US travelers’ have growing appetite for food and wine
Over the past three years, 27 million travelers or 17% of American leisure travelers specifically sought out culinary and wine-related activities.
That’s according to a new study which demonstrated that the market for food and wine travel is rapidly growing. The survey was done by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) in partnership with Gourmet magazine and the International Culinary Tourism Association.
“The study demonstrates that a sizable proportion of the U.S. leisure market does indeed make travel decisions based on a desire for wine and culinary experiences. In fact, it confirms that wine and culinary experiences are a driver of destination choice,” said Laura Mandala, vice president of research for TIA.
“It’s definitely a growing market. I think it’s becoming a very important market as a subset of cultural tourism,” said Dr. Rich Harrill, director of the International Tourism Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.
“There are foodies who plan their eating on vacation even before they leave town,” said Erik Wolf, president of the International Culinary Tourism Association, a nonprofit group of food and tourism professionals.
The French and Italians long have recognized how helps influence travel decisions, and North American destinations finally are catching on, added Wolf.
Findings of the study included:
Ø Culinary travelers generally are “younger, more affluent and better educated than non-culinary travelers” and typically seek “unique experiences” when traveling.
Ø The top five destinations for food-related travel are California, Florida, New York, Texas and North Carolina.
Ø On average, “foodies” spend $1,194 per trip, with about $425 of their travel budget towards food-related activities.
Ø In addition to good food, culinary travelers also favor good wine.
Ø Wine travelers spent about $973 per trip; of that, an average $219 specifically went towards wine related activities.
Ø The top five destinations for wine-related travel are: California, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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