Can gastronomy tourism be a recipe for economic growth?

Cebu recently hosted the first UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia Pacific. Gary Bowerman joined delegates from 43 countries to discuss the economics of food tourism.

“Come for the sights, stay for the bites.” “Count the memories, not the calories.”

Those were two of the snappier soundbites from the stage in Cebu on 26 June. Although both elicited laughs from an audience of 500 tourism officials, travel operators and culinary professionals, the tone of the inaugural UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia Pacific was businesslike. After all, tourism, agriculture and the hospitality sector are significant contributors to GDP for emerging economies.

Gastronomy tourism may be the key to increasing tourism in parts of Southeast Asia. Photo by Stéphan Valentin (https://unsplash.com/@valentinsteph?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash) on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/assorted-spices-on-containers-at-the-market-2w42JGUOuLs?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash)

This is an important context. While saturated locations across Europe seek solutions to over-tourism, developing nations in Asia are playing a different game. Attracting more visitors to expand and diversify the financial value of tourism is baked into economic planning.

Hosted by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism, UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) and the Basque Culinary Centre, the conference aimed to define the “changing role of gastronomy” in a region where travel patterns are still reshaping after long pandemic border closures.  

It also provided the Philippines with a chance to set the table. The opening ceremony featured dancers carrying traditional foods around the stage, while dignitaries poured rice grains into a giant pusô, a woven palm-leaf pouch containing ‘hanging rice’ cakes. Complimentary local organic coffee was served, and lunch and dinner featured live stations helmed by leading chefs from 16 regions of the country cooking up their native dishes.

The Economics of Food Tourism

The event host, Christina Garcia Frasco, Secretary of the Department of Tourism of the Philippines, set food tourism in the context of socio-economic development. A new national “strategic roadmap” is designed to “cultivate a symbiotic relationship between two important economic sectors, tourism and gastronomy… and attract more tourists, more investments and more visitor receipts to stimulate economic growth.”

Tourism is central to the economic vision of the Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Comprising 7641 islands and 120 million people, this archipelago nation under-performs in tourism metrics compared to its ASEAN counterparts. In the first half of 2024, it attracted 2.95 million visitors compared to 17.5 million in Thailand and 8.8 million in Vietnam.

The Philippines tends to underperform in tourism, compared to its Southeast Asian neighbours. Photo by Leif Donayre (https://unsplash.com/@fielnav?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash) on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-large-jetliner-sitting-on-top-of-an-airport-tarmac-AtND2GoZ0d4?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash)

President Marcos – who keynoted the 36th UN Tourism Joint Meeting of the Commissions for East Asia & the Pacific and South Asia, which followed the Gastronomy Tourism Forum – believes tourism can surpass the 8.6% of GDP it contributed in 2023. Investment in airports and fast-growing sectors like gastronomy are needed to create a “powerhouse tourism industry”, he said, “that would mean millions of Filipino lives being changed for the better.”

Promoting Culinary Cultures

The symbiosis of food and tourism is not new, but the contexts are changing. Across Asia, fast-moving trends in food tourism are driven by social media videos and an expanding array of culinary awards, ratings and reviews. Post-Covid travellers are eager to experiment with local flavours, and learn the backstories of ingredients and culinary preparations. In a 2024 survey of Chinese tourists, 54% listed “try local food” as their preferred travel theme.

Culinary culture is integral to destination marketing. Food is one of Thailand’s 11 ‘Soft Powers’ used to promote the country, and the government provides support for citizens who establish Thai restaurants overseas. The Indonesian government set a goal for its nationals to open 4,000 restaurants globally carrying its ‘Indonesia Spice up the World’ branding. South Korea recently launched its new ‘Taste Your Korea’ gastronomic tourism brand.

Japan, which counts the second highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants after France, publishes an annual survey of culinary choices in its cities. In China, the social media appeal of its barbecue markets transformed the city of Zibo into 2023’s travel hotspot for Gen Zs. Last October, Battambang (Cambodia), Chaozhou (China), Gangneung (South Korea) and Iloilo (Philippines) were inscribed as UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy. In 2024, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant list was increased from 50 to 100, and the new Halal Gastronomy Awards were launched in Singapore.

In Macao, “Local cuisines combine inheritance, innovation and exchange and help people understand the history behind the destination,” Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office, told the conference. In the 1550s, the Portuguese brought their food heritage with elements from Africa, India and Southeast Asia to blend with cuisines from China. As a result, “Macanese is one of the oldest fusion foods in the world.”

More and more countries - such as Korea - are highlighting cuisine when it comes to tourism. Photo by Jakub Kapusnak (https://unsplash.com/@foodiesfeed?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash) on Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/multiple-dishes-field-bowls-on-table-4f4YZfDMLeU?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash)

From Food Bank to Food Festival

Catering to the evolving demand side of the equation should be manageable. Destination social media strategies are weighted towards culinary culture, and experiential innovation in the dining sector is strong in Asian markets. But beyond sating the restless palates of visitors, existential issues, such as food security, protecting biodiversity, resource allocation and fair pricing for farmers, are gaining urgency. Seasonal patterns of food production and tourism will alter as climate impacts intensify.

Diverse demand for culinary experiences will place pressures on value chains, and escalate the challenges of food distribution and waste management in secondary destinations. While job creation is often cited as a benefit, training large volumes of people in food production, safety and hygiene takes time and resources. Farm tourism, touted as an opportunity to “turn poor farmers into entrepreneurs,” is an ill-defined goal to achieve at scale.

Grass roots projects founded on local needs provide inspiration. The Cebu Food & Wine Festival was established during the economic ravages of Covid. “We started as a food bank, a recovery project for people in need. Then, we became a farmers’ market in a hotel car park and a space for chefs to cook,” says Kate Dychangco-Anzani, the festival’s founder. “Four years later, we are a public-private partnership working with the Department of Tourism. We have built a connection to our food culture, and are working to drive social change through food.”

The Forum’s 12-point Call to Action echoed these themes. It urged public and private sector entities to develop culinary tourism by sourcing close to home, engaging local suppliers and micro-businesses, protecting rural landscapes and empowering local communities.

Tourism across Asia Pacific is expanding. As this new era further unfolds, food chains will be integral to the economic and social challenges playing out locally, nationally and regionally.

- Asia Media Centre