Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in food experiences; they lack the same amount of knowledge as gourmet
tourists and are keen to learn more about food. Food tourists are prepared
to learn.
The lesson for tourism operators is to make sure they know their target
consumer. Talking down or up to the tourist will be offensive; the operator
may be perceived as a food snob in the eyes of the food tourist and they may
never come back to that business or region again.
According to the ICTA and ICTD 'State of the Culinary Tourism Industry
Report'
2
there are
13
different types of culinary travellers. These tourists can
be segmented as follows.
1.
Adventure travellers; those travelling far and wide looking for food
adventures.
2.
Ambiance travellers; those looking for the experience rather than a specific
food item.
3.
Authentic travellers; they want the real thing.
4.
Budget; money is a key issue.
5.
Eclectic; those looking for a broad range of offers outside of the pure food
offer.
6.
Gourmet foodies; the top-end travellers.
7.
Innovative travellers; those looking for new food ideas.
8.
Localists; they want locally produced and prepared foods.
9.
Novices; those new to food adventures.
10.
Organic food consumers.
11.
Social food travellers.
12.
Trendy foodies.
13.
Vegetarians.
The top five tourist types in ranking are localists, novices, eclectic, organic
and authentic.
Tourists also include backpackers who may also work on the farm and
Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOFers) who will mostly be over-
seas young travellers who are working their way around a country. These
'tourists' may require accommodation and food, but are still part of the
culinary tourist mix. They are in a particular location because they want
to learn about organic food production and they can share ideas as well as
time in developing a farm. They are often available at harvest time to help
with a crop.
What is Local?
One of the most common questions we are asked by our clients is for the
definition of 'What is local?' The dictionary definition is 'somewhere near',
which does not help when developing a culinary tourism package based on
local food journeys. One major food retailer promotes that local food is food
that is delivered to the store within
24
h. Experience Renewal Solutions Inc.
in a report in 2009 titled 'On-Farm Marketing in Ontario -2009'
3
carried out a
