Introduction

Gastronomic Tourism

For the purpose of this study my chosen niche sector of special interest tourism is gastronomic tourism, with a particular focus on food and wine tourism in two regional areas of Italy.  This is due to my passion for Italian food and wine, as well as the Italian culture, language and its’ landscape.

In order to give a concise outline of gastronomic tourism in Italy, this overview shall include an initial short description of gastronomic tourism, followed by a more in-depth discussion on specific gastronomic tours that are conducted in Italy and what can be experienced and learnt by the tourists who are part of these tours.

A tourist whose main reason for travelling is to experience local food and wine in a specific city, region, or country can be considered as partaking in gastronomic tourism.  As a gastronomic tourist, they are likely to embark upon a number of different activities associated with gastronomic tourism and these may include; 1) participating in cooking classes, 2) dining in a local restaurants, 3) tasting locally grown food and wine, 4) visiting farms growing a variety of products, 5) visiting festivals, and finally, 6) purchasing locally grown produce (Novelli 2005).

In Italy, the regions of Piedmont and Chianti are particularly inspiring in their ability to accommodate a gastronomic tourist and offer many of the listed food and wine tourism activities listed above. 

Piedmont is located in the north west of Italy, surrounded by the Alps nestled in the Po valley, the region is known for its’ rich agricultural and viticultural value, as well as being the centre for the Slow Food movement or ‘a return to a more localised and regional approach to food/wine production’ (slowfood.com).

One particular tour to this area, offered by Martin Randall Travel, offers a seven day travelling itinerary and includes: visits to local wineries, to study the wine-making process; wine tasting; truffle seminars and truffle hunting in the local woods; dinner served in family-run restaurants; and finally; visitation to a traditional sausage maker, cheese farm and nougat producer (www.martinrandall.com). 

Similarly to Piedmont, Chianti also offers an experience of gastronomic tourism; however the focus for one tour offered by Intrepid Travel is aimed more towards the production of wine and olive oil rather than the production of other food, such as cheese and truffles (www.intrepidtravel.com).

Whether a tourist embarks upon a gastronomic tour to Piedmont, or Chianti, it must be highlighted that even though their initial motivation for travel is their attraction towards food and wine, this attraction, may end up becoming an impediment.  This impediment is due to the tourist being unable to accept or be comfortable with having to dine on unknown local delicacies.  However, if the tourist is more inclined to be adventurous in trying new foods whilst travelling to foreign destinations, they may enjoy the adventure and experience of tasting unfamiliar local delicacies and can therefore classified as a ‘neophylic’ (Cohen and Avieli 2004, p. 760).  As opposed to being a ‘neophobic’ (Cohen and Avieli 2004, p. 760), which describes a tourist who has tendencies to desire the food they are accustomed to eating in their home country rather than enjoying the local delicacies (Cohen & Avieli 2004).