Turning your vacation into an exciting gastronomic adventure is a new emerging area of tourism that has exploded in the last ten years.
Recreation and leisure studies professor Steve Smith’s research in culinary tourism reflects his expertise in tourism and his particular love and interest in culinary travel.
“Any trip where you participate in a memorable culinary experience that reflects the destination’s culture can be defined as culinary tourism,” explains Smith.
Smith has identified three types of culinary tourists:
- Deliberate – those who travel especially for dining experiences;
- Opportunistic – travelers who are on a trip and stopped to enjoy a meal to extend the cultural meaning of their visit; and
- Accidental – those who happened to be on a trip and stumbled upon a culinary destination.
Although many cities are excited about the prospect of creating, or expanding their focus to include, a culinary tourism destination, few know how to go about doing it. Smith and his research team have provided the knowledge to assist in the development and implementation of plans for many destinations – in Canada and around the world.
Recently, Smith conducted an economic impact study for the Province of Hubei in China. Working with graduate student, Yaduo Hu, Smith conducted surveys of visitors at the Hubei Crawfish Festival, an event organized to highlight their success in exporting 65% of the world’s crawfish supply. They explored activities, motivations, and expenditures and developed recommendations for the local tourism authorities to increase the economic impact of the festival as well as how to better promote crawfish as a popular food.
“Tourism is highly competitive and countries and communities are looking for an edge – an advantage that will provide an opportunity for growth when some of the traditional markets for tourism dollars are drying up,” says Smith.
In Ontario alone, culinary tourists represent 22 million people – significant numbers that represent hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism revenue.