It’s no secret that quite a few people who visit Italy are picking the country specifically for its world-renowned cuisine. Combined with ancient architecture, phenomenal museums, beautiful towns and amazingly varied natural features, Italy’s food scene makes it one of the top travel destinations worldwide. As such, organizing food and wine tours in Italy is still a formula of success nowadays.
In the land of parmesan and pizza, olive oil and gelato, Montepulciano and Chianti, tours that focus on food and wine are among the most popular tourist activities. This is one of the world’s greatest culinary destinations, after all!
In this article, we’ll outline the five biggest mistakes you should (try to) avoid when you organize food and wine tours in Italy.
4 Mistakes to Avoid When Organizing Food and Wine Tours in Italy
No Focus on Sustainability
Tour operators who are planning to offer food and wine tours in Italy in the future, or already do, are encouraged to do it in a sustainable way.
As the general public becomes more and more aware of the environmental issues that result from our modern lifestyle, an increasing number of visitors to Italy are looking for sustainability in their travel activities.
Sustainable food and wine tours are a fairly new niche in the Italy tourism industry and that comes with tremendous possibilities for tour operators and travel agent like you.
Not Relying on Local Providers
Thinking that you can do everything on your own is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when organizing food and wine tours in Italy. The best-rated Italian cuisine tours are always the result of a partnership between travel agents and local providers, such as FindYourItaly.
Sustainable culinary tourism in Italy is one of our specializations and we’re able to assist you with everything from logistics and services to itineraries and activities.
Only Visiting Famous Destinations
This is in line with the first mistake we’ve talked about. If you only take visitors to the iconic destinations in Italy, such as Rome, Venice or Cinque Terre, they’ll only get to experience the touristy side of the country.
If you really want to offer the very best food and wine tours in Italy, you have to take your customers to “undiscovered” and “unexplored” destinations. This results in a much more authentic experience, better memories and a deeper understanding of Italian cuisine in general.
Perfect examples of our food and wine tours in Italy’s less-known destinations are our Basilicata Trek & Food Tour, Gourmet Holiday in the Piedmont Hills and Sardinia: Food, Wine & Nature of Gallura.
No Personalization
Last but not least, the key to organizing the best culinary tours in Italy that get excellent ratings on places like TripAdvisor is personalization. This means you should take care of two main things.
First, you’re encouraged to offer your (potential) customers itineraries that they can customize. Allow them to change and choose activities, locations and so on. That being said, however, it’s still important to maintain some cornerstones in your tour. After all, you’re the provider, who ideally works with experts like FindYourItaly, and you’ll know more about the destination and cuisine than your customers.
Second, guides must be knowledgeable and professional, but also friendly and amiable towards all customers. Openness and personalization is the best service you could ever offer your customers. So, keep an open mind and ensure your itineraries are flexible. Answer all questions and be accommodating.
If you’d like to see which food and wine tours in Italy we have to offer, you can find all of them on this wonderful overview page.
