BMTC20: Beer Tourism: Attracting Tourists to Your Brewery In a Non-Tourist Location – Julie Wartell, PubQuest

While some breweries open in thriving business districts with a constant stream of potential customers walking by their door daily, most move in to areas that are not that way. Whether you are in a downtown (small or large) that generally shuts down at 5pm, a neighborhood with a reputation (possibly unwarranted) for crime and other problems, a rural area, or an industrial park, you are keen to attract people to visit. This session will present the research on and successes of how breweries attract tourists, including discussion of marketing to locals, attracting those from out of town, beer trails, beer maps, and other tourist-attracting efforts.

Transcript

1. Attracting Tourists to Your Brewery in a Non-Tourist Location Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference St. Petersburg, Florida January 2020 Julie Wartell
2. A little bit about me  Started drinking craft beer in 1992  Created PubQuest in 2005  Lots of brewery research!  Started teaching “Craft Breweries & the Urban Economy” in 2016  Lots more brewery research!
3. SESSION OVERVIEW: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION • Strengths • Weaknesses Understanding thy Self • Examples from around the world Brewery Successes • Marketing to locals • Brewery Maps, Trails & Districts • Getting the out of towners Attraction Strategies
4. Where are you located?  Central Business District  Urban neighborhood  Industrial Park  Suburbia  Small town/Rural Understanding thy Self
5. Who are your primary customers?  Day-time business employees  Day-time non-working folks  Evening drinkers  Weekend drinkers  Non-locals Understanding thy Self
6. What is your area known for? Beer You're in! Wine Lots of potential Collabor- ation Local Businesses Lots of potential Collabor- ation Lack of Nightlife Potential Getting the word out Crime Challeng- ing Safety & Prevention Understanding thy Self
7. What is your brewery known for? Understanding thy Self Awesome Beer Family- friendly Games Great food Atmosphere Music Sustain- ability
8. What does the research say?  Connection with the community was the strongest factor for customers for brand loyalty  Murray & Kline (2015) Rural tourism and the craft beer experience: factors influencing brand loyalty in rural North Carolina, USA, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23:8-9, 1198-1216  Direct spending of over $14 million including 14,000 hotel nights at an average of $148 per night and 42,246 visitors with over 13,000 from outside Michigan  Giedeman et al. (2015), Economic Impact of Beer Tourism in Kent County, Michigan.  Travelocity® survey of 1,003 people, over 75% said they would like to go on a trip where they visited craft breweries and sampled local beer.  Travelocity Beer Tourism Index (www.travelocity.com)  Majority (70%) of respondents answered ”visiting a brewery was a different type of occasion where I wouldn’t have gone to a bar” or they “chose to visit a brewery instead of a traditional bar/on- premise drinking establishment”  Brewers Association Survey, Sept 2017 Brewery Successes
9. What do the local and state electedssay?  Gov. McAuliffe announced that Black Narrows will source nearly 3/4 of its ingredients from VA farmers. “Investments like this create jobs, tourism activity, and new markets for VA’s farmers as craft breweries look to them to source hops, fruit, honey, and other agricultural products…Black Narrows is adding to the tourism offerings that make Accomack County and Chincoteague a true destination.”  http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/2017/01/26/new-craft- brewey-open-chincoteague/97077334/  “Lift Bridge has been a tremendous addition to Stillwater’s economy and tourism, and we are pleased with their decision to continue to be a part of our community,” said Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski. “With an iconic name symbolizing one of our city’s most historic landmarks, the brewery has established itself as a landmark in its own right that we are proud to call our own.”  https://beerpulse.com/2018/05/lift-bridge-to-build-build-new- production-and-distribution-facility-with-in-outdoor-taproom-6082/ Brewery Successes
10. Who, Where & Why  Russian River Brewing  Hill Farmstead  Stone Brewing  Three Floyds  Cigar City Brewery Successes
11. Russian River Brewing Co. Brewery Successes 20 18 Pliny the Younger Release ECONOMIC IMPACT $3.36 MILLION i n e c o n o mi c i mp a c t g e n e r a t e d b y v i si t o r s t r a v e l i n g f r o m o u t si d e o f So n o ma Co u n t y sp e c i f i c a l l y f o r t h e 20 1 8 P l i n y t h e Y o u n g e r r e l e a se . SONOMA COUNTY VISITORS* VISITOR TOTALS 67% tourists traveled sp e c i f i c a l l y f o r P li n y t h e Y o u n g e r 2.83 a v e r a g e p a r t y si z e $74.94 spent per person at R u ssi a n R i v e r B r e wi n g Co mp a n y ATTENDANCE 47% attended in the past 93% said they would attend in the future LODGING 1.06 a v e r a g e n u mb e r o f n i g h t s 39% p a i d t o st a y i n So n o ma Co u n t y l o d g i n g $200.80 p e r n i g h t LOCATIONS** CT DC FL GA IN KY LA MA MD ME MI MN NJ NM NV N Y UT VA WA WI WV OH OK OR PA AL AZ CA CO HI IA ID IL MO MT NC NH SC SD TN TX 40 STATES 459 CITIES UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL 17 COUNTRIES 28 CITIES Finland G erm any G uam India Norway A PO Pacif ic Philippi nes Sweden S w itzerland Australia Canada China England Ireland Jam aica Japan Mexico
12. Hill Farmstead Brewery Successes Two weeks ago, a beer drinker in Fresno, Calif., called Hill Farmstead Brewery in Vermont to ask where he could buy its craft beers. “You have to drive to the airport, get a ticket, fly to Burlington, rent a car and drive an hour and a half to the brewery,” the owner, Shaun Hill, replied with a laugh. But he wasn’t joking. ---NY Times 1/18/14
13. Stone Brewery Successes “Just as the craft brewing industry has become an integral part of the City of San Diego’s identity, the same has happened for the North County, providing the area’s locals access to breweries and brewpubs, and creating a vibrant Beer Tourism industry.” Brian Scott, San Diego Brewers Guild President, North County Craft Brew Report 2014
14. Three Floyds Brewery Successes
15. Cigar City Brewery Successes
16. Maps, Trails & Districts Attraction Strategies
17. PubQuest Mapping App Attraction Strategies
18. Hops Highway Brewery Trail Attraction Strategies http://hopshighway.com/
19. Iowa Beer Trails Attraction Strategies https://www.iowabeer.org/iowabeertrails
20. Yeast Van Brewery District Attraction Strategies https://www.facebook.com/yeastvanbc/
21. Marketing to Local Beer Tourists Events – art shows, fund- raisers, movies, guest brewer Local musicians Game nights Discounts for biking Discounts for living in the ‘hood Family and/or Dog- friendly Attraction Strategies
22. Getting the Out- of-Towners Attraction Strategies Festivals Special Beer Releases Collabs with non-local breweries Deals with local hotels Getting yourself on the map
23. Gary, Indiana Getting the Out- of-Towners Location, Location, Location Attraction Strategies https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-trav-best-northwest-indiana-breweries-1029-story.html
24. http://www.thebeerpr ofessor.com/?p=5470
25. THANK YOU. Julie Wartell PubQuest / University of California-San Diego julie@pubquest.com