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“Cooking is all about connection, I've learned, between us and other species, other times, other cultures, but, most important, other people."
- Michael Pollan, Cooked
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1 // EVENT SPOTLIGHT
DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL
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Imagine 2018: Destinations International Annual Convention –
Anaheim, California; July 10 – 13, 2018
As food tourism becomes an ever more important tool for attracting visitors, destinations are increasingly looking to leverage creative ways to showcase their food and drink.
This year, at the Destinations International convention the program underlined the value of food tourism to destination development. Dan Gibson from Visit Tucson was brought in to share how Tucson became part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. As part of his presentation, Dan explained how his organization learned about the value of putting food and drink at the centre of their marketing efforts. In December 2015, Tucson received the United States' first UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation, and with this, they were able to turn $5 million in annual media value into successive years of $15 and $30 million in earned coverage. Importantly, nearly half of this came from stories related to food and drink.
Want to learn more about the Creative Cities Network and the application process for becoming a UNESCO designated City of Gastronomy? Click here.
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COCHON 555: FOSTERING COLLABORATION WITHIN THE CULINARY COMMUNITY
In 2017, Banff & Lake Louise Tourism (BLLT) embarked on a journey to grow food tourism in Banff National Park, a bucket-list destination known for its spectacular mountain setting and unique adventures. BLLT’s vision for this project was to increase visitor awareness of the region's taste of place. To date, BLLT is well on its way to achieving their vision.
BLLT recently partnered with Cochon 555 to foster a culture of collaboration within their culinary community. Cochon 555 an international nose-to-tail culinary event and competition dedicated to supporting family farmers and educating buyers about the agricultural importance of heritage pig breeds. To foster collaboration within the culinary community, the event teams involved partnerships between heritage pork producers and local restaurants. BLLT highlighted regional distributors and products from Alberta and British Columbia. This strong focus on local brands and businesses was a milestone for Cochon 555.
The event sold out in just three weeks and attracted over 650 attendees, many from the domestic markets including Calgary and Edmonton. Fairmont Executive Chef JW Foster, the winner of the Banff & Lake Louise Cochon 555, will go on to compete in the Grand Cochon in Chicago on September 30th.
The success of this event increased tourism visitation in the shoulder season and attracted food travellers to Banff and Lake Louise. Importantly, hosting Cochon 555 allowed for the creation of a regional and provincial platform for collaboration in the culinary community – a wonderful first step in building Banff and Lake Louise’s reputation as a destination for food.
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2018 INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS TOURISM CONFERENCE
The 2018 International Indigenous Tourism Conference is being held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, from October 30 – 31 on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. This annual conference is focused on bringing together people interested and invested in creating and contributing to the Indigenous tourism industry. The conference agenda will feature Indigenous chefs and foods, as well as an exploration of Indigenous food tourism in Canada.
For more information, visit: http://www.indigenoustourismconference.com/
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2 // PROJECT UPDATE
GROWING FOOD TOURISM IN TIMISKAMING
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Grow Food Tourism is conducting research to scope out the development of a new food tourism product for a region that includes both Timiskaming (Ontario) and Témiscamingue (Québec). The region has a rich culture and history that is connected to Indigenous, Francophone, and Anglophone cultures. In the past Timiskaming was visited and inhabited by many explorers and fur traders due to the its strategic position near the Ottawa River and Lake Temiskaming in Ontario, and Témiscamingue in Western Quebec. By working together to conduct research and scope out an innovative food tourism product for the broader region, shared foodways can be celebrated, the relationship between cultures can be strengthened, and positive economic impacts can be created that cross jurisdictional boundaries. Find out more about how you can develop food tourism here.
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3 // LITERATURE REVIEW
WHAT'S TO EAT? ENTREÉS IN CANADIAN FOOD HISTORY, EDITED BY NATHALIE COOKE
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GFT believes that foodways should be the focus and foundation food tourism development. When food tourism experiences are able to showcase tastes of place that draw from the foodways of an area, they have more integrity. As such, GFT is always seeking new resources that provide information about the core concepts of foodways.
Most recently, GFT has been reading What’s to Eat? Entrées in Canadian Food History which consists of 12 essays on the distinctive elements of domestic foodways and the shaping of culinary taste in Canada. The essays focus on topics such as food items, food choices, and food culture. Interestingly, several essays concentrate on the cultural impact of different regional cookbooks and how cookbooks not only provide recipes, but also how they reveal social history.
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4 // OTHER NEWS
GLOBALLY IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE SYSTEMS
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The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has added two new sites to its register of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) – traditional ginseng farming in the Republic of Korea and olive tree groves in Umbria, Italy. Worldwide, there are 52 GIAHS sites. The program recognizes agricultural landscapes that have long contributed to sustainable livelihoods and ecosystems. The farming techniques used on GIAHS sites recognize linkages between humans and the natural environment. These remarkable landscapes also provide “agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage.” The GIAHS program highlights the importance of preserving traditional agricultural techniques and acknowledges the potential for agritourism to ensure the long-term survival of these important sites and secure livelihoods for small-scale farmers. Click here to learn more about the GIAHS program.
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The Culinary Tourism Alliance is a non-profit, industry-led and industry-leading association. For the past decade, we have been developing world-class food tourism strategies, implementation plans, and experiential food tourism products, all while growing awareness about the power and potential of food tourism development.
We are on a mission to help build local and regional identities by working with strategic partners to support agriculture, viticulture and aquaculture businesses across the food tourism value chain. Culinary literally means “of or pertaining to the kitchen,” and Grow Food Tourism is our way of sharing what’s happening in the CTA kitchen.
Every quarter we’ll be sharing news, updates, tools and resources, with you, our partners in developing food tourism around the world.
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