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food in tourism

Keeping the “food in tourism” trend authentic can be a challenge!

It’s a brand new year since I last wrote and I wish all my readers the very best of 2025 and hope that it has already got off to a flying start (excuse the Travel and Tourism pun!). I do have some thoughts about where the Travel and Tourism industries will be going in 2025, especially following the good news about the appointment of Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille as the Vice-Chair of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UN Tourism) Executive Council. I would like to congratulate her on that and will be writing more about its impact on local tourism going forward, so watch this space.

Before I go there however, I read with great interest about an issue that seems to be arising regarding the food in tourism trend that I spoke about at the end of last year. Being such a foodie myself and following my joy at this growing trend in travel I was disappointed to read an article from Skift about the homogenising (or “flattening”) of food cultures in many countries, which is, apparently, yet another casualty of the growing “over-tourism” issue. In essence, this is about how certain cuisines get compromised to be the same, overly familiar dishes because of tourists’ expectations and requirements.

Why is it happening?

The problem is that many tourists, regardless of where they travel, tend to prefer what they eat at home to what they may be expected to eat at international resorts or restaurants. This is in itself a mistake as international cuisine needs to be respected and we need to take a more experimental approach. What the Skift article is saying is that with mass tourism, the local cultures and the local cuisines have had to be watered down because tourists won’t necessarily eat congee when in China for breakfast instead of a bowl of cereal, and maybe if you’re sitting in an international hotel, on the menu you need to make sure that you’ve got Chicken à la king and some sort of roast, even when it is not necessarily the usual fare of that country.

The real problem arising from this is that it can be changing the very culture of a country where they feel that compromise needs to be made for tourism. A great example of this is Mauritius, where on a recent visit I noticed that the hotels provided meat and chicken to the guests but if you visit local eateries you will always be offered only fish and seafood, which is actually the cuisine of the locals, readily available and absolutely delicious. In a conversation with a taxi driver, he said the locals never eat chicken because they are injected with hormones for quicker growth due to no one really farming them properly.

What of South Africa?

As always I turn my thoughts to our own country and I’m pleased to say that although there are always some compromises made for travellers, as far as local cuisine is concerned our food culture has remained pretty well intact. Possibly because we don’t suffer the same sort of over-tourism as Europe and many island resorts. We have such a huge variety of choices that guests can choose anything from a beefy braai to exotic game dishes, a variety of seafood or the cuisine of many cultures like Cape Malay, African and Afrikaner fare.

Try something new – and respect the culture

I have to say that the advice given in the Skift article follows my own thoughts pretty accurately regarding this matter and in summary, it is to seek out authentic food experiences, such as dining at local eateries instead of international chains, support and respect the local food industry by choosing from their local food offerings, and if you have tried something new and exciting and loved it then share on your social media. As Travel and Tourism operators there is much we can do too, like promoting authentic experiences, partnering with international chefs and eateries to create special culinary events, encouraging sustainable food practices among local businesses and promoting them as part of the tourism experience. As always, with an understanding of the great value of preserving international cultures, if we work together in 2025 we can make it our best year for Travel and Tourism yet!

LIDIA FOLLI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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