Special Issue of the International Journal of Tourism Research
Contemporary issues and future trends in food tourism
Guest Editors: Babak Taheri (Heriot-Watt University, UK) & Martin Gannon (Edinburgh Napier University, UK)
Submission deadline (abstracts): August 2019
The Guest Editors of this special issue call for new theoretical and empirical research that renews our understanding of interdisciplinary and contemporary issues in food tourism, identifying new and future trends in the process. This can include, but is not limited to, studies combining survey and interview data; textual analysis; documentary and archival research; linguistic analysis; and historical or geographical case studies. However, all papers consistent with the theme of the special issue will be considered.
CALL FOR PAPERS
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).
Food tourism therefore constitutes the mode in which consumers relate to some destinations/places, the local populace, and to each other. Thus, food tourism, food-related activities, and culinary experiences and attractions have been characterised as services worthy of promotional focus by tourism marketers. To this end, food tourism is perceived as significant, providing multiple benefits to local economies and contributing to local service development in the process (Kim, Eves, & Scarles, 2009). Given the inherently multi-experiential nature of tourism and hospitality experiences, experiential food consumption and food tourism in any given destination/place can therefore facilitate and contribute to memorable service experiences (Okumus et al., 2018; Tsai & Wang, 2017). To this end, recent decades have seen the industry evolve rapidly, with novel vessels for experiential food tourism emerging with increasing regularity (Robinson, Getz, & Dolincar, 2018). Nonetheless, there are several issues and challenges with regards to the increasing demand for food tourism, surrounding: food tourism policy, (in)authentic experiences manifest through in-situ food consumption, food loss and waste, sustainability challenges, the anti-consumption of food, well-being, overeating, lack of ‘good practice’ in culinary and gastronomy tourism, portion sizes, the protection of indigenous cuisines, and special food consumption (Hogg, Banister, & Stephenson, 2009; Horng & Tsai, 2012; Juvan, Grün, & Dolnicar, 2018; Lee, Pennington-Gray, & Kim, 2019; Minton, Johnson & Liu, 2019; Okumus et al., 2018; Promsivapallop & Kannaovakun, 2019; Taheri, Jafari, & Okumus, 2017; Taheri et al., 2018).
Therefore, the guest editors call for new theoretical and empirical research that renews our understanding of interdisciplinary and contemporary issues in food tourism, identifying new and future trends in the process. Further, the guest editors encourage articles that adopt various methodological approaches. This can include, but is not limited to, studies combining survey and interview data; textual analysis; documentary and archival research; linguistic analysis; and historical or geographical case studies. However, all papers consistent with the theme of the special issue will be considered, with no exclusions beyond the requirement that submissions include original research. As such, the editors welcome papers that are intellectually challenging, innovative, and paint on a broad canvas – identifying future trends within the industry while recognising the challenges inherent to destinations built upon food tourism and the potential benefits therein.
The guest editors welcome empirical and applied research including, but not limited to, the following topics:
• Consumer welfare and food anti-consumption
• Future trends in food tourism
• Food wastage and loss in food tourism
• Food quality and food security in food tourism
• The experiential pleasure of food tourism
• Critical perspective on food tourism
• Omnivorousness and overeating
• Globalisation, taste and food tourism
• The role of cuisine in promoting regional tourism
• Religiosity and special food consumption in food tourism
• Food service ecosystems
• Food festivals
• Destination foodscapes
• The application of technology and innovative food tourism development
• Foodservice and food tourism education
• Local food and the sustainable tourism experiences
Key Dates:
• Submission of abstract (up to 750 words): August 2019
• Notification of abstract acceptance: September 2019
• Submission of full paper: November 2019
• Peer review report: End of January 2020
• Authors to revise and resubmit based on peer review reports: March 2020
References:
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
Ellis, A., Park, E., Kim, S., & Yeoman, I. (2018). What is food tourism? Tourism Management, 68, 250- 263.
Flemmen, M., Hjellbrekke, J., & Jarness, V. (2018). Class, culture and culinary tastes: Cultural distinctions and social class divisions in contemporary Norway. Sociology, 52(1), 128-149.
Guillemin, I., Marrel, A., Arnould, B., Capuron, L., Dupuy, A., Ginon, E., & Urdapilleta, I., (2016). How French subjects describe well-being from food and eating habits? Development, item reduction and scoring definition of the well-being related to food questionnaire. Appetite, 96, 333–346.
Hennion, A. (2007). Those things that hold us together: Taste and sociology. Cultural Sociology, 1 (1), 97–114.
Henderson, J. C. (2009). Food tourism reviewed. British Food Journal, 111(4), 317-332.
Horng, J-S., & Tsai, C-T. (2012). Culinary tourism strategic development: an Asia-Pacific perspective. International Journal of Tourism Research, 14, 40-55.
Hogg, M.K., Banister, E.N., & Stephenson, C.A. (2009). Mapping symbolic (anti-) consumption. Journal of Business Research, 62, 148-159.
Jafari, A., Taheri, B., & vom Lehn, D. (2013). Cultural consumption, interactive sociality, and the museum. Journal of Marketing Management, 29 (15-16), 1729-1752.
Juvan, E., Grün, B., & Dolnicar, S. (2018). Biting off more than they can chew: food waste at hotelbreakfast buffets. Journal of Travel Research, 57(2), 232-242.
Lee, Y.L., Pennington-Gray, L., & Kim, J. (2019). Does location matter? Exploring the spatial patterns of food safety in a tourism destination. Tourism Management, 71,18-33.
Kim,Y.G., Eves, A. & Scarles, C. (2009). Building a model of local food consumption on trips and holidays: A grounded theory approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(3), 423- 431.
Minton, E.A., Johnson, K.A., & Liu, R.L. (2019). Religiosity and special food consumption: The explanatory effects of moral priorities. Journal of Business Research, 95, 442-454.
Okumus, B., Koseoglu, M.A., & Ma, F. (2018). Food and gastronomy research in tourism and hospitality: A bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 73, 64-74.
Promsivapallop, P., & Kannaovakun, P. (2019). Destination food image dimensions and their effects on food preference and consumption. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 11, 89-100.
Robinson, R.N.S., Getz, D., & Dolincar, S. (2018). Food tourism subsegments: A data‐driven analysis.International Journal of Tourism Research, 20, 367-377.
Taheri, B., Jafari, A., & Okumus, B. (2017). Ceremonious politeness in consuming food in VFR tourism: scale development. The Service Industries Journal, 37(15-16), 948-967.
Taheri, B., Gannon, M. J., Cordina, R., & Lochrie, S. (2018). Measuring host sincerity: scale development and validation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(8), 2752-2772.
Tsai, C-T., & Wang, Y-C. (2017). Experiential value in branding food tourism, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 6, 56-65.
Ting, H., Fam, K-S., Hwa, J.C.J., Richard, J.E., & Xing, N. (2019). Ethnic food consumption intention at the touring destination: The national and regional perspectives using multi-group analysis. Tourism Management, 71, 518-529.
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