The popularity of culinary tourism has accelerated recently although the concept has been around for a long time. Some of the recent rise in interest is due to food influencers on social media where it is easy to access and share personal experiences. Emerging trends within culinary tourism include:
Farm Tours
Sustainable Food Tourism
Specialty diets including Vegan and Organic
Luxury experiences including a Private Chief Lesson
Eating with a local host
What is Culinary Tourism?
Culinary tourism, or food tourism, refers to actively incorporating unique food experiences while traveling abroad. This often includes sampling local local cuisine which is sourced and prepared in different ways than near their home.
Culinary Tourism in the Media
For years, delicious food experiences were mainly portrayed on television shows and travel networks. Now inspiration comes from rise in social media influencers. Since then, food tourism has since become a greater motivation for traveling to lesser known places as well as stimulating the local economy overall. There are many trends in food tourism today with the main focus of having an authentic culinary experience that “no one has documented quite like you did” before. For this reason,
top food influencers
on social media often try to out shine one another with a new epic experience, which can ultimately increase travel to a particular city or restaurant.
Benefits of Food Tourism
There are many benefits to this type of travel. First of all, food tourism not only boosts the economy by increasing travel to popular hot spots, but also opens the door to new and exciting places that some people have never heard of before. One trend that seems pretty simple but also unique is home cooking an authentic meal.
Depending on the city, cuisine and experience you are craving, there are endless options available including cooking lessons with a host, cooking lessons or cooking together. Having a host to teach you about culture, herbs, spices, and traditional cooking techniques is definitely a new type of experience that you will never forget.
One sure way to have a unique experience is in the variety of
food tours
one can experience in any city. Many of these experiences can be found on AirBnB experiences or by simply doing a quick web search. From tapas tours, seafood tours, and dessert tours to farm tours and pub-crawls, culinary tourism offers endless opportunities to learn and building lasting memories while on vacation. Most of these tours are guided walking tours and have several designated stops within a specific time period.
The popularity of food tours is increasing rapidly not only in Europe and America, but is boosting the tourism economy all around the world.
New Trends in Culinary Tourism
Another more recent trend is culinary experiences as a subset of sustainable tourism. Food sustainability has been a topic of discussion in recent years with the main focus of reducing ones carbon footprint and making a difference in the environment by using reusable utensils and supporting local farms. It is ideal for individuals and families looking to connect with other likeminded people who support local growth and sustainability.
Many tourists enjoy food sustainability tours because you’re given the opportunity to tour local restaurants that only cook with locally sourced seasonal ingredients. Other popular tours that are great for the entire family are local food sourcing tours that show a glimpse of how fruits and vegetables are organically grown and taken from farm to table. For years,
farm tours in Hawaii
like the Dole Pineapple Plantation have educated and entertained guests on a culinary journey.
With the increasing popularity of foodie travel blogs and social media influencers, culinary tourism is expected to steadily rise due to increasing desire for new and
authentic travel experiences
. No matter where your next trip may take you, immerse yourself in the culture and experience the growing trend that is culinary tourism.