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The 3rd World Culinary Travel Expo is back with more exhibitors and destinations at this year’s EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking festival — taking place at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC, Canada from May 22nd to 24th. The Expo continues to be a must-attend event for culinary travel providers including tourist boards, tour operators, travel wholesalers, retailers, hotels, restaurants and wineries who want to capitalize on this hot special interest market.
Exhibitors have the opportunity to market directly to over 30,000 targeted, captive consumers and build brand awareness — it reinforces customer loyalty — a key ingredient to increased profit. Businesses that stay on "top-of-mind" during times of economic challenges find themselves on top both short and long-term. For travel trade visitors, the expo is a superb venue to scout for new trends and creative ways to boost business revenue and meet travel suppliers.
Culinary travel is one of the fastest growing sectors in travel. According to the Specialty Travel Agents Association, it is the top pick for 2009 Specialty Travel Trends and Destination. The upsurge in cooking shows, celebrity chefs and reality television programmes have triggered an explosion in culinary travel. Culinary travellers travel to eat, participate in gastronomic, agritourism and agri-food activities. Visit www.worldculinary.net for more information. Canada is renowned as a global leader in culinary tourism development.
The economic malaise has impacted economies worldwide — but people are continuing to pursue travel experiences that allow them to indulge in their passions and rejuvenate their mental well-being. According to UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, January 2009 publication — special interest travellers are expected to be more resilient in the economic downturn. The future looks bright for travel. Ipsos Reid survey released in January this year states that seven in ten Canadians say they are planning to vacation this year despite economic slowdown — and last month, Ipsos Reid US reveals that, on the leisure side, most (81%) Americans say they plan to take at least, one leisure trip in 2009. February travelhorizons survey results show the U.S. Traveler Sentiment Index rose to 90.2 in February 2009 from 78.2 in October 2008 due to an increase in the perceived “affordability of travel." This is all good news for culinary travel providers.
The three-day expo attracts exhibitors from all sectors of the travel industry. Representatives from destinations like Louisiana, Barbados, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Cowichan and Comox Valleys are back again this year, and there are also first-time exhibitors like Greater Miami and Israel. Insight Vacations, UniWorld River Cruises and Transat Holidays are amongst the wholesalers showcasing at this year’s expo. In conjunction with the launching of their flight to Barcelona and Madrid this June, Transat Holidays and Marlin Travel are offering a contest for a fantastic trip for two to Barcelona, Spain with airfares, 7-nights accommodation, ground transfers, and most meals included. Expo highlights include presentations by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, Princess Cruises and AMA WATERWAYS. On the International Culinary Stage, festival attendees can watch and sample some of the mouth-watering cuisines prepared by chefs from around the world. The excitement, sights, sounds, smells and flavours at EAT! Vancouver will leave their five senses tantalized.
The EAT! Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival — is Canada’s largest consumer food festival, featuring hundreds of food, beverage & kitchen goods exhibitors along with tourist boards, travel suppliers, wineries, breweries, restaurants, cooking demonstrations, wine and cheese seminars, cookbook authors & chef competitions. Since its inception, the festival has been attended by over 125,000 visitors and is expecting an additional 30,000 this coming May.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
