Culinary tourism

Culinary tourism or food tourism is considered a rather new branch in the tourism tree. Experiencing the food of the country, region or area, is now considered a vital complement of the whole “tourism experience Food tourism seems to be the new fad among popular destinations, since becoming familiar with the food culture is essential for grasping the country’s or region’s feeling. Dining out is common among tourist, which will complement the whole tourist travel experience. Today, “food is believed to rank alongside climate, accommodation, and scenery”.

Judging by the surge since 2001 in the number of times "culinary tourism" has appeared as a subject matter or in a session title in tourism industry conferences and programs, we can see that Culinary Tourism is valued by tourism industry professionals as one of the most popular niches in the world's tourism industry. This makes sense, given recent consumer focus on healthy and organic eating, culinary/food pedigrees, and the simple fact that all travelers must eat. Not every visitor goes shopping or visits museums, but all travelers eat. For anyone who doubts, look at the increase in cooking shows featured on The Travel Channel [Anthony Bourdain No Reservations] or travel shows featured on The Food Network [Rachel Ray's $40 a Day series], as examples.

Culinary Tourism is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences, according to the International Culinary Tourism Association.[3] Culinary Tourism differs from agritourism in that culinary tourism is considered a subset of cultural tourism (cuisine is a manifestation of culture) whereas agritourism is considered a subset of rural tourism, according to Culinary Tourism: The Hidden Harvest [Wolf, Erik. Culinary Tourism: The Hidden Harvest.Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2006, ISBN 978-0757526770) . That said, culinary tourism and agritourism are inextricably linked, as the seeds of cuisine can be found in agriculture.

Culinary Tourism is not just experiences of the highest caliber - that would be gourmet tourism. This is perhaps best illustrated by the notion that Culinary Tourism is about what is "unique and memorable, not what is necessarily pretentious and exclusive". Similarly, wine tourism, beer tourism and spa tourism are also regarded as subsets of culinary tourism.

International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA)

The International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) is considered the world's leading authority on culinary travel with resources and information for food, beverage and tourism industry professionals around the world. The ICTA has four major organizations.

International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA)

Non-profit trade association, founded in 2003, that works as a resource center for the media and offers benefits to the members..

International Culinary Tourism Institute (ICTI)

Founded in 2006, ICTI, a non-profit education organization, serves as the training and education branch of the ICTA. Offers educational culinary benefits for its members, as well as for the general public..

International Culinary Tourism Development

The International Culinary Tourism offers consulting, research, strategy and product development solutions to businesses of all culinary tourism businesses. .

FoodTrekker Publishing

FoodTrekker is a company that delivers promotional assistance and help to culinary tourism businesses.

Culinary Destinations

New York City

New York City embraces one of the world’s biggest and most diverse culinary worlds. Having a large number of immigrants from around the world, NYC is one of the culinary melting pots, where one can taste food from almost every country in the world. From Chinatown, to the East Village, NYC has it all.

Despite the vast number of food cultures, NYC also has a food culture of its own. From the hot dogs sold in street carts in every corner, to the delicious cupcake bakeries in almost every street. NYC is the place to be if you want to have a real culinary adventure.

Food tourism in New York City has become popular in recent years, considered an essential component of a tourist's trip to the Big Apple.

New York Food Tours offers a large range of food tours around the most famous neighborhoods, as well as theme-based, by cuisine, or season. Some include:

• The Ultimate New York Food & Culture Tour™
• The Original East Village Food Tasting and Cultural Tour™
• Tastes of Chinatown Guided by Local Chinese
• The Freakiest and Funniest Food Tour™