There are travelers
who plan trips solely based on restaurant availabilities and exquisite dishes
the concerned destinations offer. You may find the idea bland as most ‘purists’
do because as per most of the ‘ubercool’ travel guides, travelers SHOULD choose
a destination as per its historical importance.
What is Culinary Tourism?
As an emerging travel trend, culinary
tourism became prominent in 2001 when Erik Wolf, President of the International
Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA), presented a white paper about culinary
tourism to his organization. The paper evolved into a book that documented the
growing interest in food and wine tourism and how requests for culinary tours
could drive local businessmen and restaurateurs to meet the growing demand. Erik
Wolf recognized the trend back in 2003 when he found the membership of ICTA had
a meteoric rise – from zero to 15,000 members within a span of nine years. To
Wolf, the rise is logical. “Everyone loves to eat, obviously,” he says, adding
that—despite the economy—people are more interested than ever in health and in
locally produced artisanal products. Getting a slice of the culinary tourism
pie is as simple as tweaking the product for the traveler and making the right
connections. The goal of culinary tourism is to educate and inspire food and
wine enthusiasts while giving the traveler a chance to explore the local area
and learn about local food trends, cooking techniques and food history.
Voyagers can do so by participating in a cultural immersion experience at
selected destinations around the globe. Culinary tours and travel packages can
include a wide range of activities related to cooking, food sampling, food
trends, wine making and baking. In addition to restaurant weeks in different
cities, dining events and cooking competitions, culinary tourism encompasses
culinary experiences, such as winery and brewery tours, visits to restaurants
and food manufacturing plants, conferences and events with culinary
professionals and cookbook authors, and ethnic food tastings.
Who are Culinary Tourists?
To be precise, we all are. Whether you
delve into the deep-rooted cultures of a destination or hover around in search
of a complete travelling experience, culinary delights are bound to allure you.
Nearly 100 percent of tourists dine out when travelling, and dining has been
consistently one of the top three favorite tourist activities. There is a
strong correlation between tourists who are interested in wine/cuisine and
those interested in museums, shows, shopping, music and film festivals and
outdoor recreation. Moreover, unlike other travelling activities cuisine is
available year-round, any time of day and in any weather. The crux is that
consciously or unconsciously we all fall within the 'culinary tourist' category.
Potential of Culinary Tourism
According to the International Culinary
Tourism Association, culinary tourism is growing exponentially every year. With
the steady increase in interest towards food channels, travel shows featuring
local and regional cuisine, food documentaries and online culinary travel
shows, more consumers are travelling to various destinations just to enjoy a
new food and wine.The desire to experience regional and local cuisine is a
major reason for participation in culinary travel. Consider these surprising facts from the
Profile of Culinary Travelers, 2006 Edition, published by the Travel Industry
Association of America:
- 85% of culinary travelers enjoy learning about the local culture and cuisines of different travel destinations.
- 66% of these travelers say they want their travel always to be experiential so they make an effort to try regional cuisines, culinary specialties, local wines/spirits, etc.
Another way to tap the potential of
culinary tourism is to create a culinary festival. Taste of Chicago, the world's largest food
festival, is held annually for two weeks in Chicago starting from the last week
of June. Each year, millions of residents and tourists from around the world
flock to Grant Park to enjoy the variety of food prepared by Chicago's most
popular restaurants. The 2006 Taste of Chicago brought in a record number of
visitors as high as 3.6 million.
However, it is not necessary to create an event on such an epic scale
always. The Stone Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival in Longboat Key, Florida
and the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida are examples of successful
smaller scale festivals. Your inventory
of artisan products or locally made beers/wines could potentially serve as the
foundation for a popular culinary festival.
The potential of culinary tourism looks
promising. Today, highlighting culinary adventures is one of the most prominent
marketing strategies used to create a brand identity for a particular
destination. With so many cultures around the world boasting hordes of culinary
delights, the sharp rise in culinary tourism is a sigh of relief for cash
strapped tourism boards seeking for a gradual recovery.