Brews, Bubbles, and Beyond

Beverage Trails That Build Local Spending

One way to encourage local spending in your destination is by spotlighting beverages, whether that’s coffee, beer, spirits, bubble tea, or something uniquely tied to your local culture. 

Beverages connect visitors to a place through taste, storytelling, and discovery. For DMOs, curating a beverage trail can drive foot traffic directly into local businesses, encourage extended stays, and provide a memorable experience worth sharing.

BC Ale Trail (Destination British Columbia, Canada)

Destination BC partners with and supports the BC Ale Trail, an extensive guide to 220+ local craft breweries across 22 Ale Trails throughout British Columbia. The program uses storytelling and detailed and clear itineraries to encourage exploration and spending in both urban and rural communities.

Sustainable Wine Routes (Spain)

Spain’s official tourism website shares wine routes where travelers can not only enjoy the quality of local wine, but also have sustainable experiences. In one wine route example, the Rueda Wine Route takes travelers to visit dozens of historical wineries. In this route, they highlight the insect garden hotels which is a natural and sustainable way of managing vineyard pests. The DMO also encourages traveling the route by bike or on foot.

Bubble Tea Trail (Explore Seattle Southside, USA)

Sometimes, success comes from tapping into beverage trends that resonate with your specific audience. Highlighting what’s unique in your region can differentiate your destination and encourage spending in small, independent shops.

Seattle Southside leaned into the popularity of bubble tea, a staple in the area’s Asian-American community. By curating a trail of bubble tea shops, a collection of 24 different tea shops serving up the sweetest bubble tea in Seattle Southside, the DMO provides visitors with an authentic, trendy, and delicious way to explore the local food culture while directly supporting small businesses.

Takeaways 

• Build beverage trails into broader visitor itineraries. Position them not just as standalone activities but as part of a larger journey that links food, culture, and adventure.
• Consider how transportation can become part of the beverage journey. Pairing energy efficient travel experiences with trails and routes gives visitors a novel way to explore while ensuring local businesses benefit.
• Look beyond the traditional wine and beer focus. Consider what beverages are popular with locals, especially those that reflect your community’s diversity. Curate a list of must-visit stops that give travelers a taste of something they can’t find everywhere else.

Beverage-focused experiences give destinations an accessible, fun, and sustainable way to drive local spending. Whether you build a themed trail or spotlight niche beverage trends, the key is partnership. Work closely with local businesses, create engaging storytelling, and make it easy for visitors to discover and enjoy. This not only increases visitor spending but also strengthens community pride and highlights what makes your destination unique.