Author Identifier (ORCID)
Eerang Park: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0495-7128
Abstract
Food has increasingly taken a central role in events and festivals, and its significance in tourism has been well documented through various social and cultural perspectives. However, our understanding and the available research evidence regarding the substantial roles, contributions, and challenges of food tourism events, particularly in relation to social sustainability, remain limited. To accurately assess the development of research on food tourism events and those through the lens of social sustainability, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on studies published from 1983 to 2025, followed by a systematic literature review. The findings reveal five evolving research themes in the field: (1) food event-based experiences and tourist behavioural dynamics; (2) cultural heritage, authenticity, and embodied experiences; (3) socio-economic systems and stakeholder governance; (4) tourist profiles, motivations, and segmentation; and (5) regenerative practices and sustainability transitions. Future research prospects are explored through the in-depth review of the five progressing research themes.
Keywords
Bibliometric analysis, food consumption, food festival, food production, food tourism, social sustainability
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Volume
60
Publication Title
Tourism Management Perspectives
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Business and Law
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Orea-Giner, A., Fusté-Forné, F., Todd, L., & Park, E. (2026). The nexus between local food tourism events and social sustainability: Future prospects and priorities. Tourism Management Perspectives, 60, 101430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2025.101430