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The International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) is considered the world's leading authority on culinary tourism. The work of the ICTA is actually carried out by three different organizations:  The International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) was founded in 2003 and serves as the main organization. It is certified as a non-profit trade association in the US State of Oregon. The ICTA provides a wide range of benefits for its members. The ICTA also serves as a regular resource to media outlets that include the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and PeterGreenberg.com. Today, ICTA maintains operations in the US, the United Kingdom, China and New Zealand.
 The International Culinary Tourism Institute (ICTI) was founded in 2006 and serves as the education and training arm of the ICTA. It is certified as a non-profit educational organization in the US State of Oregon. The ICTI produces educational culinary tourism symposia, seminars and webinars for the benefit of the ICTA's members, as well as to the general food/beverage and tourism industries and the general public.
As the ICTA grew, and the needs of its members and the industry became more sophisticated, the ICTA founded Epicopia Culinary Tourism Publishing & Consulting in 2007 to deliver consulting, research, strategy, product development and marketing products and solutions to businesses of all kinds.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Association
| Q: | What is the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA)? | | A: | The International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) is a non-profit trade organization comprised of professionals who represent the world's food, beverage and travel industries. Member businesses include associations, destination marketing organizations, chambers of commerce, lodging properties, attractions, tour operators, special events, food/drink service establishments, food growers, food/beverage manufacturers and individuals. Education events are held to enable members to promote their businesses, stay current on Culinary Tourism trends throughout the world, learn best practices in Culinary Tourism product development and marketing, and network with other professionals. Meetings are held more often by local and regional affiliates.
The Association is governed by a Board of Directors and a President. Members may volunteer for board service or to help with our educational events. Educational events are produced by the ICTA's education and training sister organization, the International Culinary Tourism Institute. | | Q: | Why create an Association? | | A: | It is beneficial for food, beverage and tourism professionals to collaborate for several reasons: | - | Food and beverage are taken for granted among travelers; cuisine takes last place to other attractions. | | - | Local, regional and national public relations and cooperative marketing opportunities are missed by smaller providers who do not hear about them or cannot afford them. | | - | Chefs are not often marketers: they are generally artists who create in the kitchen. | | - | Wineries, breweries and farmers are generally not marketers: they are food and beverage manufacturers and scientists. | | - | Existing food and beverage events often forget tourism and market generally to locals. | | - | Valuable time and scarce financial resources are wasted through duplicative efforts because there is no clearinghouse of information that relates to the interrelationship of food, beverage and travel. | | - | Collaboration with diverse industries builds stronger partnerships that are more valuable to sponsorship partners. | | | | | | Q: | Who are the members of the Association? | | A: | Association membership is currently comprised of several hundred individuals and businesses in nearly 2 dozen countries. Represented businesses include associations, destination marketing organizations, chambers of commerce, lodging properties, attractions, tour companies, special events, food/drink service establishments, chefs, food growers and food/beverage manufacturers. | | Q: | What are the mission and goals of the Association? | | A: | You can read about the Association and its goals here. | | Q: | What is the vision of the Association? | | A: | The vision of the International Culinary Tourism Association is to continue to serve as the world's leading international organization that promotes food/beverage as an attraction. | | Q: | What services does the Association provide? | | A: | The Association engages in education, research, product development and marketing activities and programs that help to advance the Culinary Tourism industry and make your business more profitable. | | Q: | How is the association governed? | | A: | The Association is governed by a Board of Directors and a President. In due time, the Board plans to expand its leadership to include more representatives from international destinations. It takes time to identify individuals who are leaders in their field and who have sufficient business experience and time to devote to leadership of an international association. Please let us know if you would like to nominate someone from your geographic area to this prestigious position. | | Q: | How is the association funded? | | A: | The Association is funded through membership dues, publishing, consulting and educational program revenue. | | Q: | Is my contribution tax-deductible? | | A: | While the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) is classified as a 501(c)6 nonprofit trade association. The International Culinary Tourism Institute (ICTI), the ICTA's education and training arm, is an educational organization exempt from taxation under the s a 501(c)3 code if the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Contributions to ICTI are tax deductible for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent provided by law. Your contribution may also be tax deductible as a professional expense in countries other than the U.S. Contributions from corporations and foundations are appreciated as they help the ICTI continue to offer its groundbreaking educational training for professionals as well as the general public. Please contact us if you would like to explore making a charitable gift. | | Q: | Does the Association duplicate the efforts of existing organizations, such as restaurant associations, agricultural ministries, or commodity marketing groups? | | A: | Not at all, in fact, the ICTA supports and enhances the work of these organizations Many restaurant and lodging associations are trade groups that largely focus on legislative and government relations and promote the industry for their membership. Agricultural ministries are government entities that are concerned with only local or regional farmers, growers, and trade/commerce issues. Commodity marketing groups, such as wine associations, are often membership organizations that work to preserve and enhance the vitality of a particular crop at local or regional levels. Commodity groups may deal with specific topics such as import, export, taxation and distribution issues. The ICTA is engaged primarily in education, networking and research. Our purview overlaps and supports, but does not interfere with, the work and interests of these other organizations |
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