Creating Competitive Advantage for Food Tourism Destinations Through Food and Beverage Experiences

ABSTRACT

Food and beverage experiences (FBEs) are an important travel motivator in tourists’ decision-making process. This study determines how food tourism destinations within North Carolina (NC), U.S.A. can optimally market FBEs to different types of food tourists. Using survey data from potential visitors across three NC food tourism destinations, 10 foodie traveler profiles were created based on enjoyment of food/beverage-related activities. Differences in willingness to travel for FBEs and interest in seeking out FBEs at the destination were also examined. Potential visitors to each destination had significantly different food and travel behaviors indicating there are opportunities for destinations to capitalize upon the differences in the foodie travelers. By being strategic about which type of foodie they attract, destinations can build competitive advantage by targeting different segments of the foodie traveler market, thus optimizing the overall number of foodie travelers coming to NC.

KEYWORDS:

• Comparative/competitive advantage
• foodie
• food based experiences
• market segmentation
• destination marketing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).