Culinary Tourism

A Compilation of Culinary
Tourism Studies
by Professor Richard Wade &
Colleagues
Research Teams
Principal Investigators
Richard I. Wade
Hersch Jacobs
David Martin
Mark Holmes
Research Assistants
Theodore Noseworthy, Karen Pun,
Chris Pinto & Jeffrey Wong
Culinary Tourism Studies/Papers
STUDIES/PAPERS
1998 - A Culinary Experience Program for New
Brunswick
2004 - A Culinary Tourism Economic Impact Study for
Niagara-on-the-Lake
2005 - A Study of Winery Visitation in the Niagara
Peninsula
2005 - GTA Wine Consumers Study
2006 - The Emergence of Culinary Tourism in Prince
Edward County
Culinary Tourism Studies/Papers (Cont.)
2007 - Prince Edward County Agri-food and Tourism
Markets Study
2007 - Winery Visitation in Prince Edward County
2008 - A User Assessment of the Prince Edward County
Taste Trail
2008 - Winery Visitation in South Western Ontario
PAPERS
2009 - A Comparative Analysis of Winery Visitation in
Ontario
2009 - A Tale of Two Wine Tourists
2010 - Winery Visitation in the Wine Appellations of
Ontario
1998 - A Culinary Experience Program for New
Brunswick
A joint venture - Economic Planning Group and my
consulting company
Purpose to assess 37 applicants interested in being part of
the proposed Culinary Experience Program
Assessment involved determining consumer appeal,
market readiness and further development/costs
Examples - historic Acadian village in Caraquet, a salmon
cook-out on the Miramichi, an organic farm in Robertville,
a dinner theatre in Bouctouche, a country inn in Rothesay
2004 - A Culinary Tourism Economic Impact
Study for Niagara-on-the-Lake
Purpose was to estimate the economic impact that
culinary tourism had on the community (NOTL)
Involved a consumer survey - 600 visitors on the main
street of NOTL
Segmented culinary versus generic
tourists by purpose of trip
Findings
Culinary tourists represented 17.6% of visitors
Food related expenditures more than tripled that of the
generic traveler
Wine related expenditures exceeded the generic
population by a multiple of seven.
Culinary tourists contribute almost 30% of Niagara-on-
the-Lakes total assessed expenditures within the
specified period.
Estimated culinary tourists contribute $47 million
annually to the community
2005 2008 Winery Visitation Studies
Investigated the four wine appellations of Ontario
- Niagara Peninsula
- Prince Edward County
- Lake Erie North Shore (SWO)
- Pelee Island (SWO)
Standardized consumer survey (except for 2-3 location
specific questions)
Conducted 1311 interviews at 19 wineries
2005 2008 Winery Visitation Studies
Survey instrument contained four groups of questions
relating to:
- Respondent and demographic characteristics
- Trip and visitation characteristics
- Attitudinal and motivational related aspects of winery
visitation
- Wine consumption and consumer purchase behavior
Recorded the differences
among the regions re-the above
2008 - A User Assessment of the Prince Edward
County Taste Trail
A User Assessment of the Prince Edward
County Taste Trail (Cont.)
Research Objectives
To understand who use the Trail, why and how they use
it, and their level of satisfaction in participating in it
To investigate the return on investment for businesses
which participate in the Taste Trail.
To whether the producers &
processors benefit from the Trail.
A User Assessment of the Prince Edward
County Taste Trail (Cont.)
Study involved three different surveys:
1. The visitors to the County using the Trail
2. The owner/operators of the Taste Trail retail outlets
3. The producers/processors
who supply the Trail
Findings
Consumer Survey
One of the more significant findings re-patrons touring
the Taste Trail was their scarcity.
The most popular type of Taste Trail outlets were
wineries - 54% of the visitors indicated that their interest
in the Trail was wine
Operator Findings
All believed buying local was either important or very
important.
Almost 2/3 of operators thought the Trail generated
additional customers.
75% thought there was value in participating in the Trail
Findings (Cont.)
Producer/Processor Findings
All producers/processors except for one supplied at least
two Taste Trail outlets while two supplied fifteen or
more.
A large majority (83.3%) stated they benefit financially
from the Taste Trail
The majority of producers/processors were aware their
operations were promoted by the Trail outlets
Thank You
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