Join the Culinary and Agritourism Best Practices Mission to Southeastern Ontario to get inspired and learn how to develop culinary and agritourism in your community. This immersive experience will take you through Kingston and Prince Edward County, providing unique insights into the world of culinary and agritourism. The destinations and the operators that will be visited have demonstrated leadership and innovation in developing and implementing programs, experiences and policies that help support culinary and agritourism. 

On the trip, participants will visit farms, attend food tours, experience a cooking class, and dine at Feast On ® restaurants. This mission will also enable participants from Northern Ontario to get to know the tourism professionals in Southeastern Ontario and learn how they have built partnerships, developed new products and experiences and applied out of the box thinking to build culinary and agritourism in their communities and regions.

Who Should Attend? This Best Practice Mission is designed for Northern Ontario tourism marketers, destination developers and business operators along the food tourism value chain (e.g. restaurants, growers and producers, cooking schools, farmers’ markets, retailers, accommodations) who want to further develop culinary and agritourism in their business and/or community.

When will the trip take place? Monday, October 28 – Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

The trip will be departing from Ottawa early in the morning of October 28, and will return to Ottawa late at night on October 30. Participants are expected to arrive in Ottawa, ON, by the evening of Sunday, October 27.

Where? Kingston and Prince Edward County in Southeastern Ontario

This three-day trip will start in Ottawa and spend a day in Kingston, followed by two days in Prince Edward County before returning to Ottawa. The trip will include visits to farms, immersive culinary experiences, food tours and meals at Feast On ® certified restaurants. Participants will have the opportunity to learn best practices from business operators as well as tourism officials from Visit Kingston, Visit the County, and the Southeastern Regional Tourism Organization (RTO9). 

More detailed information on the trip stops can be found here

Specific Learning Areas Include:

Learn how to develop culinary and agritourism

• Understand what culinary and agritourism is and the current trends
• Hear from a DMMO, DMO and RTO on how they developed their culinary strategy
• Experience a range of packageable, time-bound, bookable experiences and hear directly from operators on how they developed their experiences
• Learn how to develop partnerships in your community to enhance experiences
• Hear how culinary and agritourism can attract shoulder and off-season visitors

Understand the elements required to create a memorable culinary and agritourism experience

• Participants will get to experience a variety of immersive, hands-on experiences
• Throughout the trip, participants will learn how storytelling can add to an experience
• Participants will see how food tourism provides multisensory experiences

How culinary and agritourism can address sustainability

• Gain insight into Southeastern Ontario’s responsible tourism practices
• See how agritourism business operators incorporate sustainability into their experience
• Learn how to leverage sustainability certifications to enhance visitor-facing experiences
• Hear how tourism businesses develop initiatives that support their local communities
• Understand how the Feast On ® program incentivizes restaurants to purchase local food

Who is Leading the Mission? The Best Practice Mission will be led by the Culinary Tourism Alliance, a national not-for-profit food tourism development organization that supports the creation of food and drink experiences that celebrate the history, heritage, and culture of destinations. They are well-known for creating North America’s largest and longest running local food certification program, Feast On ®.  In addition, they provide destination development expertise, offer culinary and agritourism training programs, and marketing services. The Culinary Tourism Alliance has selected a variety of food experiences that demonstrate best practices in culinary and agritourism. They will also provide insights and tips throughout the trip.

Wondering if you are a good candidate for this trip?  Reach out to Karen Peacock at k.peacock@destinationnorthernontario.ca to discuss further.

Cost: Participant trip cost is $750/ individual.

The $750 fee is payable upon registration. 

This cost will cover all on site travel, accommodation, set meals and activity fees during the trip from October 28 - 30. Additional discretionary spending will be the responsibility of participants. You are responsible for travel arrangements and related costs to/from Ottawa, Ontario.

Only 12 spots available!  Register soon!