Culinary and Agritourism

Development

Oregon Rural Tourism Studio

Wild Rivers Coast

November 2013

Agenda

• What makes food-related travel

memorable?

• What is “culinary and agricultural tourism”?

• Demand: market trends and visitor profiles

• Supply: your assets

• Strategies: enhancing visitor experience

• Action plans and next steps

“Call ahead. And reserve well

in advance. Demand for

agritourism exceeds supply.”

“The Best Farm to Table Restaurants in the

Pacific Northwest”

Conde Nast Traveler magazine, March 2013

What are we talking about?

Culinary Tourism

Agritourism Nature

recreation

Detering Orchard,

Harrisburg Oregon

Agritourism can

include

destinations

primarily visited

by locals, who

bring friends

and family

Wallowa County,

Oregon

Heirloom

beef, adding

on-farm sales,

educational

tours, more

Local farms with strong

local customer base . . .

. . . connect with

visitors as

suppliers to

chefs

“In Southern Oregon, Cathy and

Sam Pennington nurture five

children, 1880s heirloom berries

and old-time backing traditions.”

-Country Living magazine

Leaping Lamb Farm Stay

Alsea, Oregon

1 guest cabin,

$250 per night,

Booked all season

“Thank you so

much for sharing

this most special

place. You offer

your guests the

perfect holy trinity

for renewal– plenty

of green space,

silence, happy

animals.”

Hood River County,

Oregon

Farm offers tours on request, but a primary business is off-

farm sale of wool and yarn on-line and retail shop in

downtown Hood River, a main tourist destination

Fairview Farms Goat Dairy,

Dallas, OR

(and

Goat Museum)

“Visit the 200 square foot

gallery, open Friday through

Sunday in winter, for a glimpse

of how humans’ relationship

with goats has evolved over

the past 10,000 years . . .”

- Via, AAA magazine

“The Food Issue, Nov 2013

Lodging, guides,

special events:

a destination

experience in

remote Fossil Oregon

Lavender festivals,

harvest festivals. . .

Easter lily festivals?

Food on the farm events, and

private events (including

celebrity weddings!)

Plate and Pitchfork:

Farm to Table events

Expanded from Farm to

Table events to outfitting

tours: e.g. Six days on the

salmon river, $2,795 per

person, sold out!

County-wide self-guided

loop tour, in Hood River

County, over 20 years

running. Associated

festivals grew over time.

Artisan Foods, some with locally

sourced ingredients

From artisan food sales to

participatory artisan food

Chefs who

feature high

quality local

foods

Prince Edward Island, CA- simple and fancy

Queen

Charlotte Trek,

New Zealand:

Multi-day hike

with awesome

local foods

and surprising

culinary

experiences

Catalysts

• Local farm tours to connect farms with each other and chefs/restaurants

• Self-guided tours and trails

• Packaged itineraries and experiences

• Technical assistance to farmers and food entrepreneurs

• Distinctive, meaningful branding

• Producer initiatives supported by community

Travel Oregon

support activities

Demand Factors:

• Growth of the multi-cultured consumer- food as cultural experience

• Disconnect between urban and rural

• Renewed emphasis on family time

• Rejection of mass production; rise of artisan production

• Slow Foods and Buy local

• Environmental and health concerns

• Affluence trading up to better food

• Celebrity chefs and media

Who are we talking about?

Food and education

enthusiasts

Families and

special event fans

Outdoor recreation

lovers

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Visitor Characteristics

Agritourism

• Families

• Few with teenagers

• Moderate income

• Highly educated

• More day trippers

Culinary Tourism

• Similar profile to outdoor

recreation market

• DINKS and SINKS

• Age 35-64

• Higher than average

income and education

• Like heritage travelers,

more likely to try many

activities

Intentional vs. accidental

15%

39%

39%

7%

Deliberate

Opportunistic

Accidental

Uninterested

Prince Edward Island study

Seeking . . .

• Authenticity

• Variety

• Stories

• Active learning

• Animals

• Something to bring home

• Fun

Supply:“Eat and Drink” listings Bandon Brookings Gold Beach Langlois Port Orford

Artisan Producers 3 1

Breweries 1

Coffee and Tea 1

Culinary Experiences 4 1

Oregon Distilleries 1

Farmers Markets 3 1 2 1

Oregon Food Trips 1

Picking and Foraging 3 1 2 1

Ranches

Restaurants 16 3 9 4

Seafood 1 1

Wineries and Wine

Most promising assets for

future development?

Building blocks for visitor experiences

Consider market trends

Consider visitor profile

Consider WRC initial asset inventory

Connecting Assets to Create

Awesome Visitor Experiences

• Public facilities and infrastructure

• Business services

• Signage and wayfinding

• Interpretation

• Marketing and communications

• Routes and Itineraries