The consumption of experiences or the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste

Several reasons can be put forward for the growth in attention to food as an area of interest for tourism studies (Hall, 2002; Hall and Mitchell, 2001; Hjalager and Richards, 2002). Since the early 1970s rural regions in industrialized societies have been very substantially affected by successive rounds of economic restructuring. In response to loss of services and traditional markets, and removal of tariffs and regional support mechanisms, rural areas have sought to diversify their economic base, with new agricultural products and tourism being two such responses. Food tourism strategies are therefore a significant instrument of regional development particularly because of the potential leverage between products from the two sectors (Hall, 2002; Taylor and Little 1999; Telfer 2001a; 2001b). For example, in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, former NSW Tourism Minister, Mr Brian Langton, stated that ‘NSW will embrace food and wine as an integral part of the visitor experience, and the focus of food and wine will broaden the destination appeal of NSW, and encourage more first time visitors to come back for seconds’ (Langton, 1996). As part of the food initiatives the state government developed a Food and Wine in Tourism Plan and established a culinary tourism advisory committee (Hall and Macionis, 1998).