The Food gastronomy experience: A French perspective on food well-being

Chapitre 12.International audienceFood and particularly gastronomy have always had a significant presence in the tourist experience. A third of tourist travel income originates from food expenditure. In this sense, considering the experiences of travellers and taking into account the lived dimensions of tourism becomes essential for a deeper understanding of the tourism phenomenon which comes more and more to be regarded as an arena of interaction played out through the tourist’s encounters and engagements with spaces, places and cultures of traveled destinations. Gastronomic tourism appears to be a growing sector within the overall tourism market. Nevertheless, the link between gastronomy and tourism has been one of the least studied aspects so far, and it has traditionally had a very secondary place for professionals from both areas. Even from academic perspectives on tourism, when approaching gastronomy as a subject, tourism studies have generally left out the cultural and social aspects of this important economic and commercial issue. And we can say almost the same thing from the food and gastronomy fields. Even today, the relationship between tourism and gastronomy remains peripheral. On the other hand, cultural tourism is tourism, and it is far more than the production and consumption of high art and heritage. Thus, gastronomic tourism must be understood as an integral part of cultural tourism. Food (including gastronomy) is an important part of Culture, and from this perspective, it is also of interest as a tourist resource. In this sense, it is necessary to promote the study of the link between food, gastronomy and tourism from the point of view of social and cultural disciplines. This book intends to carry out an interdisciplinary reflection exactly in these terms