Gastronomy and Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Gastronomy and Tourism - Essay Example Gastronomy tourism has become of interest to many people, who would do whatever it takes to travel to the specific areas of interest to sample food and understand their culture of those places, contributing to the development of those regions and contributing to making them gastronomy tourism destinations. Gastronomy Tourism Gastronomy tourism is travelling to foreign countries to sample food and drinks while understanding their culture. The International Culinary Tourism Association terms culinary tourism as â€Å"the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences†. Many people are spending a lot of money just to travel to sample food in different gastronomy destinations. This has been limiting to some people and businessmen have taken advantage of the market demand. They have gone ahead to establish local joints where people can take foreign food and drinks. This has increased gastronomy tourism as people do not have to travel to the regions they have always wished to travel to and sample their food and drinks (Kiveal and Crotts, 2013). However, this act of gastronomy has faced some criticisms from some food experts from the various regions. They point out that food made in another place other than the original place may not meet the preparation, taste and cooking requirements. Some food requires preparing in a certain specific way, which may not be available in the foreign countries where they are prepared. They also state that having food from a certain place or country prepared in a foreign land may not have developmental impact on the locals where that food or drink is from. Despite the criticism, there are restaurants and hotels that have specialized in preparing the various cuisines from different places in the world. There are some hotels that can prepare just about any cuisine. Some people have really appreciated this because it offers them a chance to enjoy foods and drinks from foreign lands without having to travel there. Ga stronomy Tourism Trends Gastronomy is becoming popular among people in different parts of the world. The trend has been on the increase in the last decade as people across the world get interest in the culture of certain jurisdictions and territories. According to the International culinary association, the number of people who are involved in culinary activities in the United States a lone was more than twenty million people in the last three years. The number is higher compared to the data three years back. Tourism across the world has been on the increase. According to the world tourism organization, the number of tourist arrivals in the world increased by four percent to approximately one billion tourists in 2012 alone. The revenues generated by tourists amounted to about one trillion dollars. Of that money, about thirty six percent was spent on food. The international culinary association found out that most tourist spend about a third of their expenditure on food. The increase in the number of tourists across the world has a high impact on gastronomy tourism. The more the number, the more food they will need in the foreign land. They have no option but to take the food available in the countries they have visited playing a role in gastronomy tourism. The number of tourists visiting different places in the world is expected to increase at an average of four to five percent per year as the World Tourist Association points out. As such, gastronomy