Miami thanks travel partners with farm-fresh fare

Miami has long-since been a favourite destination for Canadians looking for warm weather, sandy beaches and exciting nightlife, but snowbirds with a taste for local dining can now also enjoy Miami’s burgeoning farm-to-table movement - a new culinary offering taking the city by storm.

Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) welcomed more than 30 Canadian travel partners at Hawthorne Restaurant in Toronto last night, both to show its appreciation for the industry’s ongoing support of the destination, and to introduce the farm-to-table concept as a great new selling point.

“People may be surprised to discover that Miami actually has huge agricultural offerings,” Linda Stilmann, senior director of sales, USA, Canada & emerging markets for GMCVB told PAX. “We have orchid farms, bonsai plantations, and tours of that nature all available to travellers who are looking to go beyond the beach.”

Urban farming, local sourcing and even foraging in Miami is also a choice practice for several of its prominent restaurants, such as Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink of the city’s Design District, which quotes its watchword as taking a pure approach to delivering fresh, local, and unpretentious food to its diners.

Hawthorne Restaurant itself was a strategic choice of venue for GMCVB, according to Stilmann, and was selected for its own commitment to serving “farm-to-fork city food” from Ontario farms – a growing trend and lifestyle choice being sought by Canadians even when they leave their homes.

“People are much more interested and aware in what they’re eating,” Stilmann said, “and they want food that is fresh, and prepared with integrity. That mindset tends to extend to their choice of travel destination as well.”

Stilmann went on to say that farm-to-table cuisine also lends a particular kind of authenticity to a destination like Miami, allowing visitors to experience food that, having been grown and prepared there, best represents the city’s diverse flavours.

Also on the menu for the evening was a rotating roundtable of 10 Miami-based hoteliers, each offering a unique representation of the variety of accommodation styles available in the city; another element of its tourism industry that Stilmann aims to bring to the forefront.

“I’d like Canadians to develop an enhanced understanding about the true diversity of Miami,” Stilmann explained. “A lot of people are really not aware that there’s so much more to the city than its beaches. We have two national parks, a beautifully developing culinary movement, arts and culture – so many great opportunities to explore.”

Stilmann predicted that the city’s emerging farm-to-table movement is expected to attract new types of travellers to the destination in future – specifically with regards to Canadians, who enjoy a similar emphasis on the importance of agricultural and locally-focused culinary practices at home.

Canada currently ranks as Miami’s number two international market, with 689,700 visitors reported from 2014, second only to Brazil with consistent year-over-year. GMCVB’s 2014 visitor industry overview showed that 29.6 per cent of overnight international visitors listed the city’s restaurants as their most-liked destination feature, and spent an average of $108.32 on meals, daily.

PHOTO: Linda Stilmann, of Greater Miami CVB; Bertha Morales, Homestead/TEVA; Neal Blakemore, Goldman Properties; Yonne Mendez, Z Ocean; Marie Jacq Lopez, Epic Hotel & Surfcomber; Sus Beltran, Marseilles & Dorchester Hotel; Monica De Gouveia, Marriott Courtyard Cadillac; Concha Perdomo, Charles Group Hotels; Beatriz Lopez, Aventura Mall Hotels; Rosario Ramirez, Carillon Hotel & Joanne Scalamogna, Greater Miami CVB.

Not pictured: Tamsin Parvus, Fontainebleau Miami Beach.