Role Of Food & Cultural Tourism in Developing a Destination Brand – Study of Jaunsar Bawar a Tribal Land.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the importance of local food & culture to make the area into a destination for tourists. The paper provides insights into different initiatives in field of food & cultural tourism and their implementation process in the context of Jaunsar Bawar.

Design/methodology/ approach – The study is exploratory and endorses the qualitative approach of primary research methodology by adopting a non-random stratified sampling method. The approach of taking semi-structured & open-ended face-to-face interview method has been applied with 20 respondents from varied field of Jaunsar Bawar. Other data has been taking from the author’s personal experience and secondary data.

Findings -- The study reveals that the people perceive Culture & Food as an important aspect in enhancing the experience of visiting a place and taking back good memories. This study also tells that food & cultural tourism not only improves the in-bound tourists experience but it also gives impetus to local economy.

Practical Implications

Just like rest of India, Jaunsar Bawar’s social and religious life revolves around exotic culture & food habits. The sound of festive drums is all we need to bring out our cooking pots and pans and produce an array of exotic dishes, which Jaunsari tribe describes as ‘soul food’. Many a time food may plays an important role in attracting tourists to a certain destination because of its reflection of a region’s culture and lifestyle. Food of a destination is also categorized as a part of cultural tourism. It is not only a basic need for tourist but also a cultural element that can positively present a destination. Food & cultural tourism is not only appealing to tourist, but also contributes to the social, economic and environmental development of a destination. The paper aims at the importance of the connection between Food, Culture and tourism, and how it could help in creating a destination brand in the mind of tourists. Each destination of Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand has different levels of attractiveness that can draw tourist from different parts of the world and thus the delicious food & centuries old culture of Jaunsar Bawar can be used as one of the main attraction and promotional tool for the development of tourism in Jaunsar Bawar. In Jaunsar Bawar, the promotion of Culture, food & wine as a component of its destination attractiveness is not even in its infancy stage. Creating back links between the tourist and food production sectors may add value to an area's economy in order to preserve and improve local economic and social life, which is the background of this work. This report will examine the strengths and potential of food promotion in Jaunsar Bawar by utilising a case study technique and the researcher's experience.. Further, the paper will look at cultural heritage features that are unique to Jaunsar Bawar and how these can be used to promote cultural awareness. Also explored will be the role of local communities in promoting Food tourism as part of cultural heritage development.