Edible tourism landscapes: co-designing agro-tourism experiences for cultural sustainability

Agro-tourism is increasingly recognized as a powerful catalyst for cultural sustainability and rural revitalization. Within this context, edible landscapes agriculturally productive spaces infused with cultural meaning present unique opportunities to enhance tourist experiences while reinforcing local identity. Despite their potential, the role of landscape design in shaping co-created, meaningful food-tourism encounters remains insufficiently examined. This study addresses this gap through a participatory co-design approach, exploring how edible tourism landscapes can be collaboratively developed by local communities and visitors. Fieldwork was conducted in a culturally significant agricultural region in East Asia, combining semi-structured interviews, stakeholder workshops, and landscape prototyping. The results indicate that co-designed edible landscapes significantly enhance sensory engagement and foster a deeper tourist connection to local food heritage. Local residents reported a heightened sense of cultural pride and increased agency in shaping tourism narratives. Additionally, the physical transformation of the site yielded ecological benefits, including improved biodiversity and soil regeneration. By integrating landscape design with agro-tourism practices, edible tourism landscapes emerge as experiential, culturally embedded platforms for sustainable development. This research contributes a new framework for place-based tourism planning that centers community identity and fosters visitor empathy through co-creative processes.