an adverse impact on tourists decisions to travel to certain destinations. Travelers who prefer the comforts of familiar cuisine might be hesitant to travel to a destination where it is difficult to find a home-likeness of food options. In the report, An Analysis of the Travel Motivation of Tourists From the People s Republic of China, it reads: Preferences in food are especially important to Asian people. The food factor is likely to hold Chinese tourists in their own country or at least have them remain in Asia rather than draw them to Europe. This is driving destinations and hotels to introduce services that cater to this emerging market. For example, New York s Hotel Plaza Athénée introduced services geared toward China s rapidly growing numbers of outbound travelers including in-room tea kettles, Chinese breakfast items, and Chinese-

2 language newspapers. Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board hosted a meeting with 75 industry executives to discuss Chinese culture. As a result, the Sheraton Gateway in Los Angeles expanded its breakfast menu to include steamed rice and congee and tea and soy milk. Every traveler today has the ability to digitally share their culinary experiences with friends and strangers around the world, fueling a veritable social media arms race to determine who has the most unique F&B experiences. This report examines how destinations and other travel suppliers are developing new strategies, special events, supplier networks and marketing campaigns to capitalize on the global foodie fervor, and the impact of those initiatives on local communities. Introduction According to the 2010 World Food Travel Association (WFTA) report The State of the Culinary Tourism Industry, the growing interest in F&B-themed travel is driven by a number of factors. These include the explosion of food-focused media and social media, a farm-to-table movement among large travel brands, and the introduction of high-profile events celebrating local cuisine. The Mandala Research firm, publisher of the 2013 American Culinary Traveler Report, says leisure travelers, defined as someone who has booked at least one vacation in the previous 12 months, represent 71% of the U.S. adult population, or around 170 million Americans. Mandala reports that 77% of those leisure travelers can be classified as culinary travelers, having participated in culinary travel activities such as dining out for a unique or memorable experience, taking cooking classes, or attending food festivals. The most interesting data point in that study shows the growth of culinary tourists traveling specifically for the purpose of engaging in destination-specific culinary experiences. The report reads: About half of all leisure travelers travel to learn about or enjoy unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences (51%), a notable gain from 2006 (when 40% said they traveled for these reasons). Another report by the American Journal of Tourism Management released in 2013, A Study of Factors Influencing Food Tourism Branding suggests that the growth of food tourism is seen as an outcome of a trend where people spend much less time cooking, but choose to pursue their interest in food as part of a leisure experience. Increasingly, going out for a meal with friends is as much about the social interaction as it is the food and the ambiance it is served in. Driving these travel trends immeasurably, culinary tourists share millions of F&B-themed photos daily across social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and especially Flickr. This increases travel consumers awareness of different cuisines and cultures, and it fuels their desire to experience them. ( ) An effective food tourism development strategy covers a broad selection of travel activities including: food, wine and beer festivals; tours of farms and artisanal production facilities; immersive food tours of varying depth; myriad types of cooking classes and wine tastings; accommodations with F&B offerings; farm-to-table restaurant dining and educational events; and the always popular farmers markets. Agritourism, where travelers visit working farms, is also a growing opportunity.

3 1. What s the meaning of leverage (v.) (line 9)? a. level b. exploit c. favour 2. What s the meaning of revolving (l. 21)? a. turning b. based on c. reflecting 3. What s the meaning of seek out (l. 27)? a. search b. carry out c. pay 4. Which percentage of travel income is estimated to be connected to food? 5. Which negative consequences can food preferences have? How can these be addressed? 6. What s the role of media, and more particularly of social media, in the rise of F&B tourism? 7. How does the text define a culinary traveler? 8. Which of the food-related tourism activities mentioned in the last paragraph would you more interested in? Have you ever experienced any of them?

4 Our Industry at a Glance What Is Food Tourism? The following infographic is based on data from our 2016 Food Travel Monitor research report. Download. Defining Food Tourism We are often asked to define "Food Tourism". We have seen many definitions from around the world, but for us, the definition is as simple as this, "The pursuit and enjoyment of unique and memorable food and drink experiences, both far and near." We say "food tourism", but drinking beverages is an implied activity. Previously the phrase "culinary tourism was used to describe this industry, but research indicated that it gave a misleading impression. While "culinary" technically can be used for anything relating to food and drink, the perception among the majority of English-speakers interviewed is that the word "culinary" is elitist. Nothing could be further from the truth: "Food Tourism includes the food carts and street vendors as much as the locals-only (gastro)pubs, dramatic wineries, or one-of-a-kind restaurants. There is something for everyone in the food tourism industry. Who Are Food Travelers? Research from our 2016 Food Travel Monitor proves that 93% of travelers can now be considered food travelers. By "food travelers", we mean travelers who have participated in a food or beverage experience other than dining out, at some time in the past 12 months. They may have visited a cooking school,

5 participated in a food tour, or gone shopping in a local grocery or gourmet store. These are the types of activities that food travelers engage in. We also go on tours at food or beverage factories, participate in wine/beer/spirits tastings, and of course, eat out in unique or memorable foodservice establishments. We'll visit a chocolatier, bakery or gelateria to sample what makes the area famous. Most importantly, food travelers are explorers. We love to get off the beaten path and find the new (or new for us), unique or undiscovered experiences. It may surprise many readers to learn that foodies with a Gourmet preference are absolutely in the minority. To be specific, our 2010 PsychoCulinary research showed that only 8.1% of food travelers expressed an interest in Gourmet experiences as their primary interest. By the time our 2016 research was published, that number had risen to 18%, but still very much in the minority. We attribute the increase due to television programming about chefs, chef competitions and cooking. More Than Agritourism A frequent misunderstanding or misconception among professionals in our industry is that agritourism and food tourism are interchangeable terms. This is not true. Agritourism is a subset of rural tourism, and involves experiences on farms such as overnight farmstays, harvest festivals, and dinners-on-the-farm. Certain types of agritourism tend to be popular with locals and regional travelers (u-pick, farm tours); and other types are attractive to visitors from across countries or across the world (overnight farmstays, or consider the agriturismo experience in Italy). Recently, visitors have expressed increased interest in food pedigree (sourcing), composting, sustainability, and animal welfare. While we consider these to be more food industry issues having less to do with tourism, nevertheless some travelers take their behavior and values with them while traveling. The economic impact of food tourism as an overall industry can be far greater than agritourism because it involves a much wider variety of complementary businesses that appeal to larger numbers of travelers than do farms and farmers markets. That said, the food tourism industry, and our Association, respect agriculture, and farmers, and acknowledge that the seeds of cuisine are in agriculture. The diagram below illustrates how agriculture, agritourism and food tourism interrelate with other components of the industry. Special thanks to Lisa Chase (University of Vermont) for contributing to our industry's understanding of agritourism. The following graphic is (c) 2018 by World Food Travel Association.

6 Economic Impact Estimating the economic impact of food & beverage tourism is at best, very difficult. First, we would need to find how many travelers there are to an area. Then we would need to interview them to find out how much they spend on food and drink while traveling. We could dig deeper and ask them what percentage of their expenditures are for sustenance vs. a unique food or beverage experience. We would also have to factor out expenditures by locals. And how would you account for a visitor's spending on gourmet souvenir items in a grocery store? As you can see, the task is very difficult, and the cost of figuring out exactly how much travelers are spending on food and beverage experiences can outweigh the findings. We have a better way. Over the years, through our own research, secondary research, interviews and conversations, we have constructed our own impression of the value of food tourism. By our estimate, visitors spend approximately 25% of their travel budget on food and beverages. The figure can get as high as 35% in expensive destinations, and as low as 15% on more affordable destinations. Confirmed food lovers also spend a bit more than the average of 25% spent by travelers in general. Most governments publish data on total visitor arrivals and expenditures. Take the estimated economic impact of visitors to your area and multiply it by 25%. That is your estimated economic impact of expenditures on the food and beverage sector. Food Tourism Benefits Food Tourism may sound like a great idea, but what tangible, measurable benefits can your involvement with our industry bring to you? Here's our short list of what you and the various players in your area can realize as you become more engaged in a sustainable food and drink tourism strategy: More visitor arrivals More sales (rooms/airplane seats/restaurant meals/wine/beer/car rentals/etc.) More media coverage A new competitive advantage or unique selling proposition (i.e. unique food and drink) More tax revenue to government authorities Increased community awareness about tourism in general Increased community pride about, and awareness of, the area's food and drink resources