The craft beer revolution is booming and breweries throughout North America and the world have been riding the wave of this cultural shift.
Two key factors driving the growth of new breweries have been 1) the ability to sell beer directly to consumers from tap rooms or brewpubs and 2) the changing taste profiles of consumers. However, the times have changed. Now with over 5,300 breweries in the United States and the number exploding throughout the world, competition for tap room visitors and shelf space is becoming intense. Perhaps more importantly, the double-digit growth figures for craft beer the industry experienced for over a decade are now over.
Beer tourism and beer marketing are increasingly becoming of strategic importance.
The Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference (BMTC) serves two needs: 1) It provides hard information about the important and growing functions of beer marketing and beer tourism that you can bring home to both grow and improve your local offerings and 2) It provides a forum for meeting your fellow leaders in the beer marketing and tourism industry. Subjects to be covered include marketing, sales, driving consumers to your region or business (tourism), tap room management, events, beer tour operators, and much more.
The conference will appeal to:
- Brewery marketing, tap room, and events managers
- Brewery Guilds who are moving beyond legislative affairs to focus on marketing their region as a beer tourism destination
- Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) who are tasked with increasing the number of butts in seats, bodies in beds, and inquiring minds at area attractions, all of which can be increased via beer tourism
- Tour operators, travel agencies, transportation companies, and event planners who provide beer tourism offerings to the public
- Hotels and restaurants that wish to work with their local breweries
- Public relations professionals and other consultants to the beer and tourism industries
- Academics and students from university beer business programs
- Media and bloggers who write about beer and tourism
What can you expect to get out of the conference?
- An overview of the current state of beer marketing and beer tourism from our keynote speakers and industry panels
- Specific, useful information you can use in subjects such as social media, digital marketing, tap room management, brewery sales, events, and more from our breakout sessions and pre-conference workshops
- Networking opportunities during sessions, meals, and events
- An opportunity to pour your beer at our opening reception at no cost if you are one of the first 30 non-profit or governmental brewery guilds or DMOs registered to attend
- Two lunches and one reception included in the conference price thanks to our Vermont hosts
Join us March 6 – 8, 2018 for the second annual Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference in beautiful and beer-centric Burlington, Vermont.
