Culinary tourism
Encyclopedia
Culinary tourism or food tourism is experiencing the food
of the country
, region or area, and is now considered a vital component of the tourism
experience. Dining out is common among tourists and "food is believed to rank alongside climate
, accommodation
, and scenery" in importance to tourists.
in that culinary tourism is considered a subset of cultural tourism (cuisine is a manifestation of culture) whereas agritourism is considered a subset of rural tourism
, but culinary tourism and agritourism are inextricably linked, as the seeds of cuisine can be found in agriculture.
Culinary tourism is not limited to gourmet
food. This is perhaps best illustrated by the notion that culinary tourism is about what is "unique and memorable, not what is necessarily pretentious and exclusive". Similarly, wine tourism
and beer
tourism are also regarded as subsets of culinary tourism.
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
of the country
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
, region or area, and is now considered a vital component of the tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
experience. Dining out is common among tourists and "food is believed to rank alongside climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, accommodation
Accommodation
Accommodation may refer to:* A dwelling* A place of temporary lodging* Accommodation , a theological principle linked to divine revelation within the Christian church* Accommodation , a term used in United States contract law...
, and scenery" in importance to tourists.
Definition
Culinary tourism is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. Culinary tourism differs from agritourismAgritourism
Agritourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally-based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. Agritourism has different definitions in different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays, as in Italy...
in that culinary tourism is considered a subset of cultural tourism (cuisine is a manifestation of culture) whereas agritourism is considered a subset of rural tourism
Rural tourism
Rural tourism focuses on participating in a rural lifestyle. It can be a variant of ecotourism. Any village can be a tourist attraction, and many villagers are very hospitable. Agriculture is becoming highly mechanized and therefore requires less manual labor...
, but culinary tourism and agritourism are inextricably linked, as the seeds of cuisine can be found in agriculture.
Culinary tourism is not limited to gourmet
Gourmet
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...
food. This is perhaps best illustrated by the notion that culinary tourism is about what is "unique and memorable, not what is necessarily pretentious and exclusive". Similarly, wine tourism
Wine tourism
Wine tourism refers to tourism whose purpose is or includes the tasting, consumption or purchase of wine, often at or near the source. Wine tourism can consist of visits to wineries, vineyards and restaurants known to offer unique vintages, as well as organized wine tours, wine festivals or other...
and beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
tourism are also regarded as subsets of culinary tourism.
Organizations
The International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) is considered the world's leading authority on culinary travel and provides community, education and development consulting to the food service and tourism industries around the world. The ICTA is a non-profit trade association and was founded in 2004. The ICTA's consumer resource is FoodTrekker Publishing (FoodTrekker.com), which delivers promotional assistance and help to culinary tourism businessesExternal links
- Why food tourism is becoming more important
- USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
Traveling to eat