Culinary tourism work already begun

While it always heartening to see culinary tourism championed, we were disappointed that the June 24 Providence Business News article about this topic ignored the more than a decade of work that our organization – with the help of many like-minded people – has already done.

Since 2005, the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau has made the city’s abundance of local culinary talent and product a cornerstone of our strategic marketing efforts. We launched the first Restaurant Week in Rhode Island, which has grown to a two-week, twice yearly event that includes nearly 100 restaurants from throughout the state. We also incorporate food-related messaging into the bulk of advertising, including special targeted ads that have run in “foodie-friendly” outlets such as Saveur, the food section of Boston.com, regional editions of Food & Wine, Real Simple and more. The PWCVB celebrated being named the “Top Food City in the U.S.” by the readers of Travel + Leisure in 2013 with a mini ad campaign targeting the city’s emerging tourism markets of Baltimore and Washington.

Our public relations program highlights local chefs and projects. We have brought Providence chefs to New York to meet, or cook for, such media outlets as Bon Appetit, NBC’s “Today Show,” Everyday with Rachel Ray, Conde Nast Traveler, the CBS “Early Show” and many more. Throughout the year, we host top journalists in Providence and bring them to restaurants throughout the city. In the first two weeks of June, the PWCVB hosted 24 visiting journalists, including both SmarterTravel.com and Sherman’s Travel among others. We have also provided media training to local chefs and utilize our on-staff photographer and videographer to provide media outlets with visuals when necessary. The PWCVB’s social media efforts include seasonal culinary demonstrations by local chefs.

We are fortunate to have wonderful partners in the community, some of whom were mentioned in the article. Yet, the article did not feature any of the talented chefs and food purveyors who are a huge part of our culinary marketing efforts and those of others statewide. The PWCVB has incorporated local products from Hope & Main, Daniele Foods, New Harvest, Dave’s Coffee and others into both our sales and marketing programs. And, we would not be able to attract national media attention without the help of our close-knit and accessible restaurant community. For example, Derek Wagner of Nick’s on Broadway was a big part of our two-year effort to bring StarChefs.com’s “Rising Star Chef Awards” to Providence, which took place in 2014.

- Advertisement -

Providence’s efforts have been rewarded in the national media, with the city’s culinary scene receiving praise from scores of media outlets, including being named “one of the top small dining destinations in the world” by Saveur and “America’s Favorite City” in a 2014 Travel + Leisure poll. The PWCVB’s work in this area has also been lauded within the tourism industry. In fact, the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance that is cited in the June 24 article referenced the PWCVB’s culinary marketing efforts in its report on “The Rise of Food Tourism.”

We are not alone. Our tourism colleagues statewide have been marketing their culinary assets for years. A great example of product development in culinary tourism is the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council’s “Culinaria” program, which highlights some of the wonderful culinary talent in that region.

The article is correct in its assertion that quantitative culinary tourism measurement in Rhode Island is limited. It is also correct in pointing out the abundance of opportunity in the culinary-tourism arena. However, not including Providence’s national reputation as a culinary destination, and the work of the many people who contributed to that effort, makes it seem like culinary tourism is not a priority. And that is simply not true. •

Martha Sheridan is president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. Kristen Adamo is vice president of marketing and communications at the PWCVB.

No posts to display