To What Extent Does the Food Tourism ‘Label’ Enhance Local Food Supply Chains? Experiences from Southeast Wales

Abstract

Local food emphasises destination distinctiveness as food production is a locally embedded activity. Proponents of food tourism contend that it increases local food consumption as tourists and tourism and hospitality businesses are attracted to local food supply chains, where they can buy direct from the producer, thus reducing overheads, contributing to local economies and benefitting local communities. Yet the extent to which the food tourism rhetoric enhances the local food supply chain is questionable as evidence suggests that the food tourism ‘label’ creates a silo, which impairs connections with local food supply chains. Seven semi-structured interviews were undertaken in Southeast Wales to explore the food tourism rhetoric, particularly the connection with local food supply chains. Three themes emerged: demand versus supply; information provision; complexity and connectivity in food tourism and local food supply chains. Ultimately, this paper challenges traditional viewpoints around food tourism being a panacea for local food producers.

Keywords

• food tourism
• local food supply chains
• spatial separation
• administrative separation