The Development of Whiskey Tourism in Northern Ireland – Market characteristics and potential demand
Authors: Mr Vincent Hurl, Dr Amy Burns, Dr Clare Carruthers, and Mr Gary Elliott
Ulster University Business School, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ulster University
Mr Vincent Hurl, , Proprietor, The Cross Keys Inn, Toome, Country Antrim, Northern Ireland, BT41 3QB and Postgraduate Student at Ulster University Business School.
Dr Amy Burns, , 02870 123984, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ulster University Business School, Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA.
Dr Clare Carruthers (Corresponding author), , 02870 123958, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ulster University Business School, Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Cromore Road, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA
Mr Gary Elliott,, 02895 367444, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ulster University Business School, Ulster University, Belfast Campus, York Street,Belfast, County Londonderry, BT15 1ED.
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a larger study that aims to assess the potential that whiskey distilleries and their visitor centres can make towards developing the tourism productof Northern Ireland. The authors aim to identify the profile of the potential whiskey tourist to Northern Ireland, assessing potential demand. This research utilises a survey methodology incorporating an online questionnaire of potential whiskey tourists to Northern Ireland. The work draws on previous research within the field of wine/gastronomy tourism and applies the theories to whiskey tourism where comparisons are drawn and new ideas formed.
The research presents the views of potential tourists to whiskey tourism and as such provides insight to the potential of whiskey tourism as part of the broader cultural/heritage tourism product of Northern Ireland. The findings indicate there is huge potential in the development of whiskey tourism in Northern Ireland, from a demand perspective, and provides recommendations for future research and the future development of the whiskey tourism offering in Northern Ireland.
Key Words: Whiskey Tourism, Heritage/Cultural Tourism, Niche Tourism, Food and Drink Tourism, Northern Ireland.
Word Count:2,971
Introduction
For generations the production of whiskey has been recognised for its economic and social importance but it is only in relatively recent times that the importance of the tourism element of whiskey production has been recognised. The concept of visiting a distillery as a form of tourism consumption is becoming more important to whiskey producing regions and distilleries. As new distilleries open up, the marketing of their visitor experience elements is becoming commonplace as they strive to capture market share in this competitive marketplace. Though the literature indicates that the first tours began around the 1960s with Glenfiddich in Scotland opening the first dedicated visitor centre, in actual fact the first documented tours of distilleries took place between 1885 and 1887, when Alfred Barnard visited 129 Distilleries in Scotland, 28 in Ireland and 4 in England, resulting in the publication The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom, Alfred Bernard (1887), and in theory completed the first Whiskey Trail.
The main aim of this research is to establish if the growth of whiskey distilleries and their visitor centres can contribute to the tourism objectives set by the Department of Enterprise and Investment (DETI) for Northern Ireland. Assessing the strength of potential demand can help develop a strategy to promote a vibrant and sustainable whiskey tourism offering in Northern Ireland. The research can help map the future for whiskey tourism in the region by identifying key market indicators, which can help with the successful management, marketing and delivery of a whiskey tourism offering, ensuring a competitive and quality visitor experience.
Literature Review
Whiskey Tourism
With the global demand for whiskey rising and increasing interest in the whiskey tourism product, whiskey tourism numbers are increasing, creating demand for distillery visitor centres to “visit and identify with the quality, traditions and craftsmanship of whiskey making” (McBoyle and McBoyle 2008:72). Despite this growth very little research has taken place within the field of whiskey tourism with the most notable being carried out by Martin and McBoyle (2006), Martin and Haugh (1999) and McBoyle and McBoyle (2008), all of which focuses heavily on regions such as Scotland, Ireland and Kentucky, USA.
Visit Scotland identifies the whisky industry as the UK’s largest single food and drink sector, accounting for 25% of the UK’s food and drink exports, and 80% of Scottish food and drink exports, impacting 200 markets worldwide and generating £3.3 billion directly to the UK economy (Visit Scotland, 2015).
The use of whiskey distillery visitor centres as a marketing tool has featured in Scotland since the 1960s with the development of whiskey trails being introduced in 1972, predicated on the model of the French chateaux visitor trails (Martin and Haugh,1999). As evidenced in the Highlands of Scotland the introduction of distilleries and visitor centres has a lot to offer the tourism industry, resulting in tourist trails generating 1.5 million visitors to 52 distilleries and generating £50 million of direct spend with £52 million of added benefit and generating £21 million of tourism expenditure for every £100 million of export income (Scottish Whiskey Association, 2015). Since Glenfiddich first opened as a dedicated visitor centre in 1969 (McBoyle and Mc Boyle,2008), whiskey tourism has flourished creating a welcome economic boost to the host region and in doing so introducing whiskey tourism to the world.
Although detailed demographic profiles of whiskey tourists are sparse, Mintel (2009) identifies some general trends in the European food and drink tourism market. These are that food and drink tourists are thought to be professionals, at the peak of their careers, in the 30-50+ age group, are adventurous and cultured travellers, with higher level of educational attainment and higher than average disposable incomes. They seek experiences beyond just enjoying food and wine, but that incorporate activities that are based on learning and active participation etc. and in this regard the greying market is a major driver. Everett and Aitchison (2008) identified a similar profile in their study on food tourism in Cornwall. Here they identified typical food tourists as empty nest, 50+, well informed consumers with higher than average disposable incomes, prepared to spend on quality food produce.
Whiskey Tourism in Northern Ireland – growth, development and opportunities
The importance of tourism to the Northern Ireland economy is clearly recognised in the Draft Tourism Strategy for Northern Ireland 2020 (NI Department of Trade and Investment, 2010). Considering its temperate climate and location on the periphery of Western Europe, Northern Ireland must differentiate its tourism product through diversification and the development of niche markets in order to compete in the international market and attract the overseas visitor (Devine and Devine, 2004). With a number of forms of tourism being focused on, including heritage and cultural tourism “the experience on offer to the visitor to Northern Ireland is centered on its heritage, and that much of the provinces’ future tourist appeal must capitalize on this advantage” (Boyd, 2000: 152).
With Tourism NI now focusing on a niche and experience-based approach to tourism development, identifying and developing markets within these sectors is essential for the future development of the tourism product in the region. The development of these niche markets will allow Northern Ireland to compete in international markets and gain competitive advantage over similar destinations, helping to deliver to the region increased revenue within the tourism economy. Whiskey can be recognised as a niche, experiential heritage/cultural product within the context of tourism in Northern Ireland and as part of the local food and drink offering with the uniqueness to provide a visitor experience related to industrial heritage with a cultural link to the present.
In Northern Ireland the concept of whiskey tourism is yet to be fully developed, though the production of whiskey has played a significant role in the tourism industry in its own right. Bushmills Distillery has become a prominent feature on the North Coast of Northern Ireland since it was first granted its license in 1608, making itthe oldest distillery in Ireland. The significance of this iconic cultural and heritage attraction has been evident since the 1970s when it first opened its doors to the public, attracting over 100,000 visitors annually, making it one of the top visitor attractions in the region and surpassing visitor numbers to many of the distilleries in the South of Ireland and Scotland. Given that planning permission has been granted for five new distilleries in Northern Ireland there is now potential to expand on the success of Bushmills as a tourism product, by developing a whiskey tourism portfolio and whiskey trail similar to other whiskey tourism regions with similar competitive advantages.
Further, the designation of Northern Ireland as the Year of Food and Drink 2016 presents significant marketing opportunity to capitalise on the development of the food and drink tourism product. This sees “support for industry and the development of new food experiences and trails to enable a wide range of people across Northern Ireland to get involved in promoting their produce” (Invest NI, 2015: Web source, no page cited). Within this context whiskey tourism offers a unique opportunity to create a new tourism offering, but a more comprehensive understanding of market characteristics is required to facilitate that development.
Methodology
The methodology employed here was a survey design, whereby quantitative data were collected by means of an online questionnaire to assess the potential of a successful whiskey tourism offering in NI. The questionnaire set out to establish the visitor profile of a typical distillery visitor, their motivation for travel and the quality of the experience. The aim here was to establish if whiskey tourism in NI could contribute to the tourism strategy set by government by creating additional tourism spend and fulfil the requirements of Tourism NI of experiential tourism, by delivering a memorable tourism experience.
The survey took the form of an on-line self-administered questionnaire which provided easy access to respondents in dispersed geographical location. The online tool also allowed for ease of analysis (Survey Monkey, 2015) and consisted of 22 questions and generated 183 responses. The question themeswere derived from extantliterature in this area including that of Charters and Ali-Knight (2002), Hall et.al. (2001 and 2003), McBoyle and McBoyle (2008), Sparks (2007) and Croce and Perri (2010) including visitor demographics, motives for travel, customer satisfaction and customer travel behaviour. The surveysought to develop a profile of the whiskey tourist and assess the motives for visiting distilleries and the potential to contribute to tourism spend by delivering a quality experience at an all year, all weather tourism facility.
Results and Discussions
Demographic Profiles
The results of the questionnaire indicated that 78% (n = 183) of the respondents were male, with35% of them in the 40-49 age bracket. With a further 21% combined in the 50-59 and 60+ bracket, the results indicate clearly that the market is dominated by a 40-60+ male demographic. This supports existing research that those with a general interest in whiskey are predominately male and 40+ as “whiskey has always struggled with younger drinkers in part because it’s a taste that tends to appeal to older more developed palates” (Marketing Magazine, 2010: online source, no page cited). Of the respondents the majority (20%) came from the USA, followed by 13% from Ireland, 12% from Northern Ireland and 8% from Scotland, England and the rest of the UK.
Of the respondents 63% have some form of third level education from an associate degree to PhD, supporting the findings of Croce and Perri (2010) who indicate that food and drink related tourists are “educated and have a good cultural knowledge, they have a desire to learn and are willing to spend time on their holidays on educational activities” (2010: 45). With distilleries and whiskey production considered as aspects of the heritage and cultural industries this also supports the findings of Herbert et al. (1989) and Timothy and Boyd, (2003). Although as noted here there are no detailed demographic data on whiskey tourists, the overall demographic profile that emerged of the whiskey tourism market in this research is largely similar to that of the food and drink tourist as evidenced by Mintel (2009) and Everett and Aitchison (2008), with the notable exception of gender.
Pre Visit Research and Previous Visits
Of the respondents 79% had carried out research on whiskey distilleries, supporting the findings of Croce and Perri that the first distinct movement in a food tourists decision to travel is“seeking out relevant information beforehand according to the needs and motivations of the individual” (2010:172). They further suggest that food and drink tourists consider themselves to be educated consumers or would like to be more knowledgeable; therefore it would be reasonable to assume that they are more likely to carry out research before they travel. Some 80% of respondents have visited a distillery and of the 20% who have not 94% indicated that they would like to in the future, clearly indicating a significant market for whiskey tourism and that opportunities do exist for quality whiskey tourism experiences. Of the respondents who had visited a distillery only 18% were female, significantly less than the 44% of females who visit wine producing regions (Sparks, 2007), again supporting a general trend within the industry that whisky is still widely seen as a man’s drink (Tsang, 2013) and hence whiskey tourism is more dominated by the male market.
Motivation and primary purpose of travel
51% of respondents indicated that they visited a distillery because they were a consumer of the product, with 62% stating that the visit to the distillery was the primary purpose of their journey. This indicates that this element was the primary factor in influencing travel behaviour, and supports the theory of Novelli and Robinson (2005) that within tourism activities, similar to wine tourism whiskey tourism is a niche and specific tourism offering.
Consumers experience and satisfaction
Almost all respondents (99%) enjoyed their trip to the distillery. This is important for the success of a whiskey trail as enjoyment and fulfilment of need will encourage repeat visits. With 42% of overnight visitors to Northern Ireland in 2014 visiting friends and relatives (VFR) it is important that the experience is enjoyable to encourage recommendations for repeat visits (NISRA, 2015). The research also indicated that 20% of the respondents visited the distillery on the recommendation of a friend or colleague. Further, some 95% of respondents visited the gift shop as part of their distillery visit, with 61% making a purchase of either alcohol or merchandise.
The respondents were also asked about how their visit could have been enhanced even further and suggestions included transportation to and from accommodation, inclusion of warehouse visits and tastings, better quality literature, better quality food and beverage facilities, postal services for gift shop purchases and more access to the manufacturing process. Of the respondents 39% indicated that of the overall experience they enjoyed learning about the manufacturing process and 36% the heritage of the product, supporting the findings of Boyd (2000) that whiskey tourism is indeed a form of heritage tourism. 99% of respondents indicated that they were willing to visit a distillery again, demonstrating the success of the current tourism offering at distilleries and a positive indication for the potential of a whiskey trail.
WhiskeyTourism Visitor Behaviour
Of the regions visited 52% of respondents had visited Scottish distilleries followed by 29% Irish and 11% the USA, hence reinforcing the fact that whiskey regions could be classed as old and new world with the better known regions welcoming 93% of the respondents collectively. This also indicates that given that the distillery tour industry is not as prevalent in Ireland and Northern Ireland there is certainly opportunity for growth. 29% of respondents indicated that they had followed a whiskey trail and of the 71% who had not, 66% indicated that they would be willing to participate in a whiskey trail, indicating potential further demand for such an offering.
Conclusions
Although whiskey tourism in Northern Ireland is still in its infancy in comparison with its Scottish counterpart, the findings here indicate that there is huge growth potential in this market as a niche tourism product with high experiential tourism value. The research shows that the whiskey tourist is mostly male, over 35, professional and well educated. They are knowledgeable about the product and their main motive for travel is the product itself with a desire to learn more about the product and its processes; hence they correspond with the promotion of niche, experiential, cultural/heritage tourism that is being pursued by Tourism NI.
Food and drink have been an important part of the tourist’s experience for many years, with whiskey tourism playing an important role in the tourism and economic development of old world whiskey producing regions. Despite this being the case and Ireland being recognised as the home of whiskey, with Bushmills distillery being the oldest operating distillery in the world, the whiskey tourism product has yet to be fully developed in Northern Ireland. The evidence is that this is about to change with the growth in distillery numbers over the next 10 years from three distilleries to 31 within Ireland with four being located within Northern Ireland.