What do tourists eat and why? Towards a sociology of gastronomy and tourism.

Abstract

This paper presents a lifestyle approach to the study of the sociology of gastronomy and tourism. The main source of inspiration is Bourdieu's (1984) distinction between four lifestyles, here called: recreational (red), diversionary (yellow), experimental (blue), and existential (green). The paper discusses the nature of the attributes of the four lifestyles, i.e. values, attitudes, behaviour and preferences. It concludes that the approach has the potential for informing tourism marketers and planners in new ways, both at the destination and commercial unit levels. However, further research and practical testing is needed before the method can be used for this purpose and to account for differences between nationalities.