Survey Shows Food Draws Tourism

According to a new survey from the Travel Industry Association, more and more Americans are deciding where to travel based on culinary interests. 17 percent of American travelers, or 27 million people, participated in food and wine related activities on their vacations, and according to leisure travelers questioned, 60 percent are interested in "culinary-based" travel for their next vacation.

Culinary-based travel includes dining at specific restaurants, taking cooking classes, gourmet food shopping, regional and local farmers' markets and festivals, as well as wine tasting and winery tours. Laura Mandala, Vice President of Research for the Travel Industry Association, claims that the new study points out that more and more Americans are making travel decisions "based on a desire for wine and culinary experiences." She adds that the travelers then take home local foods and wines from the regions they visit, which in turn provides "a secondary opportunity for destinations to spread the word about their unique offerings."

The study shows that one in ten travelers pick their destinations based on culinary draws alone, participating in solely food-related activities. Another one in ten travelers engage in only wine-related activities. Those numbers equate to nearly 15 to 16 million people. Furthermore, the average cost of those trips come out to roughly $2,000, with more than one-third of that final cost going toward food-related activities. Those people that identified themselves as "deliberate" food travelers were found to spend a larger proportion (closer to 50 percent) of their travel funds on culinary experiences.

The top destinations for "foodie" travelers include California, noted for the famed Napa and Sonoma Valley wine regions and top restaurants in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. New York and Florida follow California due to New York's internationally recognized dining scene and Florida's seafood-based cuisines (as well as the Disney World juggernaut, which employs a surprisingly large number of master sommeliers). Wine draws travelers to Oregon and Missouri, as well as New York, Washington and Michigan. Food draws people to North Carolina and Louisiana, as well as Illinois and Nevada, mostly for Chicago and Las Vegas respectively.

Erik Wolf, President and CEO of the International Culinary Tourism Association, comments that cuisine can be the "perfect tool for economic and community development because visitors fly, buy and try new food and drink and look for it when they return home, helping boost value-added food and drink exports. Every community should be looking for ways to promote its unique food and drink experiences."

The study also gave insight into what else serious culinary travelers do on their vacations. Foodies tend to be younger and more affluent than other travelers, and they tend to look for more unique cultural and environmental draws when choosing on travel destinations. They tend to shop more, as well as more visits to national parks and museums.

With the current popularity of shows like Top Chef and cable channels like the Food Network and Fine Living, more and more people are becoming interested in regional cuisine, which means more tourism dollars going to regions that can provide a draw for this new class of culinary travelers. Catherine Makk, Executive Marketing Director for Gourmet, says, "Travel providers and destinations should work together to offer immersion into the local culture, through not only wine and cuisine but also the hotel experience, leisure activities and more."