Culinary tourism is a popular travel experience that offers travelers the opportunity to taste foods and drink from around the world. It’s also called food tourism or gastronomy tourism.
This growing trend is driving destinations to develop food tourism experiences that focus on the tastes of place and draw from a destination’s unique foodways. This means focusing on things like farm visits, farmers markets, wineries and cheese factories to provide food tourists with memorable experiences.
Travel Agents
Culinary Travel involves food-related activities that bring people together. These activities include visiting wineries, breweries, farmers’ markets and food festivals. They also include sampling artisan foods and wines, and taking cooking classes.
There are a number of travel agents who specialize in catering for culinary travelers. These agents have a wealth of information on the region’s food history and traditions, which they use to design an itinerary that will satisfy your taste buds and enrich your experience.
These agents are able to book tours and activities with global distribution systems, such as Amadeus or Sabre. These systems prefer to work with service providers that offer real-time inventory and easy online booking.
These agents are a great way for tour and activity operators to increase their online distribution and secure more bookings. They are able to earn commission for bookings made through these systems, which can be used for marketing and other expenses.
Food Festivals
Nothing brings a party together like food, and there are no better celebrations of local cuisine than food festivals. From multi-stage music fests showcasing the best of a city’s eats to gatherings that are devoted to a particular regional dish, they are an essential element of any culinary travel itinerary.
These events usually revolve around the area’s most popular dishes and serve as a chance for people to sample the cuisine at a fraction of its normal cost. They also offer an opportunity to interact with renowned chefs and learn about the history of the region’s foods, as well as the local culture and traditions.
Aside from a number of food trucks and stalls selling traditional fare, there are also demonstrations from celebrity chefs, a beer garden, games and even an eating contest — all for the price of admission. The event is a must for southern fried foodies and a great way to spend a day outdoors with family and friends.
Cuisine Exhibitions
Culinary travel is growing as travellers become more knowledgeable about different cultures and cuisines. They want to experience more than just the sights and shop in markets; they want to eat the food that defines the culture, history, and people of a destination.
There are a number of cuisine exhibitions that specialize in catering for culinary travel. These attractions are often paired with local restaurants or farm visits in order to create an authentic culinary experience for travellers.
This type of attraction should also pay attention to design interpretation and sensorial experiences as this can enhance the taste experience following a visit to the exhibit. Particularly, this applies to the case of food tourists as they are generally more adventurous in their taste preferences when compared to those who have established taste preference through socialization and individual development over a lifetime.
For example, African/American: Making the Nation’s Table, a new exhibition that opened this month at The Africa Center in Harlem, is dedicated to the cultural evolution of cuisine through stories and food. It features interactive digital projects that replicate a dinner table, using iconic dishes to unlock stories about migration, ethnic diversity, and the feeling of sharing a meal.
Travel Packages
One of the great pleasures of a well-planned vacation is the opportunity to sample cuisines from around the world. From street food to fine dining, there’s no shortage of options for the connoisseur of all things culinary. Traveling to the right destinations is the best way to ensure you’re consuming the finest and freshest the region has to offer. The best part is that you’ll never have to sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity. Using the latest in technological wizardry and local knowledge, we’ll craft a bespoke itinerary to match your specific needs. From gourmet cuisines to off-the-beaten path dining, we’ll help you create a gastronomical experience of a lifetime.
