A Conceptual Review of “Foodies” in Tourism

Abstract

In recent years, many tourism destinations have begun to highlight their local cuisine culture, their food-related events and local restaurants in order to increase the number of their visitors. However, for the purpose of attracting foodies to these destinations, it is important to have knowledge about this market segment. While “foodie” was a concept related to popular culture at first, after 2000s the concept was introduced to consumer behaviour literature. In its simplest way, foodie refers to a person who loves food but it is also about whether a person identifies himself/herself as a foodie or not. To specify their characteristics and position them in tourism context, their levels of involvement in foodrelated activities, their attitudes towards food and beverages, their food-related experiences and their travel behaviors should be understood so that they can have a place within gastronomic tourism as a niche market and some special marketing efforts can be adapted more easily. This conceptual study presents a review of literature on foodie discourse with their profiles, typologies and travel behaviors