Contemporary issues and future trends in food tourism

Culinary experiences play an increasingly crucial role in social life, with shifting tastes shaping consumer preferences and service offerings across the globe (Bourdieu, 1984; Flemmen, Hjelbrekke, & Jarness, 2018; Hennion, 2007). In response, food tourism has flourished, with the wider hospitality and tourism embracing tourists’ desire to consume the traditional, new, and/or unusual culinary heritage available at the destinations that they visit (Robinson, Getz, & Dolincar, 2018). Here, the mobility of different cultures and their associated culinary traditions hold the power to influence how eating values in host societies are transformed and reorganised. Food tourism has thus emerged as a significant component of consumers’ lived experiences, regardless of country of origin, shaping decision-making processes, dining choices, and holiday destinations (Ellis, Park, Kim, & Yeoman, 2018; Henderson, 2009; Okumus et al., 2018). The established link between the image of some destinations (e.g., France, Italy, Thailand, etc.) and indigenous cuisine is not solely underpinned by the quality and variety of food, but also because ‘eating’ serves as a core leisure and social activity therein. This is especially pronounced when food tourism underpinned by culinary experiences involves sharing a meal in service settings, where dining atmosphere and the opportunity to socialise with others impacts on the consumption of food (Flemmen et al., 2018; Guillemi et al., 2006; Jafari, Taheri, & vom Lehn, 2013).