Specialty Travel Guide Culinary Travel - A Hot and Fresh Idea
“Culinary Tourism” is a newly defined tourism niche that intersects and impacts both the travel and food/beverage industries, which have long been intertwined. The term was first coined by academician Lucy Long in 1998 to express the idea of experiencing other cultures through food. Today, we know define Culinary Tourism as the pursuit of prepared food/drink as an attraction - both for visitors and locals alike. Culinary Tourism includes all unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences, not just those that have earned four stars or better from a journalist. The true culinary tourist is not an elitist, rather an explorer who also happens to be an impassioned aficionado of food and drink. Price is not necessarily indicative of quality. For example, visiting a British pub or French cheesemaker are quintessentially British and French experiences, although there may not be anything particularly elegant about the visits. True culinary travelers are perfectly happy at a roadside café in the middle of nowhere, as long as there is something positively memorable about their dining experience.
Many who attempt to define Culinary Tourism immediately think only of wineries and fine restaurants. These are two subsets of the industry, but by no means a definitive and final list. Culinary Tourism can happen at a roadside stand (when prepared food is present), or even in the faraway home of a friend who you are visiting. A few examples will help to illustrate what Culinary Tourism can be. Foodie enthusiasts travel to: the chef/owner of a noted restaurant make a guest appearance, or even a nightly performance
- See chefs compete
- Eat/drink at, or attend the grand opening of, or special event at, a new or famous restaurant or bar
- Eat/drink at a hard-to-find “locals-only” restaurant or bar
- Participate in a food, wine or beer special event/festival
- Search for unique ingredients, (e.g. at a grocery, farmers’ market, bazaar, or “u-pick” herbs, fruits and vegetables on local farms)
- Drive a wine route
- Attend cooking classes (e.g. for a few days, weeks or months)
Culinary Tourism is not limited to individual travelers (FITs) or small groups. Chefs and other professionals can also be culinary tourists, especially when they travel to learn, e.g. about responsible agricultural practices, or to augment their skills by studying new culinary techniques.
The roots of Culinary Tourism are in agriculture. Raw ingredients for the culinary arts come from the air, sea and land. Ingredients such as ripe fruits and vegetables, or fresh meats and fish, are inherently part of the culinary experience. It is how chefs prepare the raw ingredients that creates culinary art, and the unique and memorable experience that is part of the Culinary Tourist experience.
Culinary Tourism tends to be inherently more urban than agricultural tourism. The more populated the area , the greater concentration of restaurants, cafés, cooking schools and customers, as well as a greater incidence of celebrity chefs, and propensity for culinary experimentation, such as is the case in fusion cooking. In short, one generally finds more culinary “art” in urban areas. Culinary Tourism certainly also exists in rural areas, especially in wine-producing regions.
On the macro level, Culinary Tourism is a subset of cultural tourism, because cuisine is a manifestation of culture. Agricultural tourism, which is defined as a subset or rural tourism according to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), includes activities such as visits to farms and farmers’ markets, “u-pick” fruit orchards, ranch stays and agritainment (e.g. pizza farms for children). Agritourism focuses more on the technology and process of farming, whereas Culinary Tourism focuses more on prepared food and drink. Obviously there is a degree of cross-over. As there is limited opportunity for a long-term sustainable agricultural industry in heavily urban areas, most agricultural tourism remains inherently rural.
All travelers eat and drink but not everyone shops, plays golf, or visits museums. Therefore food and drink have a greater ability to make long-lasting memories than any other kind of tourism experience. Promoting unique food and drink experiences to your clients can endear you to your clients and give you a competitive edge – and new sources of profit - in today’s difficult marketplace.
By: Eric Wolf - President, International Culinary Tourism Association Publisher, FoodTrekker.com