mash up post! in my research for travel trends lately, one thing that has consistently popped up is food tourism. back when this term was first coined, they called it culinary tourism, but stopped “because our research showed that it gave a misleading impression. while “culinary” technically can be used for anything relating to food and drink and initially seems to make good sense, the perception among the majority of english-speakers we interviewed is that the word “culinary” is elitist. nothing could be further from the truth about what our industry and our association are all about. “food tourism” is inclusive and includes the food carts and street vendors as much as the locals-only (gastro)pubs, dramatic wineries, or one-of-a-kind restaurants. there is something for everyone in the food tourism industry.” (from world food tourism)
so, what exactly is food tourism? well, it’s about traveling to find new foods. and world food tourism says that you don’t have to travel halfway around the world. you can cross your city to find a new restaurant, and that counts as food tourism.
much like every region has an identifiable food and/or drink, food tourism tells “the story of a destination’s history, culture, and people” and “is any tourism experience in which one learns about, appreciates, and/or consumes food and drink that reflects the local, regional or national cuisine, heritage and culture.” (from skift.com)
it turns out that food tourism is a big business. and a relatively recent one. a university of florida research reports that over 70 million american leisure travelers either pick a destination based on culinary activities available, or pick a culinary activity once a destination is determined. and the rise in asians traveling has increased the number of asian dishes available in luxury hotels around the world.
so what has changed in the food tourism industry? asian travelers rank among the youngest who travel in search of food, and americans rank as the oldest. we are more conscious of sustainability and waste, and we also search out local, organic shops. we are more knowledgeable about where our food comes from, and new destinations are emerging as “foodie hot spots.”
we talked yesterday about where to find local foods in various cities. that’s a form of food tourism in itself, but what if you wanted to take a cooking class in italy? or work at a vineyard while wwoofing through australia, or croatia? pick olives in greece? live on a farm in iceland and help farm?
you can do these things now, as a part of the travel industry. just watch how someone like anthony bourdain travels around the world talking about food and customs in different countries. or how andrew zimmern chases down “bizarre” foods (and eats them.)
and there’s a few more trends that the food tourism industry is seeing. in the same way that airbnb connects locals to travelers, so does the peer to peer dining trend. with apps like eatwith, cookapp, or feastly, you can find someone who will invite you into their home and cook for you.
what if you lead an active lifestyle, and don’t want your tour of france to get in the way of your ironman training? remember my post on wellness travel? well, how about a bicycling tour of france that focuses on eating healthy while seeing the countryside? (it may not *help* your training but it probably won’t hurt!)
basically, the gist of this is: food tourism is big, getting bigger, and you can do it too. if you don’t want to spend a ton of money on a six-course private dinner at the home of a hot argentinian chef, you can still seek out the local food market, pick out a few interesting things and call it a night. that’s what i love about florence, and so many other places i’ve been. you don’t have to spend money to get a good meal.
you might also like:
foodie week: the best places to try local foods
foodie week: weirdest foods around the world
foodie week: drinking around the world