What’s Brewing? A Scoping Review on American Craft Beer Tourism

Abstract Book of the 7th International Conference on Tourism Management and Hospitality

Year: 2026

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What's Brewing? A Scoping Review on American Craft Beer Tourism

Dr Ryan Maloney, Dr. Danni Capps, Dr. Oleksandra Hanchukova

ABSTRACT:

A focus on how craft beer tourism has expanded in the United States may help to better understand the needs of the growing industry as well as set a blueprint for future innovations in consumer-focused gastrotourism areas. In this scoping review, literature was sourced from 255 articles across several databases by the authors. After excluding articles for duplicates, data not of interest, data not pertaining to the United States, and data inadequate for detailed evaluation, 49 records met the inclusion criteria. The authors’ findings are summarized via a highlight of themes and trends in the U.S. craft brewery market. The four themes that were identified were: authentic place identity, experience-driven tourism, collaborative and sustainable destination development, networked innovation ecosystems, and social innovation ecosystems. Each theme is developed from several trends found in the evaluated literature. The review provides a practical overview and a comprehensive outline that will be useful for a variety of stakeholders, including researchers, tourism bureaus, and the food and beverage industry. Additionally, it highlights areas of saturation in the research, as well as areas that need future investigation and exploration.

Keywords: Destination Branding; Experiential Consumption; Food and Beverage; Gastrotourism