Today, the role of food and wine in tourism has profoundly changed. It has taken on a new centrality, becoming increasingly articulated and registering ever larger numbers of interested travellers.
The reason lies in a combination of factors that are not strictly linked to tourism, but are broader in scope.
Food and wine have become a pervasive element of social life and are increasingly regarded as a way to:
- Feel good.
- Have fun.
- Experiment.
- Spend time together.
They have also taken on the value of a tool for cultural and anthropological transformation. Food and wine are expressions of a territory, of the people who live there and of its traditions, as well as elements of identity and differentiation from others.
Knowing their origins, processes and production methods means discovering:
- The territory.
- Its historical, artistic and social stories.
- The lives of local communities.
In this sense, food and wine have increasingly taken shape as a cultural experience, stimulating people to travel.
This desire no longer translates solely into the purchase of local products or eating typical dishes, but expands to include visits to production sites – such as wineries, breweries, olive mills, dairies and pasta factories – dining in historic and gourmet restaurants, buying food from food trucks, taking part in cooking classes, food tours and themed events around food, wine or beer. This plurality of experiences, in which sensory involvement is essential, allows travellers to enjoy local cultural heritage in an active and engaging way, creating value through shared discovery.
The earliest studies on tourism and food & wine conducted in the United States and Canada had already highlighted strong growth in the number of interested travellers:
- While in 2007 17% of travellers had taken part in food-and-wine-related experiences during their trips, by 2013 this figure had risen to 77%.
Today these experiences are fully mainstream, with almost all travellers taking part in them. According to the 2020 Report on Food & Wine Tourism in Italy, 71% of travellers from France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Mexico and China travel in order to enjoy memorable food and wine experiences, while 59% say that themed experiences help them choose between destinations.
This growth trend is also evident in Italy: enjoying food-and-wine-related experiences has become widespread, with 85% of Italian travellers taking part in at least one such activity during a trip, regardless of whether they are travelling for seaside holidays, mountain trips or business travel. This points to a strong desire to discover and experience local food and wine.
However, the food and wine component is no longer just a transversal element of the tourism offer capable of attracting interest; it is confirmed as a major travel driver for Italians. If in 2016 research had identified 21% of Italian travellers as interested in this type of tourism, with growth to 30% in 2017, this figure increased even further in 2018. As many as 45% of Italian travellers undertook at least one trip with this motivation over the previous three years, an increase of 48% compared with the year before.
This trend is confirmed by multiple sources: according to monitoring by the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT), sales of the food and wine product by the main Italian inbound tour operators showed a sharp increase in the 2019 summer season. Online, “Food, wine and nightlife tours” was the Tripadvisor experience category that recorded the highest booking growth in Italy in 2018, up 141% on the previous year.
