The potential for craft brewing tourism development in the United States: a stakeholder view.

Abstract

The craft brewing industry is experiencing growth worldwide; however, research on this industry has been scant in various domains, including research exploring the relationships between craft breweries and tourism. This study contributes to extant academic literature, investigating the perceived potential and challenges of craft brewing tourism (CBT) among 221 micro/small United States craft brewing operators. The study adopts stakeholder theory (ST) as the theoretical framework. Overall, participants perceived the potential of CBT in their region/state. Pubs/bars selling locally crafted beer, packaged tours, beer–food pairings, tours, and trails were predominantly identified forms of CBT development, while limited logistics and lack of time were main perceived challenges. Various statistically significant differences were identified, particularly based on the level of production and age of the brewery. However, overall, most tests yielded similar levels of agreement. Alignments were revealed between the findings and ST’s theses, namely, descriptive, instrumental, normative, and managerial.