The Premier International Gastronomy Tourism Fair to Take Place at the Miami Beach Convention Center May 10-12

MIAMI, May 6, 2019 (Newswire.com) - FIBEGA Miami 2019, the leading gastronomy tourism fair, will soon make its U.S. debut at the Miami Beach Convention Center on May 10-12, 2019. Showcasing a lineup of renowned speakers and exhibitors that range from destinations, hoteliers, restauranteurs and producers, the three-day event aims to showcase gastronomy tourism experiences around the world. FIBEGA Miami 2019 anticipates thousands of professionals and foodie travelers who seek to learn about the latest trends in gastronomy tourism, understand the value of this important segment across the tourism value chain, while also gaining insight to make their next travel choice.

“We’re excited to finally bring this renowned event to its permanent home of Miami, an international epicenter for tourism and gastronomy,” explains said Roi Correa, FIBEGA president. “We know that many people travel to Miami already for these types of experiences, and now that will expand as FIBEGA Miami 2019 will bring the world to them, showcasing the many gastronomy experiences to be had around the globe.”

The first day of FIBEGA Miami 2019, May 10, will be dedicated to trade professionals in the sector, allowing for networking and dedicated panel discussions, including “Gastronomy Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities,” “The Role of Retail in an Effective Tourism Strategy,” “Accommodations and Customer Experience: Heightening the Gastronomy Experience” and “The Challenge of Commercialization.” Professionals can register following this link.

May 11 and 12 will be open to ticket holders, as well as industry professionals, who can tour the show to try authentic gastronomy offerings from exhibitors, such as Macao, Valencia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Morocco, Colombia, Spain, Guatemala, Brazil and many others. Travelers and food enthusiasts can delight in dishes and products, such as wineries, like Marques de Caceres, or a renowned Valencian chef, who will feature regional products. Guests can engage in thoughtful discussions featuring industry experts and influencers. Saturday will be dedicated to the congress “New Technologies in Gastronomy Tourism,” which was created with the support of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) & Basque Culinary Center. The fair will conclude on May 12 with an International Meeting of Chefs.

Tickets to attend FIBEGA Miami 2019 are available for purchase at https://www.fibega.org/visitors/visitors-services, Universe, and Ticketmaster, and are $50 per day or $75 for two days. A limited number of VIP Experience tickets are on sale for $250 and will give VIP guests the opportunity to indulge in a gastronomy tour of the senses. The VIP experience will offer a range of gourmet products to discover from Italian truffles, Jamon de Bellota Cinco Jotas, and Mezcal from Mexico amongst several others.

While experiencing a country’s gastronomy during travel is not a new concept, the trend of making travel decisions based on the gastronomy experience is what has seen exponential growth over the last few years.  According to the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), more than 25 million American travelers visit international destinations each year, and culinary tourism is identified as a primary motivation for travel. A recent report by SKIFT Research revealed that food experiences are becoming a motivator of how destinations are selected, where one in four travelers have taken a trip motivated by a food or drink experience. Also, U.S. travelers spent approximately $58 billion on food and drink while traveling in 2017, representing a 5.8% compound annual growth rate from 2012. More support for this trend comes from TripAdvisor, as they recently revealed that food tours and cooking classes were among the top-five fastest growing tour categories in 2017, each with 57% bookings growth on the platform. Food tours also saw the most growth by gross booking value that year. In the 2018 Travelers’ Choice Awards Top 25 Experiences in the World, seven of the 25 selected were either entirely food-based or include a unique, local food portion within the experience.

“There is tremendous value in gastronomy tourism, and travelers are merely scratching the surface on discovering these experiences. We hope to change that with FIBEGA,” added Correa.

For more information visit: https://www.fibega.org/ or for PRESS registry follow this link.

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About FIBEGA

FIBEGA is an annual international fair that brings together culture, gastronomy and destinations from different countries and regions and will take place in the U.S. for the first time in Miami on May 10-12, 2019 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. May 10 is open to professionals, while May 11-12 is targeted to a mixed audience of professionals and the general public. Due to the city’s prestige as an international epicenter for tourism and gastronomy, all future editions of the fair will remain in Miami. The original FIBEGA was held in Merida, Spain in 2016, followed by Buenos Aires in 2017.

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Source: FIBEGA