Food tourism development: the assessment of opportunities in Lithuania

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Galimybės; Gastronomija; Gastronominiai renginiai; Gastronominiai įvykiai; Maisto turizmas; Nišinis turizmas; Tendencijos; Turizmo produktai; Food tourism; Gastronomic events; Gastronomy; Niche tourism; Possibilities; Tourism products; Trends.

ENThe object of the paper is food tourism and its development possibilities in Lithuania. Nowadays tourists are seeking new experiences in the gastronomy of different countries and the tourists’ interest in national cuisines generates a great number of local and incoming visitors. Food tourism has become a new niche in this industry and Lithuania has to search for tourism possibilities in this area. A new tourism brand “Lithuania. Real is beautiful” has been introduced to represent the country’s cultural and natural heritage, national food culture including. The culinary heritage fund was established which contains the main products and dishes of the national cuisine. Quite a number of places and food events have been promoted and proved successful. The purpose of this research is to analyze the concept of food tourism and evaluate possibilities for its development in Lithuania. While analyzing food tourism as a form of niche tourism, its demand, trends and perspectives in the European countries, the paper presents the perspective of Lithuanian food tourism. An attempt has been made to evaluate food tourism supply and possibilities; the conclusions and recommendations focus on the prospects of food tourism development in Lithuania. To carry out the research the data from the Lithuanian State Department of Tourism and the United Nations World Tourism Organization have been used, also a study and analysis of scientific publications have been presented together with the information from the interviews of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania Tourism Policy Division and Biržai Tourism Information Centre. [From the publication]