Perspectives of food tourism: a view from Gloucestershire

As the tourism industry faces post-pandemic challenges, local food and drink remains at the heart of the tourist experience. Using local ingredients and cooking skills, tourists can experience local culture through food. Tourists often search for authenticity, not just ingredients but places, through food festivals, restaurants, and specific locations to eat and drink. Destinations have been quick to realise that food-related activities such as picking vegetables, cooking classes, food preparation and food related events lead to co-created experiences, generating higher levels of tourist satisfaction. Experiential value and branding are becoming increasingly important in motivating tourist’s intentions to visit and return. Rather than focusing on the natural environment and attractions such as museums, food tourism can be at the heart of the destination image providing an alternative means of local and regional development