#GROWFOODTOURISM

Our team is working with the City of Brampton on the important work of implementing their Food Tourism Strategy developed in 2017. As part of the process, we are conducting three major activities, including research into emerging food tourism trends, a review of municipal farmers’ markets and corporate events, and positioning the destination. The research findings will inform recommendations on developing the farmers' markets and events, leveraging Brampton’s food story, and setting realistic goals and objectives for a new City of Brampton Culinary Committee.

Come say hello and stop by for a conversation at the 63^rd Annual EDCO conference! Trevor, Caroline and Rebecca from our team will be sharing a booth with the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. You can find us there on 5-6 February 2020. 

Are you interested in learning about developing and growing an agritourism operation in Ontario? The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario is hosting a Tourism Industry Forum on February 20 at the Inn on the Twenty in Jordon, Ontario. CTA President Rebecca Mackenzie will be on the panel of experts speaking to what you need, ranging from land, climate, infrastructure, to resources and staff. Click here to learn more about the event.

Through its Tourism Online Academy, the United Nations World Tourism Organization recently released a free online course, Introduction to Tourism- Industry Management. This course is designed for anyone in the tourism, hospitality, or destination management industries and takes about 4 weeks to complete. The course leverages multimedia resources including videos, readings, exercises, activities, and assignments. Topics covered are wide ranging, from business strategy to digital marketing to operations management and beyond. A growing library of tourism courses is planned for the e-learning platform.

Exciting things to come! Following the 1^st World Congress on Agritourism held in Bolzano, Italy in 2018, Eurac Research has partnered with the University of Vermont Extension to host the International Workshop on Agritourism (IWA) on 27-29 October 2020 at the Hilton Burlington Hotel in downtown Burlington, Vermont, USA. The IWA's exciting program for participants will include educational sessions on pertinent industry topics, poster presentations, hands-on workshops and farm tours, networking events, and time with the exhibitors and sponsors.
 
In preparation for the 2020 IWA an international survey on agritourism has been developed by Lisa Chase and her team at the University of Vermont. It is the first of its kind worldwide and the results, which will include industry trends, will be made available at the 2020 IWA. If you're practicing agritourism, please click here to complete the survey.