Craft beers and beer festivals: Exploring the potential for local economies and gastro-tourism in the UK

This chapter investigates how the rise in UK micro- and craft breweries is providing new economic opportunities for local economies and tourism development. We analyse the craft beer movement in the UK by exploring the expansion of breweries in terms of beer variety and local supply chains. We then focus on the city of York to study the impact of the local beer festival, examining a wide range of data including interviews with organisers and brewers and information collected from visitors at the event in 2016. The analysis developed explores the importance of craft beer and festivals for local economies as well as its significance as a key tourism attractor, hinting at new potential research avenues with regard to how beer variety and related events could act as a driver for beer-oriented tourism in the UK, providing a platform for economic opportunities and development. The case of York, presented in the chapter, is not unique: Other towns and cities in the UK regularly organise beer festivals, as the craft beer movement has continuously growing since the early 2000s. Consolidation in the market and increasing levels of appreciation for local beers among consumers can open up new opportunities for British ales in terms of gastro-tourism and fine dining. We explore and examine these opportunities with regard to expanding the beer market across different venues and channels in the UK.