Chapter 18: Marketing Culinary Tourism Experiences

This chapter identifies issues in the development and marketing of culinary tourism experiences with the goal of determining the value of collaborative forms of product development and marketing.

A literature review examines approaches to marketing of culinary experiences identifying a gap in the study of collaborative approaches such as networking, partnering, and alliances. A case study investigates these themes.

Through the analysis of an in-depth case study of an experiential culinary tourism event in a small city in Eastern Canada (a Restaurant Week) it is determined that informal collaboration in the form of partnership is essential to building and marketing collaborative culinary tourism products and experiences.

This investigation has value for academics studying culinary tourism development and for practitioners implementing collaborative forms of the development and marketing of such tourism offerings and experience.

In the context of culinary tourism, a case study illustrates the value of collaboration in developing and marketing experiential culinary products. Findings indicate informal collaborative partnerships are essential to building and marketing culinary tourism products and experiences, addressing a gap in the literature and providing value for practitioners.