Traveling to a destination specifically for its food and beverages is on the rise.
In 2019, the global culinary tourism market was valued at $1.1 billion and it’s projected to grow to more than $1.79 billion by 2027, according to Culinary Tourism Market 2020.
The most popular form of culinary tourism is food festivals, followed by culinary trails, other assorted activities, cooking classes, and restaurants.
Food festivals often take place on downtown’s streets and feature local delicacies like the popular Livermush Festival in Marion, NC. The festival celebrates a beloved local specialty and features a Livermush Food Truck Road, where the food truck with the most votes is named “Livermush Master,” a live band, dancing on the street, vendors, inflatables and other activities for children, pig calling and pig squealing contests, and more.
More on bringing visitors downtown appears in the April issue of Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter. Click to learn more about Downtown Idea Exchange and other resources for revitalizing downtowns and commercial corridors.