Food tourism at the beginning of a new season in world tourism/ the close relationship between culture and food in attracting tourists
Shahram Ali Mohammadi, Deputy Director of Tourism of Alborz General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, wrote in a note: To be a tourist, it is not necessary to travel to a historical place or to spend time in the mountains and forests, but that at the end of the week with Family and friends leave home and place of residence and visit a simple restaurant and eat is a type of tourism and if we use local food, the sweetness of this short trip will be doubled.
This type of tourism has enjoyed such an increasing growth in recent years that every year the World Tourism Organization dedicates a chapter of its most important annual reports to the food and food tourism sector under the title of Global Report on Food Tourism and While enumerating its dimensions, it also states different strategies related to the development of this form of tourism and introduces different countries that are active in this field.
Food tourism can be considered as one of the most important and influential aspects of tourism. On the other hand, food includes a complex range of rites, rituals, cultural patterns and semantic and mythological mechanisms. Food is an important part of human life because it is very important in preserving human life and survival, and at the same time that it is a daily social issue, it represents the culture and different countries, in addition to its nutritional value, it has cultural value and is a sign of cultural identity and Symbols and images of idealized realities.
Our country, with its diverse climate and subcultures, has the capacity to become a destination for food tourists. Today, the tourism industry is moving more and more towards quality and creating specific procedures to respond to the needs of tourists. In this regard, giving importance to the discussion of food and food tourism can also be seen in the residents of foreign countries, because no one can be found who avoids eating food, especially local foods that express the culture of the people of that country.
Food tourism as a subset of cultural tourism is also related to the identity, geography and customs of a region, for example, a food is prominent in offerings and special ceremonies and has its own cooking customs, such as sending blessings while stirring the offerings or Cooking halva in a mourning ceremony is of this type. In fact, food tourism can be considered as the illustrated culture of tourism.
The art of cooks that can be seen in our country these days alongside the restaurants of different nations is to give importance to traditional and authentic Iranian dishes. Maybe if the taste of the local food fits the tourist’s heart properly and its unique flavor remains in his memory, he will travel to the desired area again and again. Also, suggest it to others, which will lead to the development of tourism and then the economic growth of the region.
A matter that is currently receiving a lot of attention in our country. Such as the development and establishment of eco-tourist accommodations by serving local and native food, this not only provides growth and progress, but also preserves the lasting heritage of our ancestors and is a strong proof of the stability and integrity of authentic Iranian culture.
The results of surveys and analyzes show that Iran can be one of the model tourism axes, especially in the field of food tourism. Agricultural industries will lead to national development, therefore, supporting the activities of the agricultural sector and related industries will strengthen the relationship between different economic sectors, overall improvement. The state of the economy of the country and the attraction of tourists and the support and development of this sector will lead to the sustainable development of the country.
On the other hand, the development of food tourism is directly related to agricultural tourism, if these days we are facing an emerging phenomenon in agricultural tourism called “from farm to table”, according to this phenomenon, cultivated products are presented to tourists in the freshest possible time. They can use various local products in that area. Since this topic helps the health of the body, it will also include the growth of health tourism.
Alborz province also has a four-season climate and towns and villages with natural and cultural attractions, and has a variety of local foods related to the culture and customs of each region. Among these dishes, we can mention sour soup, Taleghan stew and various sweets, the most famous of which is Totek. As mentioned, food is closely related to the culture and customs of each region, for example, in religious ceremonies or ritual celebrations, special foods of this region are used, which can be very attractive for tourists.
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