Learning through culinary tourism and developing a culinary tourism education strategy
Matthew J. Stone, Steve Migacz, Erik Wolf
Abstract
A majority of leisure travelers (79%) learn about food and drink when they visit a destination (Stone, M. J., Migacz, S., Garibaldi, R., Stein, N., & Wolf, E. (2020a). 2020 State of the Food Travel Industry Report. Portland, OR: World Food Travel Association). In addition, it has been suggested that food tourism supports regional identities while providing insight into a region’s distinct character and culture (Jones, A., & Jenkins, I. (2003). A Taste of Wales–Blas Ar Gymru’: institutional malaise in promoting Welsh food tourism products. In A.-M. Hjalager, & G. Richards (Eds.), Tourism and gastronomy (pp. 129–145). Routledge). Although food tourism has been suggested to contribute to adding value to the travel experience while facilitating cultural sustainability, very little has been written about the development of a multi-stakeholder strategy aimed to increase food knowledge among young residents, which may help to sustain local traditions and provide benefits to tourism providers. Building on stakeholder theory, fifty-five tourism stakeholders from 29 countries provided their expert recommendations for how destinations can get younger residents more interested in food and beverage. These recommendations were coded and classified into five categories, which could be used to develop a food tourism educational strategy: (1) education / formal education; (2) hands-on experiences and activities; (3) create awareness; (4) career, job, or entrepreneurship opportunities; and (5) connections with global or local issues. Expert stakeholders also recommended conducting a comprehensive assessment of local offerings before putting specific, long-term strategies into place.