The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

Developing food tourism: delivering social, cultural and environmental sustainable development in rural regions and communities

Funded by: The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Project dates: September 2009 - September 2010
Project Manager and Principle Investigator: Dr Susan L Slocum
Project Supervisor: Dr Sally Everett

Aim

Examine how food-related tourism can deliver social, cultural and environmental sustainable development in rural regions and communities, then develop tangible and practical solutions to achieve this.

Objectives

To facilitate communication between public and private sector food and tourism consumers/providers;
To build understandings of visitor behaviour in order to enhance the enjoyment and experience of food tourism;
To make practical recommendations on how to make local food more widely accessible and affordable;
To develop a powerful on-line web portal to promote, share and disseminate good practice;
To help rural communities build sustainable food tourism networks, thereby sustaining livelihoods, skills and cultures.

Nature of project and outcomes

INTOUR are working with Miller Research to form a project team which draws together academic and industry knowledge and expertise.

This year-long project will have clear and long-lasting practical and positive outcomes for rural communities and local food projects as it will drive the much-needed development and dissemination of best practice through the online promotion of regional food tourism networks and initiatives.

Tourism is widely recognised as a valuable economic and social lifeline for rural communities and in particular, food tourism is being increasingly embraced as a vehicle of development because it offers a means of enhancing and extending the tourist spend without compromising the environmental, social or cultural fabric of a region.

There is a close link between food tourism and the development of sustainable food systems. Associated with the increase in 'special interest tourism', its role as an instrument of regeneration is now openly recognised in government policies, destination marketing strategies and travel media coverage.

In spite of a lively media and policy climate promoting the need for tourists to embrace local food, there has been insufficient attention paid to the ways in which tourist engagement with local food contributes to the development, regeneration and evolution of identity, and its related components.

By bringing these spheres together in this Esmée Fairbairn Foundation-funded project, greater insight will be gained about the contribution of food tourism to the broader agenda of sustainable food networks and delivery.

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The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation