Red Wine Boosts Food Checks

According to The NPD Group, Americans like to drink alcohol with their meals. The recent study found that 37 percent of adults (ages 21 and over) include alcohol with their casual/fine dining restaurant dinners from Friday to Sunday, compared to 34 percent between Monday and Thursday.

And, says the report, the type of alcohol consumed varies by meal as well.

* Beverage alcohol consumption nearly triples between lunch and dinner. 13 percent of the time when an adult visits a casual/fine dining restaurant for lunch, they order an alcoholic beverage, whereas 36 percent of the time for a dinner meal, alcohol is ordered.
* 55 percent of “drinking” lunches include beer as opposed to dinner (45 percent), but cocktails and wine take the lead at dinnertime.
* Happy hour, between 4:00 and 7:00 PM, is the highest consumption of beer (58%), and cocktails during this time are on par with dinnertime consumption (34%).
* Red wine garners the highest check size 
The average eater check is about $12.00 without beverage alcohol. With alcohol, the average check amount almost doubles. People tend to have a higher check when they order red wine, a moderate check with white wine, and a lower check with blush wine.
* Desserts are ordered more often if someone had wine with their meal.
* Thursday is the peak weekday for consuming alcoholic beverages.
* While wine is consumed throughout the week, cocktails rely most on the weekends.

Michele Schmal, vice president of The NPD Group, says “What we’re seeing is that alcoholic beverages have an important place in people’s lifestyles that go beyond Saturday nights.”

Australia Ramps up Tourism Effort

What does authenticity have to do with Tourism Marketing? Everything!

Australia is launching a new $20 million marketing campaign designed to lure American tourists to its shores that carries the potentially controversial slogan, "Where the bloody hell are you?" "Authenticity is key to the campaign," said Tourism Board marketing director Ian Macfarlane. He said he's not concerned about offending consumers, but acknowledged that the tagline might be toned down in some nations. The campaign includes TV spots in which a series of non-actors describe how they have prepared for visiting tourists by getting the 'roos off the greens, shampooing the camels, turning on the lights to the Sydney Opera House and, in the case of Aboriginal dancers, "we've been rehearsing for over 40,000 years." In a reference to ocean swimming areas where fences have been installed to keep sharks out, an Australian boy says Australia has "gotten the sharks out of the pool." The $20 million North American campaign will run in U.S. and Canada for two-and-a-half years.

Just think about it: So, Canada: What is authentic about your community? How can what you consider to be uninteresting and perhaps uninviting about your community become a lure to potential visitors.

What is Tourism Research?

This blog is designed for researchers who wish to post the "So What" in response to the bounty of tourism research available. This blog will provide access to the latest research and make simple what it really means to the average tourism business owner.

Want to post here? Drop me a note about what kind of content you'd like to contribute to the Tourism Research Blog and we'll get you posting.

Stay tuned.