The Role of Food in Tourism & Tourism in Food A Marketing Opportunity for Food Producers

October 3rd 2007

Presented by: Una Fitzgibbon, Director Marketing Services, Bord Bia

Contents

• What is food tourism

• Why is food tourism important

• Drivers of authenticity, provenance and affluence

• Food tourism products

• Who benefits from food tourism

• Case studies of food tourism at various levels of scale

• Bord Bia’s role in promoting artisan food producers

What is Food Tourism

• Food tourism underlines the reciprocal role of food in tourism and tourism in food, the two are connected.

Obvious!

• 86% of tourists dine for leisure.

Two Levels

• Tourists who consume food as part of their overall travel experience.

• Tourists whose activities, behaviours and destination selection is influenced by their interest in food.

Closing the Food Tourism Loop

• When tourists return home they often aspire to purchasing or buying the food which they experienced on their holiday at home.

• This has been a strategically important element of developing sales for food producers:

– New Zealand Wines,

– New Zealand Halal Meat,

– Greek Olives,

– French Cheeses…and

Why is Food Tourism is important?

It leads to a fast build of sales models in fooda fast build of sales models in food It allows the rural economic base to diversify via new agricultural and

tourism products It is an important instrument of regional development

In its specialist form can lead to levels of cooperation which have the potential to overcome the disadvantages that small enterprises overcome the disadvantages that small enterprises

face compared to large enterprisesface compared to large enterprises

Positioning for Food Reputation

The fact that food is expressive of a region means that it can be used to differentiate destinations in a highly

competitive globalising market place

We EAT What We ARE

The fact that food is expressive of identity and culture means that it is an important

component of cultural and heritage tourism

Food Reputation

NAPA VALLEY California

PROVENCE France

TUSCANY Italy

NIAGRA Ontario

YARRA VALLEY Australia

Local Produce

Higher importance attached to buying local in ROI

186 11

32

2730

31

3633

10

14 5

917 21

ROI Britain NI

Very Important (5)

(Base: All markets All Adults 15+)

Fairly Important (4)

Neither/Nor (3)

Fairly Unimportant (2)

Very Unimportant (1)

Mean Score 3.4 2.9 3.1

The Six Consumer Lifestyle Trends

The real thing

“I am looking for the real thing; I care where it comes from and how it is made”

10%Poor

10% Affluen

t

People have more money to spend

• There is a shift in affluence towards greater wealth – personal disposable income nearly doubled since 1960• This shift will require more value addedvalue added products to meet new needs

Today’s Consumer

Tomorrow’s

Consumer

Tomorrow’s

Food Spend

• Staple products will continue to have a role, but the greater opportunity will be for value-addedvalue-added products and services

15% 40% 45%

80%– Middle Income

30% Survival Driven 40% Surviving Well - but

fluctuations30% Affluent

Source: Leo Burnett/MADE/Henley Centre

Australian Gourmet Traveller –

Readership Profile

Consider the Role that Food Plays

• Food

– Is functional (sustains life)

– Plays a key role in our celebrations

– Is a conduit for socialising

– Is entertaining

– Is sensual

– Allows for experience of new cultures

– Allows for experience of new countries

– Is symbolic

– Is ritualistic

– Can take on new significance and meaning

Food Tourism Products

• The Food Tourism product is the experience of food as a leisure pursuit so for example it can include

– dining in a restaurant,

– visiting primary and secondary producers,

– participating in food festivals,

– taking a cookery class,

– food tasting and/or experiencing the attributes of specialist food production

• Regions are a primary motivating factor for travel.

• Food Tourism becomes more specialised as tourists become motivated by the desire to experience a particular type of food or the produce of a specific region or even to taste the signature dishes of a particular chef.

Examples of Food Tourism Products

Restaurants Local Farmers’ Markets

Pubs (particularly new generation gastro style pubs) Pick Your Own Farms

Specialist Food Shops including Butchers, Bakers and Delicatessens

Organic Show Farms

Accommodation - Farm Stays, Guesthouses, B+Bs, Hotels Heritage Breed Show Farms

Artisan Producers Cheesemaking Classes

Gathering/Fishing Charcuterie Classes

Food Trails Organic Farming Schools

Food Festivals Whiskey Trails

Cookery Schools Foraging Excursions

Food Tourism Product Quality

• Highest of levels of food product offering

• The gastronomic/culinary tourist who is attracted to a destination specifically for the ‘food’ interest must be provided with the highest level of specialist food experience.

• The idea of ‘food experience’ has to be the best possible food experience and so Food Tourism must focus on the ideal of a good food experience in terms of ingredients, recipes, culinary skill, taste and memory.

Food Tourism Product Differentiation - Skill

• Culinary or Cooking Skills are Important to Food Tourism

• In an Irish Context this essentially this means the ability to prepare, cook and serve simple regional dishes of great taste.

Food Tourism Product Differentiation - Ingredients

• Ingredients need to reflect the authenticity of the region

• Irish food culture and heritage needs to be promoted down to a highly localised regional level

• Traditional ingredients should be given centre stage and promoted and marketed with pride.

• So the inventory of ingredients used and the dishes presented need to be authentic.

– Porridge with local seasonal honey

– Beef and barley soup with homemade brown soda bread.

– Stuffed pork with seasonal vegetables and colcannon

– Apple cake

– Local cheese plate.

Food Tourism Product Differentiation - Recipes

• What are the region’s dishes

• Consider contemporary interpretation and presentation in order to capture the interest of the food tourist.

Regional/Local and Artisan Food has a Key Role to Play

WHO BENEFITS?WHO BENEFITS?

FOOD TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS

Restaurant/café owners

Cookery schools

Festival owners

Hotel/resort managers

B&B/guesthouse operators

Food producers

Transport companies, retail,

services

Other manufacturing –

craft, pottery, furniture

Place – town/rural area/

region

Government - local and national

Agriculture

Interest for Policymakers

To maximise return from tourism development

To maximise return from indigenous food business

For regional development

For rural development

Food Tourism Links

The link to farming is fundamental to an agri food economy Wood (2001) Vermont, USA study of tourism which had a significant

food tourism component – 84% of respondents said they value the farm landscape of Vermont 59.4% said they would be less likely to visit Vermont if there were

very few farms Food is an important component for

The marketing of tourism The experience of place The likely visitor satisfaction levels

Advantages to small producers

Increased consumer exposure to product and to sample product Building brand awareness and loyalty through establishing links Creating relationships with customers Increased margins Additional sales outlet Marketing intelligence on products Marketing intelligence on customers Educational opportunity

Wider benefits

Association with a quality product

Beyond the standardised product to authentic experience – leading to a stronger relationship with a destination

Motivator for visiting, staying, eating

Acts to extend length of stay

Some Case Studies

The World of Cookery Schools

The Cookery school product provides 4 elements: - rural, cultural, educational and special interest.

It provides both experience and knowledge. It involves mainly short courses which are looked upon as a treat, being carefully

planned and saved for. They link food with the countryside (food gathering), which in turn provides

recreation and relaxation. Consumers anxious about searching out real food combined with a need to

escape to a peaceful setting whilst gaining knowledge about their passion. Cookery schools can be essential in developing a gastronomic cultural identity.

The Lure of Tea

Tourism has the potential to enhance the brand image and marketing of tea producing destinations.

With its colourful history and unique cultural traditions in different societies tea is a natural focus for travel. The histories and traditions of tea entice both the independent and the group traveller. Tea tourists attracted by tea travel – tourists experiencing the history, culture and traditions related to the consumption of tea.

Tea as a beverage with its varying types, grades, blends as well as national, regional and local traditions in serving has a natural role to play in culinary tourism. Tea can be compared to wine.

Tea Destinations – Japan, China, India, England. A thematic approach is very often used in regional tourism development – a loyalty should

exhibit a number of the following general characteristics related to tea – tea history, tea ceremonies, tea cultivation and production, tea manufacturing.

For Ireland, ‘The Lure of Whiskey’ ?

Food Trails in Austria

Food trails in Austria include wine roads, cider trails, cheese trails and oil trails which highlight co-operation between agriculture and tourism at the local and regional level.

To promote a wine road farmers established ‘Heurigen’, a typically Austrian form of direct marketing - a type of restaurant where farmers can serve drinks and foods that they produce.

All these trails started as producer and marketing associations that tried to find links with tourism and then developed a tourist product around an existing agricultural product of the region.

Trails can help to position and brand a region and to create a feeling of community among its inhabitants. Strategic partnerships are formed; farmers can sell more products and gastronomy, accommodation benefits by increasing number s of tourists.

The establishment of trails leads to very specialised forms of co-operation.