by The culinary arts tourism market offers opportunities for tourists to immerse themselves in local cultures and cuisines through experiential learning activities such as culinary classes, food tours, cooking demonstrations, and cultural farm visits. Culinary tourism experiences allow participants to interact with professional chefs and learn skills such as shopping in open-air markets, preparing authentic recipes, identifying seasonal ingredients, and applying culinary techniques. The global culinary tourism industry also supports local food producers and small businesses.
The Culinary Arts Tourism Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 45.63 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a 18% CAGR over the forecast period 2024 to 2031.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the culinary arts tourism market are Abercrombie & Kent USA, LLC, Greaves Travel Ltd, India Food Tour, Classic Journeys, LLC, The FTC4Lobe Group, The Travel Corporation, Gourmet on Tour, Culinary Adventures International, Culinary Tours, Butterfield & Robinson Inc., International Culinary Tours, and Forks on the Road. These key players offer a variety of multi-day or multi-week experiential tours that blend culinary classes with cultural activities.
The growing Culinary Arts Tourism Market Demand for authentic travel experiences is driving the culinary arts tourism market. Tourists are increasingly interested in immersing themselves in local cultures through hands-on culinary activities rather than simply eating pre-prepared meals. Food has become a gateway to understanding cultural heritage, traditions, landscapes, and agriculture practices.
The global expansion of the culinary arts tourism industry is supported by growth in culinary tourism programs and partnerships. Hotel groups, tourism boards, culinary schools, and specialized travel companies have recognized the lucrative opportunities offered by culinary tourism. They are investing in new infrastructure, accommodations, and destination marketing to attract food-loving experiential travelers from Western and emerging markets.
Market Key Trends
Personalization is a key trend in the culinary arts tourism market. Customized tours and small-group experiences allow tourists to design programs according to their dietary preferences, skill levels, and cultural interests. For example, vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free cooking classes cater to specialized dietary needs. Furthermore, culinary experiences can be tailored to a tourist’s life stage – families with young children can opt for kid-friendly activities and learn-through-play methods. This personalization keeps the industry engaging for new customers.
Porter’s Analysis
Threat of new entrants: High capital requirement for establishing training centers and kitchen infrastructure, and brand loyalty towards established players poses barriers for new entrants.
Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have moderate bargaining power due to availability of substitutes in the form of online cooking classes and tutorials.
Bargaining power of suppliers: Culinary tourism providers have high dependence on raw material suppliers and local guides/ chefs which gives suppliers a favorable position in negotiations.
Threat of new substitutes: Emergence of virtual and augmented reality based culinary experiences can pose a potential threat to conventional in-person culinary tours in future.
Competitive rivalry: Intense competition exists among existing players to attract customers through unique experiences, celebrity chef collaborations and customized private tours.
North America accounts for the largest share in culinary tourism market value owing to high disposable incomes, developed infrastructure to support culinary experiences and presence of global culinary icons from the region. Western Europe is another major lucrative region driven by culture of experiential travel among individuals and popularity of food festivals/events in countries.
Asia Pacific region is projected to witness fastest growth during the forecast period led by countries like India, Thailand and Indonesia. Rising affluence, increased spending on leisure activities and focus of local governments to promote regional cuisines as a tourism attraction are fueling culinary tourism in Asia.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
