Module 1: Why Farm and Food Tourism?

Overview

•  Understandthegrowingmarketforfarmandfoodtourism

•  Understandthespecificenterpriseandproductopportuni6eswithinfarmandfoodtourism

•  Evaluatetherolefoodsplayincrea6ngatourismdes6na6onimage

•  Recognizefarm/foodtourismimpactstoruralcommuni6es

•  Understandthepoten6albenefitsofimplemen6ngfarm/foodtourismopera6onsandproducts

Food Tourism & Economic Development •  Agriculturalproducersfacenumerouschallengesandlooktodiversifyproductofferings,accessnewmarkets,andexpandmarketperiodsandpricing

•  Tourismprovidersstruggletofindtheregionaldis6nc6venessnecessarytodifferen6atethemselvesfromothertourismdes6na6ons

•  Asaresultofthegrowinglocalfoodsmovement,farmandfoodtourismmayprovideasolu6on

Food Tourism & Economic Development •  Foodtourismhasbeenshownto……..

–  Enhanceades6na6on’stourismoffering–  Generateaddi6onaleconomicopportuni6esforlocalgrowersandprocessors,especiallyincloseproximitytoprimetourismdes6na6ons

–  Provideavenuetopromoteanddistributelocalagriculturalgoodsandvalue-addedproducts

–  Providetouristswiththeculturalexperiencestheyseek

Buy Local Movement

•  185%increaseinfarmers’marketsfrom2000to2014

•  275%increaseinCSAprogramsfrom2004to2014(6,000)

•  288%increaseinfoodhubsfrom2007-2014(302)•  TheNa6onalGroceryAssocia6on2012Consumer

Panel–  Theavailabilityoflocalfoodswasamajorinfluenceon

groceryshoppingdecisionsas87.8%ofrespondentsratedlocalfoodavailabilityas“veryorsomewhatimportant,”with45.9%indica6ng“veryimportant”

–  Theneedfor“morelocallygrownfoods”wasthesecondmostdesiredimprovementamongsurveyedgroceryshoppersat36.6%,justunder“price/costsavings”

•  In2012,164Kfarmers(7.8%ofUSfarms)sold$6.1billioninlocalfoods

Farmers’ Markets in US

Local Food While Traveling

•  TheNa6onalRestaurantAssocia6on's2013RestaurantIndustryForecastreportedthat7of10consumersweremorelikelytovisitarestaurantofferinglocallysourceditems

•  TheNa6onalRestaurantAssocia6on’s2014“TopTenTrendsacrosstheNa6on,”includedlocallysourcedmeats/seafoodandlocallygrownproduceasthetop2trends

•  TheUStravelAssocia6onreportsthat27milliontravelers,or17%ofAmericanleisuretravelers,engagedinculinaryorwine-relatedac6vi6eswhiletravelingwithinthepastthreeyears

International Trend

•  LocalfooddemandnotjustaUSphenomenon•  Denmark,Switzerland,andAustriareportthe

highestpercapitaconsump6onoffarmers’marketproduce

•  TheEuropeanUnionhasrequiredoriginlabelingforallfreshfoodsince2011

•  TheUNWTOreportsthat88.2%ofmembercountriesconsidergastronomyacrucialelementinthebrandandimageoftheirdes6na6onand68%ofthecountriesconsultedcarryoutmarke6ngac6vi6esorpromo6onbasedonfoodtourism(USincluded)

Brand USA

•  Des6na6onmarkingorganiza6onfortheUnitedStates,establishedin2011

What is Food Tourism?

•  Thedesiretoexperienceapar6culartypeoffoodortheproductsofaspecificregion…–  Aformofregionaldevelopmentthathelpsstrengthenlocalfoodandbeverageproduc6onthroughbackwardlinkagesintourismsupply-chainpartnerships

–  Providesnewopportuni6estopromoteanddistributelocalproductswhileprovidinganenhancedvisitorexperiencethroughtheexpressionofcommunityiden6tyandculturaldis6nc6veness

What is Food Tourism?

•  Anexpressionofculture•  Aformofregionalheritage•  Supportstheenhancementofthetouristexperience

•  Createsbackwardlinkagesinthefoodsupplychain

•  Supportssocio-economicgrowthinruralregions

What is Agritourism/Farm Tourism? •  Agritourismisasubsectoroffoodtourismthatspecializesintheincorpora6onofvisitstofarmsforthepurposesofon-siteretailpurchases,enjoyment,andeduca6on–  Pickyourown–  Farm-stays–  Cornmazes–  Farmtours–  Farmshops

Farm Tourism Examples

•  Farm/ranchvaca6ons•  Garden/nurserytours•  Feefishing•  Feehun6ng•  Horsebackriding•  Peingzoo•  Camping/picnicking•  Wagonrides•  Bedandbreakfast•  Agriculturalexhibits•  Skeetshoo6ng•  Exo6cfarmanimals

•  Schooltours•  U-pickopera6ons•  Gamepreserve•  Christmastreefarms•  Wagonrides•  Ponyrides•  Pumpkinpatch•  Farmshops/stands•  Birdwatching•  Cornmaze

What is Culinary Tourism?

•  Theprac6ceofexploratoryea6ng,especiallythoseinstancesinwhichea6ngunfamiliarfoodorpar6cipa6nginnewfoodcustomsasawayofencountering,learning,orunderstandingotherplacesandcultures–  Food/winetrails–  Cookingschools–  Farmshopvisits–  Restaurantexperiences

Culinary Tourism

•  Occurswhenvisitorsseektoexperiencecuisineandculturetogether

•  Focusonauthen6canduniqueexperiencesthattakeadvantageoftheuniqueheritage,charm,hospitality,andsenseofplacethatalreadyexistsinthecommunity– WinetourisminCalifornia–  CheesesamplinginWisconsin– Maplesyruptas6nginVermont–  CajunfoodexperiencesinLouisiana

Food-Based Attractions

•  Includespecialeventssurroundingfoodanddrink–  Foodfes6vals–  Farmers’markets– Winefes6vals–  Beerfes6vals

Food Tourism & Rural Communities

Enhancingtheeconomicopportuni6es,environment,andsocialfabricofaregion

Food Tourism

•  EconomicImpacts–  Increasesemploymentinruralareas–  Decreasesrural-to-urbanmigra6on–  Reduceseconomicleakages–  Promotesfairtrade

Food Tourism

•  EnvironmentalImpacts–  Preserva6onofopen-space/agriculturalareas

–  Respectsthecarryingcapaci6esofnaturalecosystems

–  Reduc6oninwaste,whichisomenrecycledintothefarm’sproduc6onprocess

–  Supportsalterna6veorspecializedproduc6onsystems(free-rangeorpasture-grazing,organic,eco-friendly,etc.)

Food Tourism

•  SocialImpacts–  Foodisanexpressionofculture–  Flavorsdevelopthroughouthistorybasedonthelocalenvironment,historictraderoutes,andsenlement

–  Foodisanimportantcomponentoflocalreligiousprac6cesandcelebra6ons

Where Food Tourism Originates

•  Governmentpolicy–topdown•  Touroperators–demanddriven•  Individuals–innova6vebusinessideas•  Individuals–passionatepeople

The Players

•  Theagriculturesector–  Agriculturalproducersseektodiversifytheirofferingsanddistribu6onnetworksinananempttosecureaviablefuture

•  Thetourismsector–  Tourismisfacingincreasedcompe66onandstrugglestofindtheregionaldis6nc6venessnecessarytodifferen6atethemselvesagainstthesheernumberoftourismdes6na6ons,bothlocallyandinterna6onally

Connecting Local Producers &Tourism Sector •  Manylocalproducersaremicro-businesses

thatdonotwanttogrowand/orfarmersarereluctanttodiversify

•  Producersomendonotseethevalue-addedinenteringthetourismsector

•  Producerslackknowledgeand/oravailableknowledgeisconfusingabouttouristsandthetourismindustry

•  Itisdifficulttoreachproducersastheyarewidelyspreadgeographically

•  Therearedifferingneedsbetweensmallandlargeproducers

Common Challenges in Food Tourism

•  Encouragingwideruseandbenerpromo6onoflocallyproducedfood

•  Iden6fyingandaccessingtourismmarkets•  Gainingknowledgeabouttourismmarketsas

tourismdataisfragmentedandnotwellmaintained

•  Buildingades6na6onbrandbasedonlocalfoodproduc6onorfoodserviceestablishments

•  Collabora6onandcrea6ngabenernetworkbetweenregionsandgroups(foodproducersandhospitalitybusinesses)

•  Accessingbest-prac6ceknowledgefromaroundthecountry

Food Tourism Development

•  Thetourismindustryhasledthechargeininnova6onduetoitselevatedimportanceinruralgrowthpolicies

•  Emphasishasshimedawayfromsectorally-basedtowardsterritorial-baseddevelopment

•  Theunifica6onoffoodandtourismrequiresthecoopera6onofdis6nctlydifferentindustrieswithvaryingneedsandchallenges

Why Consider Food Tourism?

•  Foodisoneofthemajortourismac6vi6es–  One-thirdoftourismexpendituresareonfood/drink

–  Touriststendtobelesssensi6vetofoodprices

–  Foodisconsidereda“vital”componentinthequalityofatourismexperience

–  Theproductisthebasisoffoodtourism

Tourism Market in the West

•  WesternUSapopulartourismdes6na6on,primeareafortourismdevelopment–  20+na6onalandstateparks

•  Idaho2013tourismindicators–  30.2milliontotalvisitors–  Totaltravelspending:$1.4billion

•  Nevada2013tourismindicators–  52.2milliontotalvisitors–  24.6millionstate/na6onalparkvisits –  Totaltravelspending:$58.1billion

•  Utah’s2013tourismindicators–  23.5milliontotalvisitors–  4.2millionskiervisits–  10.4millionstate/na6onalparkvisits –  Totaltravelspending:$7.5billion

Why Consider Food Tourism

•  Addi6onalmarketforcurrentproducts•  Diversifica6onintonewenterprises/products

•  Reducedtransporta6on/marke6ngcosts•  Year-roundsales(addi6onalsales)•  Outletforvalue-addedproducts•  Income/employmentforfamilymembers

•  Conagefoodproduc6onnowop6oninNevada/Utah/Wyoming/Colorado

Why Consider Food Tourism?

•  On-farmac6vi6es,thevisitorcomestoyou–  Eliminatestheneedfortransporta6on–  Abilitytoworkinafamiliarenvironment– Moreflexibilityinschedulingac6vi6es–  Display“showoff”products–  Educateothersaboutlocalfoods–  Interactwithpeoplefromaroundtheglobe

Activity

•  Worksheet1.1:TheRoleofFoodinTourism–  Thinkaboutarecenttrip/vaca6on…..

•  Whatroledidfoodplayinyourtravels?•  Didyouhaveamemorablefoodexperience?•  Didyoutryanylocal/ethnicfoods?•  Didyouvisitanyfoodanrac6ons?•  Didyoupurchaseanyfoodsouvenirs?•  Didyouno6cerestaurantssourcinglocalfood?Ifso,howwasitpromoted?

•  Whattypeoffoodexperiencewouldhaveenhancedyourtrip?

Activity

•  Worksheet1.2:Enterprise/ProductDescrip6on– Whatuniqueproducts/servicescanyouropera6onoffertourists?

– Whatpartnersdoyouhavethatcanassist?•  How,specifically,cantheyhelp?

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