Food tourism and the trend toward culinary-driven travel and food experiences is an expanding market that presents businesses with an opportunity to offer unique, value-added offerings that engage tourists. Going beyond eating at a restaurant or only tasting foods found within specific regions, food tourism encompasses all facets of local food systems including production of ingredients, processing, preparation and serving of meals.
More destinations and local businesses are emphasizing culinary offerings as part of their promotional strategy to attract travelers to their country or region. This can include offering culinary tours, festivals, restaurants and markets featuring culinary-focused events as well as connecting consumers directly with growers, producers and artisanal food makers.
These new offerings are being driven by changes in consumer attitudes and preferences, where more individuals are becoming interested in knowing where their food comes from and are increasingly drawn to buying authentic locally-sourced items that may carry higher costs.
Gen Z is becoming more focused on food and dining experiences that enrich their cultural identities. They seek out immersive activities that create an immersive, experiential atmosphere, as well as providing greater authenticity.
As a result, culinary tourism is growing much more rapidly than traditional tourism, boasting higher revenue potential due to the combination of a high-level culinary experience with an immersive connection to culture, history, and environment.
Culinary tourism has seen explosive growth over recent years due to an explosion of popularity of cooking classes, food festivals and events as well as online marketplaces like Eatwith and Feastly that connect visitors with local hosts, chefs and cooks who offer home-cooked meals – providing visitors with an incredible way to experience local food cultures while supporting small businesses.
Ecotourism World lists several advantages to food tourism as benefits of food tourism: it educates our taste, gives consumers access to authentic culinary products through short or direct channels of distribution, promotes links between personal health concerns, biodiversity conservation efforts and economic sustainability, and food tourism as a whole. Food tourism also can have positive ramifications on regional food systems by encouraging traditional recipes while supporting smaller producers while upholding heritage cuisines of regions.
Culinary tourism’s future looks bright as its market grows increasingly popular. With people increasingly aware of the significance of diet and sustainability issues, demand for culinary experiences will only continue to increase. Travel and tourism companies must focus on offering unique offerings tailored to specific audiences for competitive edge in culinary tourism; and embrace localism over global trends for enhanced visitor experiences that attract discerning food enthusiasts.
