Marian Ferenc is a food and tourism expert
The Michelin Guide is poised to award more stars to a handful of Florida restaurants this week, something that would never have happened without the tourism tax.
Local and state tourism boards in Tampa, Miami and Orlando spent $1.5 million to attract guide reviewers to those cities. Was it worth it?
That’s what Marian Ferentz, who has run Tampa’s upscale restaurant Ms. En Place for nearly 40 years and has been involved in Florida tourism for decades, thinks so. “This makes sense in a lot of ways,” Ference, along with Janet and Tom, told WMNF WaveMakers on Tuesday (4/16). “Having a restaurant worthy of inclusion in the Michelin Guide means something is happening in the food and beverage industry here.”
And it’s good for the local economy, which relies on restaurants and tourism. “This is an opportunity to bring more people into the community who like to eat and drink,” she said. More customers means more jobs and more opportunities for new restaurants.
Ferentz, who also owns The Dewey restaurant in Pass-a-Grill, said it’s important for restaurateurs to “remain calm” about this. She said it’s important to remember that it’s about the journey, not the star. “Anything that tries to make us better is a good thing,” she said.
The Michelin Guide, which started in France about 100 years ago, has always focused on the connection between food and travel. It took longer for the state of Florida to embrace the concept, but this is what got Ferentz involved in promoting tourism more than 20 years ago.
“Gourmet tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism,” she said. She hopes Visit St. Pete Clearwater will partner with Michelin to expand its reviews to Pinellas.
Click the link below to access the WaveMakers archive, or search for WMNF WaveMakers wherever you listen to podcasts to hear the entire conversation.
