Culinary tourism
I’m going to talk about gastronomic tourism. In my presentation I’ll tell you what is gastronomic tourism, link between tourism and gastronomy, facts and stats, main destination and 5 major trends.
Well, gastronomic tourism refers to trips made to destinations where the local food and beverages are the main motivating factors for travel. It is also known as “food tourism”, “tasting tourism” or “culinary tourism”. This means there is a particular audience of people who are willing to travel the world in order to sample and experience authentic international cuisines.
Gastronomy plays a major role in the way tourists experience the destination, and indicate that some travellers would return to the same destination to savour its unique gastronomy.
Move on to the facts and stats . * Culinary tourism tends to be largely a domestic tourism activity, with consumers travelling to places to eat and drink specific (usually local) product. * A domestic survey of leisure travellers in America found that 17% engaged in culinary related activities. * The growth in popularity of ethnic cuisines like Thai, Indian, North African, Mexican and Chinese throughout the industrialised countries is attributable to a significant degree to tourism where visitors sample local foods and develop a taste for them. * Food and drink festivals constitute the sole instance where the decision to travel is taken only on the grounds of the gastronomic experiences offered. * Gastronomic consumers tent to be couples that have above-average income, are usually professionals and are aged from 30 to 50.
Let's continue with main food destination. The main source markets tend to be in Europe and North America, in particular: Germany, United Kingdom, Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg), Italy, France, Scandinavia, United States. In Europe, the main competing destinations are: Spain, France and Italy. In Asia, they include: Japan, India and Thailand.
And last, but not least point is trends. According to the Barcelona Field Studies Centre there are 5 major trends driving the food tourism revolution in destination marketing.
Trend 1: Trading up
Consumers spend a higher proportion of their income on prepared food, gourmet products, eating out and food items with some form of health or ethical benefits.
Trend 2: Demographics and Household Change
An ageing population and changing life styles have driven demand for increased eating out and food tourism opportunities. Groups that provide growing markets for food tourism are people from 25 to 35 years old without children and divorsed who searching for new partners.
Trend 3: Rejection of ‘MacDonaldisation’
Tourists have increasingly rejected low cost mass production of food, searching out local, fresh and good quality cuisine that reflects the authenticity of the destination
Trend 4: Growth of the Multi-Cultured Consumer
Multiculturalism has become an everyday concept in the daily life of the consumer, driven by immigration, globalisation, the internet, growth in international tourism. What were once exotic foods have become foods of first choice and today curry is the United Kingdom’s favourite dish.
Trend 5: The Role of the Celebrity Chef and Media
The emergence of the niche food programmes, TV channels and magazines means the food celebrity and expert has been created. We have food programmes on almost every TV channel.
In conclusion, Gastronomic tourism is considered a subculture of cultural tourism and certainly food is a major component of any culture. This trend can be used to encourage travelers to visit other states or even foreign countries on a quest for the best food experience in the world.