“All this pasta is no good for keeping me regular”, an Irish colleague once told me on a work trip to Rome. We had to spend an afternoon looking for an Irish pub, just so that he could rebalance his digestive system with some ‘real’ food – a pint. Some people just aren’t meant to travel together. I recalled this story after reading a recent press release from The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, one of my favourite places to visit in Ireland. Their Director had recently been to a travel exhibition in Shanghai, as part of Tourism Ireland’s plan to encourage more Chinese visitors to visit Ireland. Tourism Ireland predicts 10000 Chinese visitors in 2009, which is great news. However, apparently these tourists have one big concern about Ireland. The food.
Tourism Ireland’s chief representative in China, Susan Li, stressed the need for Irish accommodation providers and restaurants to start considering Chinese tastes. “Chinese people like to have some familiar dishes available on their trips abroad – noodle and rice dishes, seafood, light soups, fresh fruit etc. Hot food at breakfast is common but not exactly an Irish breakfast – rice porridge, hot rolls or even stir fry is a typical Chinese breakfast” explained Li, adding “It would be a good idea to provide green tea as well as the more traditional Irish cuppa”.
I almost had to check that the press release wasn’t dated 1st April. How wonderful that we can now welcome Chinese visitors to our shores, but I think we might be in danger of patronising them by assuming they all want stir-fry for breakfast on their travels. I thought that tourists had generally moved beyond expecting bacon and eggs on the Costa del Sol, a Sunday carvery in the Caribbean or asking ‘Can we have chips with that lasagne?’ in a Tuscan trattoria?.
The press release must also have had our long list of talented Irish chefs screaming à la Gordon Ramsay, many of whom have succeeded in putting Irish cuisine (and produce) at the top of the list for global gourmands. Guess what, lots of Irish tourist providers already have green tea on the menu! They may even stretch to fresh fruit these days. And let’s not even go there on seafood.
Of course I know that there will always be tourists who freak over food. I travelled to Morocco with an English woman, whose case was packed with Pot Noodles and PG Tips. She had heard everything was ‘a bit spicy over there’, and had come prepared. I had a French friend who used to visit Ireland regularly, bringing most of the contents of a French hypermarket with him. Du vin, du pain, et du Boursin. Not as gifts, but just because he couldn’t go without ‘proper’ food when he was away from home.
Last year, we had the honour of hosting a Maasai elder in our home. It was his first trip out of the Maasai Mara, and he tried everything we ate, despite his normal, healthy diet of milk and herbs, and a monthly portion of meat. The only thing he didn’t understand was salad. He couldn’t see the point, which delighted my kids no end. He also said that the most exciting aspect of his trip was experiencing a new culture, and that understanding our food, and eating rituals, was the best part of that.
It is a fantastically exciting prospect for Irish tourism providers to host Chinese guests, and attractions like the Cliffs of Moher are rightfully proud to show off our natural and cultural heritage. But food is a big part of that package, and it is surely time for them, Tourism Ireland, and all of us, to shout about that from the clifftops.
This article was first published in The Irish Times, 2nd May 09