Il turista enogastronomico

When I took my first steps in the tourism sector, one of the first questions I asked myself, given my background in the world of marketing where analyzing customer purchasing behavior is daily bread, was what are the characteristics of a food and wine tourist, what are the peculiarities that distinguish them from other types of tourists, and whether it is possible to classify them into groups with similar or common traits.

Let's start with a simple definition of a food and wine tourist and then move on to their clustering. The food and wine tourist can be defined as someone who wants to experience food & wine-related experiences during their visit to a place, which become their key to accessing the local culture. But "drawing a well-defined identikit of the 'typical' food and wine tourist is certainly a difficult goal to achieve due to the many variables with which this specific mode of tourism can be interpreted. However, it is certain that the taste tourist is willing to travel greater distances than in the past to reach a destination, usually travels in different seasons, not necessarily summer, and opts for increasingly varied accommodations" (more and more often for non-hotel options).

Regarding the classifications of types of food and wine tourists, there are several, but the most classic is based on demographic data.

So we will talk about Baby Boomer tourists, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z.

A baby boomer is a person born between 1945 and 1964, generally in North America or Europe, who contributed to what was a significant demographic increase in the Western world in the years immediately following the Second World War, a phenomenon known as the baby boom. These are tourists who have a lot of free time (especially those born before the 1950s) and good financial means. They travel quite a bit and are interested in the food and wine traditions of a region. One of their favorite experiences is visiting markets and buying typical products to give as gifts to friends and family.

The Generation X includes all those who, approximately, were born between 1970 and 1980 and who currently make up the largest share of food and wine tourism. They love to taste local products both in typical restaurants and in gourmet ones; they are especially interested in visiting places where typical products are made (e.g. wineries, dairies, farms).

Those born between 1980 and 1995 are instead defined as millennials or Generation Y and will be the tourists of the future. Food-related experiences will be increasingly sought after and desired by this generation, which already tends to save on accommodation, but not on food, which must be typical and of high quality.

The generation generally circumscribed to those born from 1997 to 2010 is instead defined as Generation Z or centennials. An important aspect of this generation is their widespread use of the internet since birth. They are the so-called digital natives, so when they start traveling, technology will play a prominent role in all activities, from researching places to visit to food and wine experiences to be had.

Another classification, no less important, is the one developed by the World Food Travel Association, which includes 12 categories based on behavior. The tourist can therefore be defined as authentic (wants to taste food and drinks prepared according to local traditions); eclectic (wants to find a great variety of experiences); local (looks for local restaurants and bars); social (lives the food and wine experience as a moment of conviviality); innovative (loves to vary by experimenting with new experiences); adventurous (is not afraid to take risks and is willing to taste and experiment); gourmet (seeks pleasure through food and wine); organic (follows an organic and healthy diet even on vacation) ; aesthete (looks for atmospheric locations and themed restaurants); habitual (does not like to experiment and does not want surprises); trendy (looks for the trendiest and coolest experiences); vegetarian (follows a vegetarian or vegan diet for ethical or health reasons, even on vacation).

The third and last classification presented in this article is the one developed by Roberta Garibaldi, one of the leading experts in food and wine tourism at the national level, which is based on the experiences the tourist prefers to have during the trip.

Thus, there is the gourmet tourist (attracted by restaurants listed in guides and culinary fairs); the food and wine-cultural tourist (interested in typical restaurants and events related to local culture); the lifestyle (interested in all types of food and wine events); the lover of healthy and responsible cuisine (defender of the concept of sustainability and interested in places of production); the wine tourist (who loves to visit vineyards and wineries and interact with industry professionals); the tourist with special needs (chooses specialized restaurants paying close attention to ingredients, sometimes for health reasons); and the foodie tourist.

Regarding this last category, we can talk about a real foodie phenomenon.
Foodies are people passionate about food who love to collect gastronomic experiences.
The influence of this group is very significant both in terms of numbers and for their use of social media as a means of sharing their experiences. In the United States there are 44 million foodies, that is, 19.5% of the American adult population. In Italy there are 10 million, equal to 5% of people between 25 and 74 years old.

But what are the main activities carried out by a food and wine tourist during their holidays? In first place we find tasting and learning about typical products of a region; also of great interest are a lunch or dinner in a gourmet or typical restaurant; visits to markets and agricultural fairs are successful; cooking classes or lessons to learn how to cook typical dishes or desserts of the area visited are absolutely trendy; there is a growing demand to visit wineries, dairies, oil mills, breweries, and other places where typical products are made.

In light of these trends and differences, it is important to be able to offer visitors segmented experiences to meet everyone's needs. We should be able to identify the various and different profiles of tourists in order to offer personalized experiences and not generic food and wine proposals.

Globally, it is difficult to make a numerical estimate of the number of food and wine tourists, also because this demand segment includes people who are interested in food and wine either primarily or secondarily. It includes a series of dimensions and facets that vary according to the needs and preferences of the food tourist.

What is certain is that interest in food and wine experiences is increasing sharply compared to previous years; in fact, the main international tour operators now offer various packages to their clients.

And what kind of food and wine tourist are you?

Sources:

World Food Travel Association 

Roberta Garibaldi