Food tourism in Korea

Abstract

Amid the growing popularity of food tourism, many national and local governments have been developing food tourism-centered destination management. However, few studies have examined whether such strategies have been effective. This study analyzes the behavioral and psychological patterns of food tourists at the demand side, with the focus on the period from 2015 to 2018, when the Korean government initiated food tourism-intensive strategies on the supply side (i.e., ‘K-Food’). This study has found that the psychological and behavioral patterns of food tourists display some changes, both positive and negative, that follow changes in the government’s policy strategies over the last 4 years. The study discusses the implications of this finding for food tourism strategies, particularly in terms of the importance of cultural attributes embedded in food tourism and the availability and accessibility of diverse local food tourism resources.