What is culinary tourism?
Culinary tourism is travelling to different places where a person revels by eating and drinking food that reflects the local cuisine, heritage and culture of that place. They also get involved in food-related activities like attending cooking classes, food-themed events or visiting sites of food and wine production.
Impact of the pandemic on culinary tourism:
With the unforeseen pandemic, culinary tourism had to take a back seat and hit rock bottom in 2020. However, culinary tourism took the support of digital media, as every other industry did. With no restaurants and bars in operation, online cooking classes, wine tasting and digital home-dining experience were implemented. Various gastronomic events were also made to attend from the comfort of the homes through digital media.
How can the culinary tourism industry overcome the current challenges?
The use of technology can help overcome the constraints and comply with the need for maintaining social distancing. Online cooking and tutorials, live guided tasting, virtual tours, augmented and virtual reality experiences for food and wine destinations are some of the ways in which the culinary tourism industry can function.
Culinary tourism has beautifully combined travelling and food as individuals can enjoy the gastronomical delights of the culture. We only hope that things get back to normal so that we can travel, explore and indulge in the cultural delicacies of a country.