brian alberg presentation at the travel marketing summit 2015

INSPIRATION THROUGH FOOD:

Bringing Food Culture to the Head of the Table

Founding Chair

Brian Alberg,

Executive Chef and Vice President Food &

Beverage

Importance of Food Tourism

The World Food Travel Association reports a few compelling statistics:

• American foodies spend nearly $100,000 per minute,

every minute of the day, on food and drink when

traveling.

• 27 million leisure travelers have

participated in culinary-related travel

in the last 3 years.

• Direct economic impact

on food tourism in theU.S. is at $32 billion.

Photo credit Angela Cardinali

Photo credits Angela Cardinali

The Berkshire Food Landscape

• Home to award-winning Berkshire Mountain Bakery,

Berkshire Blue Cheese, Barrington Coffee Roasters,

Berkshire Mountain Distillers, Cricket Creek Farm, High Lawn

Farm and No. Six Depot Roastery & Cafe.

• Small food businesses offer authenticity,unique products,local personalities

and interesting stories.

Photo courtesy of Berkshire Mountain Bakery

Photo courtesy of Berle Farm

Benefits of Berkshire Food Tourism

• Tap into growing tourism niche• Reach a younger demographic• Grow tourism-related business

• Build shoulder seasons• Create opportunities for repeat

visits• Share our rich agricultural

history• Preserve our beautiful landscape

Photo courtesy of Cricket Creek Farm

Berkshire Farm & Table promotes food culture in our region:

• We share the unique stories of our chefs, food makers and farmers• We produce high quality food events and guides to food experiences • We gain positive attention in national media outlets

Our work advances food as another reason to explore and savor the Berkshires.

Building food tourism contributes to economic development which preserves the beauty of our landscape,

enhances our quality of life and provides visitors with a richer, fuller experience.

IN THE MEDIA

James Beard Team Dinners

Photo credit Edward Acker

Photo credit Robin Dorian

Outstanding in the Field at Indian Line Farm,

the first CSA in North America (2012)

Photo credit John Dolan

Photo credits John Dolan

Photo credit Tim Newman

EVENTS & EXPERIENCES

Taste Trails

Cheese & CharcuterieBeer & CiderMap illustrations by John S. Dykes, courtesy of Berkshire

Magazine

Taking Berkshire Food Culture on the Road

Berkshire Farm & Table Partnerships

TasteBerkshires Media Event in NYC

Photo credits Bill Wright

Great Content is Key• Video creates an emotional connection

and has the ability to be shared onmany social platforms.

• A Google survey revealed 45% ofleisure travelers said travel videosinfluenced them to book a trip. That number jumped to 74% for affluent travelers.

• YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google. Your customers are using it to research and plan their trips.

www.findeatdrink.com

My Backyard. My Berkshires.Video created & produced by

brian alberg presentation at the travel marketing summit 2015

Travel

photo credit angela

photo credits angela

photo credit john dolan

photo credit robin dorian

photo courtesy of berle

photo credits john dolan

food culture

food experiences