Special issue introduction: culinary tourism across time and place

ABSTRACT

Culinary tourism – and cultural tourism more broadly – gained tremendous momentum in the late twentieth century. Despite challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, culinary tourism continues to thrive as a way to sample other cultures both at home and abroad. Now, more than ever, travelers demand “taste of place” experiences – opportunities to eat and drink that convey cultural meanings about the destinations they are visiting. Accordingly, scholarly interest in culinary tourism has grown tremendously in recent years. As the articles in this special issue show, culinary tourism has historically been – and remains – a potent avenue for cultural exchange and negotiation.

KEYWORDS:

• Culinary tourism
• cultural tourism
• foodways
• globalization
• cultural exchange

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shayan S. Lallani

Shayan S. Lallani is a Research Officer at the Culinary Tourism Alliance, a Canadian not-for-profit. He obtained his PhD in History from the University of Ottawa. His book project, currently under contract with University of Illinois Press, is a cultural history of the Caribbean mass-market cruise industry.