Culinary tourism : a new trend on the tourism market

Abstract

Seen as a new form of manifestation of the behavior of the consumer of tourism products and services, culinary tourism has recorded an ascending trending the last years, with a positive forecast for the following years. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is the orientation and encouragement of the tourist services providers to adopt regional development strategies that harness traditional local resources and products in a context where the contemporary consumer no longer only pursues the acquisition of products and services to meet their needs, but also looks forward to new experiences that are a delight for the senses. Against this background, the present paper aims to highlight some of the characteristics of culinary tourism and to customize some of the dimensions of consumer behavior oriented towards this form of tourism, in an economy where the tertiary sector, and specifically the tourism sector, play a leading role both in Europe and worldwide.