Kentucky to bring bourbon, music festival and new attractions by 2025

Representatives from the Kentucky Department of Tourism and Louisville Tourism, as well Brand USA, brought their Southern hospitality this week to Toronto through an interactive cooking event with a bourbon infused menu.

Kentucky, the producer of 95 per cent of the world’s bourbon, is expanding its culinary offerings with an uptick in distillery and winery openings, new food pairing tours and the expansion of the Bourbon Trail to cover nearly the entire state.

“Hundreds of millions have gone into improving the visitor experience,”Michael Mangeot said, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Tourism. As distillery tours are becoming more popular, restaurants, tastings and even amphitheaters are popping up to give visitors a well-rounded experience. 

Music and More

Music is also a focus of the Bluegrass State, which is set to welcome back iconic music festivals in 2025 including Bourbon & Beyond, Louder Than Life and the Railbird Festival.

Kentucky is known for its extreme love of music — It also pays homage to its outdoor adventures — By hosting concerts in Mammoth Cave – the longest cave system on the planet – as happened last year with mastercellist Yo Yo Ma. 

Home to the Muhammad Ali Center and the first stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, has “iconic attractions found nowhere else,”According to Saundra Roberson of Louisville Tourism. The city also boasts updated activities like the Urban Bourbon Trail, a newly renovated Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, and a Christmas Village from the owners of Dollywood, opening November 29 at Kentucky Kingdom amusement park. 

Easy Connectivity For Canadians

“We actually treat Canada like a domestic market,” said Mangeot, referencing Canada’s importance to the state’s tourism economy.

Kentucky is the midway point along the I-75. He encourages Canadians to visit on their way to the southern states in the winter. Visitors can fly-drive to seven neighboring states.

According to Mangeot, the Kentucky Department of Tourism’s focus is to attract first-time visitors since they see strong repeat visitation and, as he noted, “Kentucky sells itself.”