Last week, Taste Vacations participated in the first annual Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference (BMTC), hosted by our sister company, Zephyr Conferences. We listened, learned, and networked with just under 250 of our peers in one of our nation’s beer mecca’s – Asheville, North Carolina.
With the growing number of breweries opening throughout the country, competition is getting increasingly tough. The Beer Marketing and Tourism Conference provides an opportunity to keep abreast of the latest information, trends, and technology in the industry as well as provide a perfect environment for collaboration and partnership building amongst breweries, brewpubs, beer tour operators, and more. This year the schedule included topics such as:
- Digital Marketing in the Beer Industry
- Tap Room Management
- Working with Beer Bloggers
- Lessons from Other Craft Beverages
- Creating Beer Tourism in Emerging Beer Regions
- Tips from the Heavy Hitters – Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, & Deschutes
It is easy to see why North Carolina hosted this inaugural event given that it boasts the largest number of craft breweries in the American South, with more than 203 breweries and brewpubs, and with Asheville being one of the U.S. cities with the most breweries per capita. (And to top things off, North Carolina even has their own toast – featured in the header image.)
Not only did the conference provide a great learning environment for the Taste Vacations’ team, but it also gave us the opportunity to scout out a new North Carolina Beer Tour for you! We are still putting the finishing touches on it but be sure to check back soon or sign up to receive updates as we are planning on launching it by fall of this year.
