PORT TOWNSEND — To make money in tourism, according to industry veteran Judy Walden, you need to remember this formula: Three. Three. Sleep.
That’s how cruise lines, theme parks and beach resorts aim to maximize revenue — through providing tourists with three meals a day, three activities a day — in morning, afternoon and evening — and a place to sleep.
“If you don’t provide it, they will go someplace else to find it,” Walden said.
Walden, now a nationally known consultant in a rural tourism development, brought that message to the Olympic Peninsula Culinary/Agritourism Conference at Fort Worden State Park last week.
Organized by the Washington State tourism and agriculture agencies, the conference brought together growers and chefs, tourism directors and tribal representatives from five counties — including Jefferson and Clallam — who heard about trends in tourism and how to plug into them.
“Today, we have to roll up our sleeves and join hands across the table,” said Diane Schostak of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau, who opened Thursday’s conference.
Health, culture
Big trends in tourism, Walden said, include the search for health and well-being, personalization and immersion in the local culture.
Those trends coalesce in culinary agri-tourism, which focuses on fresh food, the place it was grown or raised and how to buy and cook it.
“Go, see and do is the mantra of travel,” Walden said.
“You need to give people a way to connect meaningfully to a place, and food is the best way to do that.”
Here’s what’s popular:
• Led by the wineries, who were the first to connect romanticism and wine, agricultural tourism is up 72 percent, Walden said.
• Culinary tourism, which has evolved from complimenting the chef to accompanying him to the market, is up 32 percent, she said.
• Heritage tourism, which is up 23 percent, is a parallel trend — helping to save a small farm and saving local heritage are ways to use a vacation to make a difference in the world.
Like eco-tourism, culinary agri-tourism must be hands-on.
“You have to do it, not just eat it or sip it,” she said.
“It’s got to be immersion.”
While heritage tourism attracts older people, culinary tourism is driven by younger people who want an authentic experience, quality food and the opportunity to learn something new, Walden said.
That people want to connect with the local culture when they travel was underscored by Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval in her welcoming remarks.
“For tourism, we don’t have to be pretend,” Sandoval said. “We have to be real.”
Patrice Barrentine, marketing coordinator for the Agriculture Department, said the North Olympic Peninsula — with its wineries, cideries, farms, seafood — is ripe with opportunity.
Destination for food
“Seattle has its farmers markets, but I think this area can be a destination for food,” Barrentine said.
“It’s the most advanced in the state in terms of interest and quality products.”
Michelle Campbell, product director for state tourism, said the state is doing workshops on culinary agri-tourism.
Chef Aaron Stark of Port Townsend talked about how culinary agri-tourism matches the “experience” trend in tourism.
“Menus are a device for education,” he said.
At lunch, growers and chefs ate with potential tourism partners, and in the afternoon, collaborated to create half-day and full-day itineraries for visitors interested in local food.
The resulting farm/food loops were critiqued by Walden and travel writer Sue Frause of Whidbey Island.
On Wednesday, workshop participants toured a shellfish farm on Hood Canal, Finnriver Farm and Cidery in Chimacum and other sites in Jefferson and Clallam counties, followed by dinner at Alder Wood Bistro in Sequim.
________
Port Townsend/Jefferson County reporter-columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
