1. Culinary and Agritourism
Development
Oregon Rural Tourism Studio
Wild Rivers Coast
November 2013

2. 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

3. “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

4. What are we talking about?
Culinary
Tourism
Nature
recreation
Agritourism

5. Detering Orchard,
Harrisburg Oregon
Agritourism can
include
destinations
primarily visited
by locals, who
bring friends
and family

6. Wallowa County,
Oregon
Heirloom
beef, adding
on-farm sales,
educational
tours, more

7. . . . connect with
visitors as
suppliers to
chefs
Local farms with strong
local customer base . . .

8. “In Southern Oregon, Cathy and
Sam Pennington nurture five
children, 1880s heirloom berries
and old-time backing traditions.”
-Country Living magazine

9. 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.”

12. Hood River County,
Oregon
Farm offers tours on request, but a primary business is offfarm sale of wool and yarn on-line and retail shop in
downtown Hood River, a main tourist destination

13. 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

17. Lodging, guides,
special events:
a destination
experience in
remote Fossil Oregon

22. Lavender festivals,
harvest festivals. . .
Easter lily festivals?

24. Food on the farm events, and
private events (including
celebrity weddings!)

25. Plate and Pitchfork:
Farm to Table events

26. Expanded from Farm to
Table events to outfitting
tours: e.g. Six days on the
salmon river, $2,795 per
person, sold out!

27. County-wide self-guided
loop tour, in Hood River
County, over 20 years
running. Associated
festivals grew over time.

32. Artisan Foods, some with locally
sourced ingredients

33. From artisan food sales to
participatory artisan food

34. Chefs who
feature high
quality local
foods

35. Prince Edward Island, CA- simple and fancy

42. Queen
Charlotte Trek,
New Zealand:
Multi-day hike
with awesome
local foods
and surprising
culinary
experiences

43. 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

44. Travel Oregon
support activities

46. Demand Factors:
• Growth of the multi-cultured consumerfood 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

47. Food and
education
enthusiasts
Outdoor
recreation
lovers
Families
and
special
event fans
Colorado Cultural, Heritage and Agritourism Strategic Plan
Who are we talking about?

48. 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

49. Intentional vs. accidental
7%
15%
Deliberate
Opportunistic
Accidental
39%
Uninterested
39%
Prince Edward Island study

50. Seeking . . .
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Authenticity
Variety
Stories
Active learning
Animals
Something to bring home
Fun

51. Supply:“Eat and Drink” listings
Bandon Brookings Gold Beach Langlois Port Orford
Artisan Producers
3
Breweries
1
1
Coffee and Tea
Culinary Experiences
1
4
Oregon Distilleries
1
1
Farmers Markets
3
1
2
1
Oregon Food Trips
1
Picking and Foraging
3
1
2
1
16
3
Ranches
Restaurants
Seafood
Wineries and Wine
1
9
1
4

52. Most promising assets for
future development?
Building blocks for visitor experiences
Consider market trends
Consider visitor profile
Consider WRC initial asset inventory

54. Connecting Assets to Create
Awesome Visitor Experiences
• Public facilities
and infrastructure
• Business services
• Signage and
wayfinding
• Interpretation
• Marketing and
communications
• Routes and
Itineraries