Are there too many cooks in the food tour kitchen?
Within the past year and half, culinary tourism has been booming in Boston: Yummy Walks Food Tour launched in March; Ready to Nosh’s Boston Food Truck Tour and Bites of Boston Food Tour last October; Boston Foodie Tours and City Wine Tours in early 2011; Beer and Chocolate Tour of Beacon Hill Back Bay, along with a trio of chocolate tours in 2009 — Boston Chocolate Tour, Boston Walking Chocolate Tour and the Original Boston Chocolate Tour (part of the Old Town Trolley group).
“It’s not an accident,” said Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Convention Visitors Bureau. “It’s a trend addressing an opportunity as the Boston and Cambridge brand has seen an expansion within the last five years with food and fine dining.”
Food-based travel isn’t a new concept. Other cities, such as New York and Seattle, have been in on the business for years. A 2007 study by the U.S. Travel Association found that 27 million American leisure travelers sought culinary or wine-related experiences. The study also projected growth in the industry.
But in a city the size of Boston, can you have too many? Tour operators are divided.
“There is plenty of room for good tours, well planned, well thought-out,” said David Goldstein, founder of Boston Chocolate Tours. “There are more than enough partners.”
“It’s getting saturated, but what can you do if the city doesn’t regulate it,” said Audrey Giannattasio, owner and operator of Boston Foodie Tours. “You can’t prevent somebody from starting a business.”
She added: “I was on a tour the other day and I got an ugly call from a disgruntled food tour member, and I had to tell him that wasn’t our tour (he was complaining about).”