Judging Criteria:

This category is for food or beverage-focused destinations that lead with best practices. Have you recently implemented a food or beverage tourism strategy that is achieving great results? Is the internet starting to notice your unique and diverse food and beverage experiences? Applicants need to provide evidence of why your destination leads with best practices in food and beverage tourism. 

Judging Criteria:

Food or beverage experiences often start and finish at a hotel, B&B or wherever the visitor chooses to lodge. Lodging and accommodations are now making a name for themselves in the food travel industry by highlighting their food and beverage offering as a food-lover's attraction itself, making food or beverage the 'star' of the experience. This category is for food- and beverage-focused lodging experiences that lead with best practices.

Judging Criteria:

The use and promotion of local ingredients is growing exponentially. A major reason people travel is to experience food and drink products and ingredients from the area they visit. More than just including local products on your menu, how do you feature them? What do you do that is different from other businesses that just use local ingredients? You might use menu messaging, spotlight local producers or other ways of storytelling. Show us how your menu is special. Foodservice includes all restaurants, cafes, bars, food trucks, caterers, etc.

Judging Criteria:

Food lovers respond to clever marketing, especially featuring plenty of food "porn". However, with the words "local" and "authentic" being overused in marketing, food- and drink- lovers are tuning out. Applicants should focus on clever campaigns with different techniques, new verbiage, compelling stories and innovative methods to entice food/drink lovers.