“It is a positive thing after the likes of myself shouting and screaming about this for a number of years.
“But we heard at the launch of the report from Tourism NZ how tourists are coming here for our clean air, scenery and space and my concern is we are still not appreciating the opportunities that lie beyond that.
“At present food comes a distant second to scenery.”
Her concerns were reinforced by the report that said almost half the visitors to NZ have a neutral view on what this country offers for food and beverage experiences.
That compares to less than 15% for food culture heavyweights France, Italy and Spain.
The one area the report did not address was what NZ is going to do about the disconnect between farming, food and tourism.
She cited the example in the report of Roots Restaurant in Lyttelton and owner Giulio Sturla’s tough battle to establish supplier relationships with local growers and producers to ensure he can provide a strong regional focus to all dishes served.
He has managed to achieve 80% Canterbury food content and 90% wines on his menu but maintains NZ needs to up its game to meet visitors’ expectations for regionally grown food.
Jacobs is a strong advocate for NZ to develop more regionalised cuisine offerings, similar to what Italy has been doing for generations, with local iconic ingredients unswervingly served.
“For example, if you were in Marlborough, a tourist may only have two eating experiences, dinner and breakfast, and they should know they will find green shelled mussels on the menu in some shape or form.”
She cautioned there is also a risk Tourism NZ will keep the focus on international visitors when domestic tourists are also a valuable part of the market.
Spending by Kiwi tourists last year was $21.4 billion compared to the $14.5b international visitor spend.
Total tourist spend on retail and served sales of alcohol and food amounted to $6.7b, the fastest growing category of all tourism expenditure types.
“Should we get another global financial crisis the first market to fall over will be international tourism and there is significant value in working harder on our domestic tourists’ interest in food and where it comes from.”
The number of high-country stations and farms actively offering farm stay tours provides an excellent springboard to a fuller food experience for visitors.
“They might involve those operations collaborating with a talented chef to deliver a more interesting, varied interpretation of NZ produce than simply offering Watties’ peaches and ice cream for dessert.”
She believes there is also good market for a network of higher end lodges in NZ where the key focus is first and foremost on quality local food.
It is a market Italy has identified and established its extensive Agriturismo network on.
It has lodges and homesteads integrated into rural communities, maintaining authentic traditions and quality agricultural food products from artisan producers in their community.
Visitors can select from across a range of Agriturismo standards, depending on their budget.
The Agriturismo network is protected under a national law requiring standards of authenticity and regionality to be wholly included.
Jacobs said given the prevalence of iwi land ownership, a growing appreciation for Maori cuisine and use of native foods, NZ has the unique opportunity to leverage farming and indigenous strengths in a way no other country in the world has done.
