Culinary tourism
Culinary tourism, also known as food tourism, involves travelers seeking unique and memorable food experiences that can range from high-end dining to local street fare. Defined by the World Food Travel Association, culinary tourism encompasses the enjoyment of diverse food and drink, including beverages like wine and beer. This form of tourism has evolved significantly since its conceptualization in 1998, with notable contributions from figures like Lucy M. Long and Erik Wolf, who recognized it as a growing sector appealing to a wide audience.
Culinary tourism not only includes eating and drinking but also the broader "foodways"—a term that captures all related activities surrounding food preparation and consumption. Travelers can engage with local food cultures through walking tours, cooking with local hosts, and participating in agritourism experiences on farms. With the rise of social media, culinary adventures have become even more popular, as tourists seek authentic connections and experiences centered around local cuisine. Ultimately, culinary tourism offers a way for individuals to explore cultures through their culinary traditions, fostering a deeper appreciation for global food practices.
Subject Terms
Culinary tourism
Culinary tourism, or food tourism, includes people traveling in search of food experiences. The World Food Travel Association defines "culinary tourism" as "the pursuit and enjoyment of unique and memorable food and drink experiences, both far and near."
Culinary tourists do not only equate culinary tourism with gourmet meals and expensive wines but also include all food experiences, from street vendors and local pubs to five-star restaurants. They also consider beverages, particularly wine and beer, to be part of the experience. This particularly influenced the International Culinary Tourism Association, founded 2003 in Portland, Oregon, to change its name to the World Food Travel Association in 2012. It wanted to separate the organization from the idea that the word "culinary" meant only fancy and expensive food. While many people consider food travel to involve a great distance or at least an overnight stay, others also include exploring local restaurants, food trucks, and ethnic neighborhoods.
History
While tourists have always sought out food experiences as part of their travels, before 1998, no one developed the idea of organizing travel centered on culinary attractions. At that time, Lucy M. Long, a folklorist, first wrote about the concept. In 2004, she published Culinary Tourism, in which she discusses how people explore the food and culinary habits of other places and cultures. She states that new foods usually have to be somewhat different from people's usual fare, yet not entirely alien to their experience. For example, while some are willing to try exotic fare such as frog legs or bird's nest soup, only the most adventurous eaters may voluntarily try dishes made with ingredients such as tarantulas or highly toxic puffer fish.
Erik Wolf was first to organize the principles of food tourism and present them to the travel industry. In his 2006 book, Culinary Tourism: The Hidden Harvest, he wrote about culinary tourism as a profitable new market that would appeal to a broad range of people. He notes that everyone has to eat, and when on vacation, most tourists want to enjoy good food and experiences they will remember.
In its first decade, food tourism grew rapidly, as outstanding dining experiences became important goals of those visiting distant cities and countries. Rather than relying on hotel dining rooms or familiar chain restaurants, culinary tourists wanted help finding genuine local cuisine. Subgroups developed to meet demand for tours. Some of these focused on beer or wine; fresh, local food, and organic foods; gourmet meals; teas; chocolates; farmhouse cooking; French cooking classes; and more.
Types
Culinary tourism expanded to include not only eating and drinking but also what the industry refers to as foodways—all the related businesses and activities that affect a final food item or meal. They include sources of food, dining facilities, preparation, presentation, cleanup, and other experiences that accompany a meal. If a group of travelers has the opportunity to shop in a local farmers market, accompany hosts in their homes, help prepare meals, and assist with cleaning up and washing dishes, it provides a much broader and more memorable experience than just dining in a restaurant.
To incorporate more of these types of culinary experiences, tour companies began to offer tailored services such as walking tours and meals with local hosts, which sometimes combined other interests with culinary experiences. For example, cyclists could peddle through certain regions and then enjoy picnic lunches or dinner at an award-winning restaurant.
Walking Tours
Walking tours are popular in cities like New York, Boston, and Seattle, where a group can sample foods and beverages from several stops, generally just blocks apart from one another. Taking place over the course of two or three hours and having a single focus or theme, these types of tours are popular with both foreign and local tourists. Dessert, chocolate-tasting, and artisan food tours are among the most popular, and samples of wine or beer could accompany the food.
Local Hosts
Because the goal of most culinary tours is to provide a new, authentic, and memorable eating experience, entrepreneurs have found creative ways to meet this demand. Knowing that some travelers want to experience local, home-cooked foods, travel companies have sought out reliable cooks willing to open their homes and cook for strangers. These so-called "farmhouse cooks" often include guests in shopping and preparation before meals, sometimes taking them to places they may not have been able to experience on a tour bus. Most times, travel companies require that the host or someone else at the site can speak the same language as the tourists so they all can communicate. In addition to experiencing good food, participants also can develop connections with people that may not have been otherwise possible through other forms of tourism.
Some places in Europe even offer extended experiences, where people can spend their vacations living with other families and learning to prepare authentic dishes. Travel agents determine the wants and needs of clients and then try to customize culinary tours best suited for them, or individuals can choose from a variety of different tour packages.
Agritours
While cities claim the majority of food tourists looking for exceptional dining experiences, rural areas also are beginning to attract more visitors whose interests lean toward learning about sources of food and how foods are made. Tour companies can direct people to farms, markets, and production facilities where they can learn about experiences such as milking cows, cheese making, picking and processing fruits and vegetables, and selling homemade and artisan foods and beverages. Such agritourism experiences are sometimes attached to other interests such as ecotourism or organic farming. Some tour companies even can arrange for tourists to stay at farms.
Bibliography
Abel, Ann. "The Next Generation of Culinary Tourism: Traveling Spoon." Forbes. Forbes.com, 27 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 Jan. 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/annabel/2014/10/27/the-next-generation-of-culinary-tourism-traveling-spoon
Karimi, Sabah. "What Is Culinary Tourism?" USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2015. http://traveltips.usatoday.com/culinary-tourism-1910.html
Kramer, Julia. "5 Dream Cycling-Food Trips, from Tennessee to Thailand." Bon Appétit. Condé Nast, 29 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2015. http://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/slideshow/food-cycling-trips/?slide=4
Long, Lucy M. "Culinary Tourism." The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries. Ed. Gary Allen and Ken Albala. Westport: Greenwood, 2007. 111–14. Print.
"What Is Food Tourism?" World Food Travel Association. World Food Travel Association, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2015. http://www.worldfoodtravel.org/what-is-food-tourism
Wolf, Erik. "Introduction to the Food Travel Industry." Have Fork Will Travel: A Practical Handbook for Food & Drink Tourism Professionals. Portland: World Food Travel Association, 2014. 11–16. Print.