This study presents a comprehensive descriptive analysis of culinary tourism literature. We conducted meticulous research, identifying 231 relevant articles from the Scopus database using keywords such as ‘Food Tourism’, ‘Culinary Tourism’, ‘Gastronomy’, ‘Tourist Destination’ and ‘Tourism Development’. The analysis covered various aspects, including the distribution of publications over the years, prominent journals, authorship patterns, bibliographic coupling and theoretical perspectives. Our study employed rigorous selection criteria, focusing exclusively on English language articles related to culinary tourism. By examining these scholarly works, we aim to provide insights into the evolving landscape of culinary tourism research, offering valuable information to academics, practitioners and policymakers interested in this dynamic field. Through this endeavour, we contribute to the advancement of knowledge and scholarship in culinary tourism, fostering a deeper understanding of its multifaceted dimensions and implications.

Culinary tourism, food tourism, gastronomy tourism, hospitality research and bibliometric analysis

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Anton Martin, C., Camarero Izquierdo, C., & Laguna-Garcia, M. (2021). Culinary tourism experiences: The effect of iconic food on tourist intentions. Tourism Management Perspectives, 40, 100911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100911

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Campón-Cerro, A. M., Folgado-Fernández, J. A., & Hernández-Mogollón, J. M. (2017). Rural destination development based on olive oil tourism: The impact of residents’ community attachment and quality of life on their support for tourism development. Sustainability, 9(9), 1624.

Carvache-Franco, M., Carvache-Franco, W., Carvache-Franco, O., Hernández-Lara, A. B., & Buele, C. V. (2020). Segmentation, motivation, and sociodemographic aspects of tourist demand in a coastal marine destination: A case study in Manta (Ecuador). Current Issues in Tourism, 23(10), 1234–1247.

Carvache-Franco, M., Orden-Mejía, M., Carvache-Franco, W., Carmen Lapo, M. d., & Carvache-Franco, O. (2022). Gastronomy motivations as predictors of satisfaction at coastal destinations. Sustainability, 14(18), 11437.

Chang, R. C. Y., Kivela, J., & Mak, A. H. N. (2010). Food preferences of Chinese tourists. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(4), 989–1011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2010.03.007

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Crespi-Vallbona, M., & Mascarilla-Miró, O. (2020). Wine lovers: Their interests in tourist experiences. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 14(2), 239–258. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-05-2019-0095

De Canio, F., Martinelli, E., Peruzzini, M., & Cavallaro, S. (2022). Experiencing a food production site using wearable devices: The indirect impact of immersion and presence in VR tours. Sustainability, 14(5), 3064.

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Duarte Alonso, A., Kok, S., & O’Brien, S. (2018). ‘We are only scratching the surface’: A resource-based and dynamic capabilities approach in the context of culinary tourism development. Tourism Recreation Research, 43(4), 511–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 02508281.2018.1473196

Duarte Alonso, A., Martens, W., & Ong, J. L. T. (2022). Food tourism development in wine regions: Perspectives from the supply side. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(12), 1968–1986. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1935791

Everett, S., & Aitchison, C. (2008). The role of food tourism in sustaining regional identity: A case study of Cornwall, South West England. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16(2), 150–167. https://doi.org/10.2167/jost696.0

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Ghosh, S., & Das, J. K. (2017). Problems & perspectives of financing tourism industry in West Bengal: An empirical study. Review of Professional Management, 15(1), 9–16.

Gordin, V., Trabskaya, J., & Zelenskaya, E. (2016). The role of hotel restaurants in gastronomic place branding. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 10(1), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-05-2015-0049

Guan, J., Gao, J., & Zhang, C. (2019). Food heritagization and sustainable rural tourism destination: The case of China’s Yuanjia Village. Sustainability, 11(10), 2858.

Gurbaskan Akyuz, B. (2019). Factors that influence local food consumption motivation and its effects on travel intentions. Anatolia, 30(3), 358–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 13032917.2019.1595072

Gyimóthy, S. (2017). The reinvention of terroir in Danish food place promotion. European Planning Studies, 25(7), 1200–1216. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2017.1281229

Hadromi, H., & Murdani, M. (2019). The development strategy of fish fumigation industry as a driving force of culinary tourism destination in Bandarharjo, Semarang-Indonesia. GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites, 25(2), 383–390.

Hernández-Rojas, R. D., Huete-Alcocer, N., & Hidalgo-Fernández, A. (2022). Analysis of the impact of traditional gastronomy on loyalty to a world heritage destination. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 30, 100585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2022.100585

Hillel, D., Belhassen, Y., & Shani, A. (2013). What makes a gastronomic destination attractive? Evidence from the Israeli Negev. Tourism Management, 36, 200–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2012.12.006

Horng, J.-S., Liu, C.-H., Chou, H.-Y., & Tsai, C.-Y. (2012). Understanding the impact of culinary brand equity and destination familiarity on travel intentions. Tourism Management, 33(4), 815–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.09.004

Horng, J.-S., & Tsai, C.-T. (2010). Government websites for promoting East Asian culinary tourism: A cross-national analysis. Tourism Management, 31(1), 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.01.009

Horng, J.-S., & Tsai, C.-T. (2012). Exploring marketing strategies for culinary tourism in Hong Kong and Singapore. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 17(3), 277–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2011.625432

Ingerson, S., & Kim, A. K. (2016). Exploring the value of an ethnic restaurant experience: A consumer perspective towards Korean restaurants. Tourism Recreation Research, 41(2), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2016.1151163

Inversini, A., Aeberli, C., & Talhouk, S. N. (2024). Smart host-guest relationship in a rural context: The case of Lebanon. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 31, 100851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100851

James, L., & Halkier, H. (2014). Regional development platforms and related variety: Exploring the changing practices of food tourism in North Jutland, Denmark. European Urban and Regional Studies, 23(4), 831–847. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776414557293

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Kaushal, V., & Yadav, R. (2021). Understanding customer experience of culinary tourism through food tours of Delhi. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 7(3), 683–701. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-08-2019-0135

Kim, Y. H., Kim, M., & Goh, B. K. (2011). An examination of food tourist’s behavior: Using the modified theory of reasoned action. Tourism Management, 32(5), 1159–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.10.006

Kovalenko, A., Dias, Á., Pereira, L., & Simões, A. (2023). Gastronomic experience and consumer behavior: Analyzing the influence on destination image. Foods, 12(2), 315.

Kumar, S., & Gupta, A. (2019). Trend analysis of foreign direct investment in tourism industry in India: An empirical study. Review of Professional Management, 17(1), 70–83.

Kumar, S., Saini, A., Kumar, S., & Kumar, V. (2022). Bibliometric analysis on Internet of Things (IoT) and tourism industry: A study based on Scopus database. South Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality, 2(1), 76–95.

Kumar, S., Valeri, M., Kumar, V., Kumar, S., & Bhatt, I. K. (2023). Mapping the research trends on sports tourism and sustainability: A bibliometric analysis. Sport and Tourism, 1–22.

Lai, I. K. W., Lu, D., & Liu, Y. (2020). Experience economy in ethnic cuisine: A case of Chengdu cuisine. British Food Journal, 122(6), 1801–1817. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-08-2018-0517

Lee, A. H. J., Wall, G., & Kovacs, J. F. (2015). Creative food clusters and rural development through place branding: Culinary tourism initiatives in Stratford and Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Journal of Rural Studies, 39, 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jrurstud.2015.05.001

Lee, I., & Arcodia, C. (2011). The role of regional food festivals for destination branding. International Journal of Tourism Research, 13(4), 355–367. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.852

Lee, K.-H., Packer, J., & Scott, N. (2015). Travel lifestyle preferences and destination activity choices of Slow Food members and non-members. Tourism Management, 46, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.05.008

Leong, Q.-L., Ab Karim, S., Awang, K. W., & Abu Bakar, A. Z. (2017). An integrated structural model of gastronomy tourists’ behaviour. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 11(4), 573–592. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-05-2016-0047

Lin, J., Cui, Q., & Xu, H. (2023). Beyond novelty–familiarity dualism: The food consumption spectrum of Chinese outbound tourists. Journal of China Tourism Research, 19(2), 155–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2022.2049942

Luoh, H.-F., Tsaur, S.-H., & Lo, P.-C. (2020). Cooking for fun: The sources of fun in cooking learning tourism. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 17, 100442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100442

Marek, A., & Wiśniewska, A. (2021). Culinary tourism in Lower Silesia (Poland) in 2014–2017. Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites, 34(1), 226–232.

Mei, X. Y., Lerfald, M., & Bråtå, H. O. (2017). Networking and collaboration between tourism and agriculture: Food tourism experiences along the National Tourist Routes of Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 17(1), 59–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2016.1262514

Murray, A., & Kline, C. (2015). Rural tourism and the craft beer experience: Factors influencing brand loyalty in rural North Carolina, USA. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(8–9), 1198–1216. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2014.987146

Mykletun, R. J., & Gyimóthy, S. (2010). Beyond the renaissance of the traditional Voss sheep’s-head meal: Tradition, culinary art, scariness and entrepreneurship. Tourism Management, 31(3), 434–446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.04.002

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Pérez Gálvez, J. C., Torres-Matovelle, P., Molina-Molina, G., & González Santa Cruz, F. (2020). Gastronomic clusters in an Ecuadorian tourist destination: The case of the province of Manabí. British Food Journal, 122(12), 3917–3934. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-11-2019-0870

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Villagómez-Buele, C., Carvache-Franco, M., Carvache-Franco, O., Carvache-Franco, W., & Villavicencio-Párraga, M. (2020). Gastronomic experience as a factor of motivation and satisfaction in coastal destinations. Journal of Environmental Management & Tourism, 11(6), 1328–1337.

Wondirad, A., Kebete, Y., & Li, Y. (2021). Culinary tourism as a driver of regional economic development and socio-cultural revitalization: Evidence from Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, 100482.