Australia May Be the Next Big Destination for Culinary Travel — Here’s Why

When thinking about hot destinations for culinary travel, Australia may not traditionally have been the first country to come to mind — but Tourism Australia is trying to change that.

After its Consumer Demand Project found that 32% of travelers from North America consider culinary experiences a key driver to the destination — and that good food, wine/beverage and local cuisine rank as the No. 2 experience factor when deciding on a destination — the organization is working hard to make more potential customers aware of its top-notch culinary offerings.

On the consumer side, this has resulted in recent events, such as the Great Australian Bite in Los Angeles, a partnership with the Los Angeles Times that took place on April 10 and showcased Australian food, wine and hospitality. And, during its latest roadshows, the organization has worked to share its culinary culture with the travel trade, as well, bringing in top Australian chefs to create menus, host live cooking demonstrations and share insights on the innovative thinking that’s taking Australian dining to new heights. 

We sat down with Chris Allison, vice president of the Americas for Tourism Australia, to learn more about how the destination is raising its culinary profile, and why travel advisors should be sending their foodie clients to the land Down Under. 

What is Australia seeing when it comes to attracting culinary-minded travelers?

I think what’s interesting for Australia is when we look at the research on perceptions of our culinary offering in its broadest sense, we can see it ranks relatively lower compared to other destinations and other factors. I think our latest Consumer Demand Project shows food and wine ranking No. 15 relative to our competitive set. But what we also know from our research is that once people have been to Australia and experienced our food and wine, when we ask them again about their actual experience, that ranking shoots way up to the top five … and holds up against other leading destinations, such as France and Italy. 

This tells us that we have a highly desirable, high-quality food and wine offering, but we have an issue of perception. So, a lot of what we're doing at the moment is really trying to break down those misperceptions of the quality, depth and breadth of our culinary offering in Australia.

We have a highly desirable, high-quality food and wine offering, but we have an issue of perception.

And what is the plan for combating those perception issues? 

In our consumer marketing and communications, we’re really dialing up the weight of our food and wine messaging. In terms of the travel trade, we’re really leaning into our Signature Experiences of Australia. Within that, we have our Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia collection, which includes the best wine experiences across the country. We also use that to help provide education around the different wine regions of Australia. When we bring up the fact that Australia has 64 wine-growing regions in the country, people are like, “Oh my goodness.” 

And the collection goes beyond wine tasting to different and unique experiences. For example, at Seppeltsfield in South Australia, you can taste Port from your birth year. We have blending experiences where you can go and have a masterclass with the winemaker and blend your own bottle.

Beyond wine, there’s a huge growth in distilling in Australia at the moment; gin, vodka and brewing, as well. Lots of micro-breweries and micro-distilleries are popping up across Australia. Starward founded a whisky brand based in Melbourne, and they just recently renovated their tasting room. On Kangaroo Island you can go to Kangaroo Island Spirits and learn about what they do. Another great experience I love every time I go to Sydney is Bondi Liquor Co, where you can learn how to blend your own gin and they bottle it up for you to take home. Those are just a few examples.

How about when it comes to food — what can travelers expect?

I think one of the things that we really try and educate people on is the uniqueness of the flavors that our chefs use and have access to in Australia. Because of our location, we have a lot of Asian influence coming into Australian cuisine. We also have many native ingredients in Australia through our Indigenous communities that you can't find anywhere else in the world. Our chefs are continuing to find ways to use those ingredients in very unique and interesting ways. And you'll find that all across Australia.

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And sustainability is another key message in our culinary space. Chefs like Josh Niland, for example, are really focusing on the sustainability efforts around food. And he has a big focus on no food waste. So, one of the things that he likes to talk about, particularly when he cooks seafood, is that he likes to use every part of the fish. So, maybe the fish head and other elements of the fish that might not typically be used.

Moving away from cuisine for a moment, is the tourism board seeing any other significant trends in travel to Australia? 

Yes, another key pillar for Australia and a key driver of demand is our Indigenous culture. I think that has always been something that appealed to guests, but over the course of the pandemic, customers gained a heightened awareness of their impact on communities and the environment when they're traveling. They have a renewed interest in really getting under the skin of destinations and understanding them from a cultural perspective, which provides us huge opportunities as Tourism Australia to elevate the amazing history that we have, and that our Aboriginal communities have been custodians of over the last 60,000 years. We’re providing opportunities through our Discover Aboriginal Experiences program for people to authentically participate in Aboriginal experiences in a culturally respectful way. And we're finding huge demand from our travel advisor community to include those as part of itinerary recommendations, but also demand from customers to take part when they come to Australia.

Another key pillar for Australia and a key driver of demand is our Indigenous culture.

Another would be a growth in broader family travel and multigenerational travel, which is really exciting for us as a longer-haul destination. Again, coming out of the pandemic, I think people have reprioritized their time, their finances and are really placing greater importance on the time they spend with each other. We’re also lucky that we’ve had a growth in the popularity of [children’s television program], Bluey. And we have the Bluey’s World experience opening in Brisbane later this year, so that’s a further opportunity for us to tap into that demand.

And one more trend is set-jetting … the “White Lotus” effect is undeniable. I think there’s an opportunity for Australia to be a bigger part of those conversations, because we have lots of [film and television] production happening. “Furiosa” [the “Mad Max” sequel] was just filmed here. “The Fall Guy” and “Anyone But You” were just filmed here. In the last three or four years, film and television has been a growing driver of people wanting to visit after seeing destinations on screen. So that’s all really exciting for us.