Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: CULINARY TOURISM A new niche -- culinary tourism -- means traveling to experience a destination through a variety of gastronomic activities. A destination's culinary style reveals its history, culture and influences. Food and travel go together naturally, as everyone must eat! A subset of cultural tourism -- a leisure travel niche market where food and drinks related activities is the ATTRACTION. Example: O Dining in a restaurant for a unique and unforgettable experience O Gourmet food shopping O Visits to farmers markets, wineries, orchards, food museums O Sampling locally made specialty food and drinks O Engaging in agritourism activities O Attending food, wine, beer, harvest festivals IMPORTANCE AND VALUE O Capturing a fast-growing segment of the world’s travel industry O Economic vehicle to drive trade, create sustainable development, add social and cultural value to community O Innovative approach to position your products and services, and establish a competitive edge O Revenue Generator for your Company and Country Everyone Eats when they Travel Experiencing a destination's food is elementary to understanding its social structure and surroundings. MARKET SURVEYS 1. Canadian Tourism Commission Report O Total domestic wine and culinary travel market is predicted to grow from 1.8 million in 2000 to 2.5 million by 2026. 2. World Travel Market (2006 News Release) O Culinary tourism today is where eco-tourism was 20 years ago; people are starting to take an interest. 3. 2006 survey by Tourism Industry Association (TIA) in partnership with Gourmet Magazine and the International Culinary Tourism Association: O Showed that 27 million travelers, or 17% of American leisure travelers, involved in culinary or wine-related activities while travelling within the past three years. O Bright future for the culinary traveler market, as the share of U.S. leisure travelers interested in culinary travel in the near future (60%) is significantly larger than those currently engaged. Even though, the surveys were done in Canada, UK and US, the results represent a new and developing trend within the international travel industry. Read about the growing interest in culinary travel in Globe-trotting gourmets are invited to take their taste buds on a world culinary tour from May 25th to 27th, 2012 at the World Culinary Travel Expo at EAT! Vancouver, The Everything Food + Cooking Festival -- BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - - host city to the Olympic Games in 2010. culinary travel destinations For more information on some of the world’s culinary travel regions, click on links below: Text Box:
MSNBC
Globe and Mail
CNN
Travel Age West

 

  AFRICA

 

   ASIA

 

   AMERICAS

 

   EUROPE

 

   OCEANIA