Foodies and Food Events

Abstract

A sample of Australian food lovers yielded data on the meaning of being a foodie, levels of involvement with food, and patterns and preferences related to travel and events. In this paper, we analyse the relationship between being a foodie and various food-related events. The analysis includes a measure of attendance at various types of food event, and preferences for destination experiences including events. This research reveals that food events are a very important component in desired destination experiences. Implications are drawn for food-tourism planning and marketing, and for food-event design and marketing.

Key Words:

• foodie
• food tourism
• food event
• design
• marketing

Notes

1. Note, for most qualitative questions responses were received from about 20% of the final sample (n = 541).