Tourism Research Centre at UPEI releases report on visitors’ food and food-related experiences while in PEI
The Tourism Research Centre in the School of Business at UPEI has released research results concerning culinary tourism on behalf of Tourism and Culture PEI. The report provides information about visitors' attitudes, motivations and travel behaviour as it relates to culinary experiences when travelling.
The report shows that visitors to PEI enjoy a wide variety of food and food-related activities while on the Island. The four most popular food and food-related activities in PEI were dining at restaurants known for offering local ingredients, attending farmers' markets, dining at highly rated restaurants, and shopping for gourmet foods.
'The fact that dining at restaurants offering local ingredients and attending farmers' markets were rated as the top two activities for visitors highlights the importance of local ingredients to visitors. It may be beneficial for tourism operators to highlight the availability and use of PEI ingredients at their establishments,' said Jeff McCourt, Chair of the PEI Culinary Alliance.
The research showed that visitors to PEI have distinct ideas about what foods best represent the Island. When asked, respondents readily identified three food items - potatoes, lobsters, and mussels - that they associated with Prince Edward Island.
The report identified four distinct types of food tourist based on their motivation and participation in culinary experiences. Approximately 15 per cent of respondents were classified as Deliberate Culinary Tourists or 'foodies'. The second largest group, at 39 per cent, was Opportunistic Culinary Tourists. At 40 per cent, the largest segment was Accidental Culinary Tourists. At 6 per cent, the smallest group is classified as Uninterested Culinary Tourists.
'From a marketing and outreach perspective, focusing attention on ‘foodies' or Deliberate Culinary Tourist and the Opportunistic Culinary Tourist seems a sensible strategy,' said Dr. Sean Hennessey, Faculty Director of the Tourism Research Centre. 'These two groups are the most active when it comes to food and food-related activities. They are an interested and captive audience. For example, on their most recent visit to PEI, over three quarters of the Deliberate and Opportunistic Culinary Tourists purposely sought out a culinary experience.'
While all respondents reported average spending of $54.86 per person per day while in PEI, the highest spending segment of culinary travellers were the Deliberate Culinary Tourists who spent $60.85 per person per day. They also had high participation rates in other non-culinary activities while travelling.
Overall satisfaction with PEI's food and food-related activities, and intention to recommend PEI's food and food-related activities received very positive ratings. Furthermore, the overall quality of PEI's food was rated highly by all respondents.
'The report provides information for government and tourism operators on a niche market that appears to be quite keen on PEI and our food,' stated McCourt. 'The Culinary Alliance is pleased with the findings of the report and we feel that it will help provide direction in planning future food-related activities and promotions.'
The report is based on data collected from December 29, 2009 to January 18, 2010 and is available on www.trc.upei.ca. More information about the report can be obtained from the Tourism Research Centre, School of Business, UPEI, at (902) 566-6096, or trc@upei.ca.
