Culinary Culture and Tourism

Culinary culture and tourism research examines how food shapes travel behavior, destination identity, and the economic and cultural vitality of regions — tracing the paths between a traveler's decision to visit a place and the meals, markets, and traditions they encounter there. Gastronomy functions not just as sustenance but as a carrier of local history and agricultural practice, making it a surprisingly reliable lens for understanding how communities present themselves to outsiders and how tourists form lasting impressions of a place. Researchers are actively working to understand what drives food-motivated travel, how authenticity is perceived and negotiated when traditional cuisines meet commercial tourism, and whether culinary tourism can support the survival of endangered food traditions or risks accelerating their commodification. The field sits at the junction of food science, anthropology, and marketing, which means its most pressing questions — around sustainability, representation, and satisfaction — rarely have clean disciplinary answers.

Works

143,628

Total citations

558,997

Keywords

Food TourismGastronomyLocal FoodCulinary TourismTourist ExperienceDestination Marketing