In the USA, distillery touring is the new big thing in travel

Travelers often look for a theme to wrap their explorations around to give a reason to what might otherwise be seen as aimless travel. Sports stadium trips are perennially popular. As are those to see a variety of national parks or taste wines. In Scotland, touring whisky distilleries has a long and noble tradition. In the USA (and elsewhere), touring breweries has long been a popular activity. With the rise of small-batch craft distilleries in the United States there is a movement afoot to package them into American whiskey trails that are becoming popular with travelers. One marketing success is the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which claims 630,000 visits in 2013, its second year of existence. The Trail was created by the Kentucky Distillers Association, whose members include both major companies and craft distillers of the state's famous bourbon. At WikiTrend and The Avant-Guide Institute we are seeing a rise in "connoisseurship," which is the desire people have to become mini-experts on a particular subject, whether that be wine, tea, bourbon or whatever. As tourism officials discover that these desires can be profitably answered by creating fun learning opportunities, expect to see many more of these kinds of experiences around the world.