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Top states for culinary travel
Study: California top spot for culinary travel
POSTED: 2:18 p.m. EST, February 23, 2007
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NEW YORK (AP) -- California is the top destination for travelers whose vacation plans include food festivals, wine tours and other culinary pursuits, according to a new study from the Travel Industry Association.
California was cited as a destination for food-related travel by 14 percent of those surveyed, followed by Florida (10 percent), New York (7 percent), Texas (6 percent), North Carolina (4 percent), Georgia (4 percent), Louisiana (3 percent), Illinois (3 percent), Nevada (3 percent), Pennsylvania (3 percent), Washington (3 percent), Hawaii (3 percent), Michigan (2 percent), Arizona (2 percent), and Virginia (2 percent).
California was also the No. 1 choice for wine-related travel, cited by 31 percent of those surveyed. Following California on the wine travel list were New York, cited by 10 percent of those surveyed, Missouri (5 percent), North Carolina (5 percent), Oregon (5 percent), Pennsylvania (5 percent), Washington (4 percent), Virginia (4 percent), Texas (4 percent), and Florida, Michigan and Ohio, each cited by 2 percent.
The study, released February 14, found that 27 million travelers, or 17 percent of U.S. leisure travelers, engaged in "culinary or wine-related activities" while traveling during the past three years.
Culinary activities included cooking classes, dining out for a unique and memorable experience, visiting farmers markets, gourmet food shopping and attending food festivals. Wine activities included touring a winery, driving a wine trail, tasting locally made wines and attending wine festivals.
Mandala added that culinary travelers are also "more likely to take local foods and wines back home with them" than other travelers.
The study was done in partnership with Gourmet magazine and the International Culinary Tourism Association.
The study also found that 60 percent of U.S. leisure travelers say they're interested in culinary travel as a potential vacation activity for the future.
The survey was conducted online by Edge Research among a representative sample of 2,364 U.S. leisure traveler respondents.
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