Food for Thought: Gastrodiplomacy in Tourism

Food has long been a source of soft power for countries, and it can play an important role in the tourism industry as well. A new article in the Current Issues in Tourism journal explores the growing importance of culinary tourism, or what the author here dubs "gastrodiplomacy in tourism." According to Wantanee Suntikul, gastrodiplomacy in tourism can be described as "the realm of policies and practices by which both states and non-state actors seek to engender positive associations with a national brand among foreign publics, using the channels through which tourists or potential tourists come into contact with the national cuisine." Her subsequent paper on the topic is divided into five parts which look at gastrodiplomacy's role in public diplomacy, nation branding, tourism, people-to-people diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and more.

The full article can be found on the Taylor & Francis website here.