Opportunities and Challenges of Gastronomy in Tourism and Hospitality Industry: A Conceptual Study on Bangladesh

Opportunities and Challenges of Gastronomy in Tourism and Hospitality Industry: A Conceptual Study on Bangladesh

*Md. Sohan Hossain,  Mst Polyara Khatun, Tabassum Taskin, Md Korban Ali Sany, Md Manik Hossain

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Student of Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh

*Corresponding Author

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.9010146

Received: 22 December 2024; Accepted: 30 December 2024; Published: 07 February 2025

ABSTRACT

Gastronomy has become an increasingly popular topic, integrating art, science and culture. This research paper aims to study the possible role of gastronomy in tourism and hospitality industry, focusing on the advantages it could offer for Bangladesh. The study seeks to identify opportunities, challenges, and recommendations for the use of gastronomy in enhancing tourism and economic returns. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to understand the theoretical concept of gastronomy, historical evolution, and its impact on various sectors. The required content was gathered through secondary sources, including prestigious journals, books, and trusted online resources. A qualitative analysis approach was used to interpret and synthesize the gathered data. This research could be useful for the formulation of policies by persons in authority, professionals in tourism, as well as local communities. Such stakeholders will be equipped to design new and strategic tools for promoting culinary tourism, while at the same time helping support local enterprises and their cultural heritage, by understanding the economic and cultural consequences of gastronomy. The study reveals that gastronomy can truly contribute significantly to the economy’s growth through job creation, marketing local products, and attracting tourists. At the same time, it can help preserve the cultural heritage through traditional cooking and use of indigenous ingredients.

Keywords: Bangladesh, Cultural Heritage, Gastronomy, Hospitality, Tourism

INTRODUCTION

Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. In recent years, culinary tourism has gained its upper hand and marked its place by including local cuisine and food-related activities in this way in the tourists’ experience (Quan & Wang, 2004). The integration of gastronomy into tourism strategies serves not only to better satisfy visitors but also to reinforce the cultural identity and brand image of places (Kivela & Crotts, 2006). Hotels and restaurants capitalize on the culinary heritage of the place to sell their authentic experiences, thus bringing deeper access to tourists into the destination (Sims, 2009). As gastronomy tourism coincides with the type of modern travel, which is embracing all types of tourists, such as a boring, dull experience, or an exciting trip with a promise of sustainability, culinary offerings always tend to shape itineraries. Food festivals, cooking classes, and farm-to-table dining all reflect sink-in tourist influence (Smith & Costello, 2009). Promotion of gastronomy as a tourism asset in addition ensures preservation of traditional gastronomic practices, and further works for local economies that are in fact employing small-scale producers and artisans (Everett & Aitchison, 2008).

Global destinations were surveyed using an online survey by UNWTO to know the current state of gastronomy tourism in these destinations. The survey was first for UNWTO affiliate members and included DMOs, educational institutions and marketing/consultancy organizations, accommodation providers, meetings industry, food and beverage providers and wineries and others, to explore how the private and public sectors view gastronomy tourism and its importance for destinations. From the online survey, a total of 77 responses were recorded. Of these responses, 67.5% came from Europe, 22% from the Americas, 7.8% from Asia and the Pacific, and 2.6% from Africa. Respondents constituted mostly of representatives from government departments (41.5%) and not-for-profit organizations (28.5%); as well as educational institutions (15.5%) and private sector organizations (14.5%). Gastronomy was considered by 87% of responding organizations as a factor that uniquely and strategically defines the image and brand of their destination. The remaining 13% of the respondents chose visiting friends and relatives as a major push factor for visitation to their respective destinations. As for gastronomy-as-an-attractive-puller for tourism development, respondents scored an average of 8.19 on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is ”strongly agree”. Around seven out of ten people surveyed have considered gastronomy tourists to be one of their market segments. However, just one out of ten respondents sees the promotion of gastronomy tourism in the destination as sufficient. Sixty-five and one-half percent believe that it is being promoted, although not adequately. More specifically, 46.5% of destinations have a gastronomy tourism strategy in their tourism action plan. All respondents have done activities that promote gastronomy tourism, and all believe that capturing this tourism segment has not negatively impacted them in any way (UNWTO, 2017).  Thailand will host the 4th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism from May 30 to June 1, 2018. The forum concentrated on teaching how technology can be the engine of sustainable growth. Most of the closing general remarks from the forum refer to how gastronomy tourism has important contributions to the Sustainable development goals like set policies and business strategies for food waste, community empowerment, and job creation. It called for better measurement and understanding of gastronomy tourism, which would require advanced research on consumer motivations and behavior and the measurement of the economic impact of gastronomy tourism in addition to changes requiring new professional skills where education and training are primary in meeting these challenges (UNWTO, 2018). The 5th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism was held in Spain on 2-3 May 2019, focusing on job creation and entrepreneurship in advancing tourism’s contribution towards the SGDs (UNWTO, 2019).

The Bangladeshi kitchen has a huge global consequences mainly because of the historical trade linkages of the area with people from Arab world, Persia, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Burma. One of those imports was black tea from the British, which is known as Cha in Bangla. So, times changed, and much of the flavor of the Bangladeshi cookery came from those established by the Persian rulers in the Mughal Aangan, which led to the inclusion of many rich flavored and spicy dishes like biriyani and korma for which huge quantities of different types of spices accompany wide quantity of ghee. Dhaka was not only the Bengal capital of the Mughal called Subah (which today includes Bangladesh and West Bengal of India) but also a large market under South Asian trade thus drawn great foodie styles from around the world into its cuisine. After Dhaka became the capital of East Bengal, Bangladesh, so many people started to implement Dhaka city foods with so many unnamed Turkish, Persian, and Arab dishes, which then became very popular. Rice, fish, honey, dairy products, vegetables were all parts of the ancient Bengali diets. The area was irresistible during the early Hindu and Buddhist empires, and later under the Muslim Sultanates for the south part of Asia. Mughlai cuisine had grown more in Bengal after the year of 1576 when the Mughal territory of Bengal came under the drag of the Mughal Empire. In this regard, Dhaka City becomes important, not less at least to the Bengali cuisine, which has overbearing Mughal element courses. The area was under the British Empire for 200 years between the 18th and the 20th centuries. During this period, the revival of Bengali took shape in the new emergence of Bengali food. Calcutta discredited many food items of Bengali cuisine during the British era. In the southeast, the Burmese food from Burma actually tends to be a Chittagong dish, mainly as dried fish. The partition of Bengal in India separated West Bengal from the East, which is predominantly Muslim, and this engendered a wide range of changes in population and food styles. The Bangladeshi also has certain kinds of rules and regulations to be followed when eating and drunk, which includes them hospitality and how to serve. This is called Bangaliketa. Bangladeshi culture is definite in this regard about how to invite people to certain traditional events. Also, Bangaliketa treats serving utensils properly.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Culinary tourism thus discovers and experiences local cuisines and traditions through dining, shopping, cooking classes, and involvement in the local scene (Wondirad 2021). Food tourism is one among the steadily growing travel services globally around the current environment. This lies in the growing increase of destinations with excellent and varied tourist features and attractions including, but not limited to, “cuisine” or “culinary” attractions with “food” on the rise and attracting hordes of visitors worldwide (Mohanty 2019). It may be a new component for an emerging tourism industry of a nation. The most important point, in gastronomic tourism, is to rent the space in between producer and consumer (Smith & Xiao 2008). Culinary tourism can quickly make-a-way into the brand-building of a country’s tourism industry. Culinary tourism disclosures itself to local food and drink and allows various experiences (Testa & Schifani 2019). Culinary tourism will probably generally be conceived as part of cultural and destination tourism as food serves as an illustration of local culture and history (Green & Dougherty 2008). Culinary tourism has, potentially, great impacts on the economy of tourism. Asian cuisine has the possibility to be very fruitful into economic behaviors, culture, management studies, capital, labor, innovation, creativity, infrastructure, competition, and technology opportunities in the tourism milieu (Soetjipto et al., 2021). Food has proved to be quite imperative in so many vacations that many of those studies have registered an impact on destination choices by visitors. According to the data, traveler expenses consist of almost 40% allocation for eating (Boyne et al., 2002). Meanwhile, the Restaurant & Foodservice Industry Research Handbook noted that traveler expenditures contribute about half of restaurant income (Graziani, 2003). However, an attitude towards a particular meal will determine a consumer’s choice and acceptance of food. The primary and preferred food items at a place are influenced by the visitors’ attitudes as well as their cultural and geographical backgrounds (MacDonald et al., 1999). Culinary tourism will develop further as a potential growth area for the tourism industry, with increasingly diverse culinary cultures being useful in meeting tourists’ demand due to the growth of the world economy (Huda et al., 2020). It might well add significantly to the enhancement of any local, regional, or global economy (Richards, 2004). It could be considered as a strategic opportunity for national tourist development programs. Food tourism holds great promise in itself-an emerging market and a hot site for social innovation, entrepreneurial enthusiasm, and creativity at many tourism destinations worldwide (Ellis et al., 2018). Countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore are repackaging food as their primary offering in the increasing trend toward local cuisine. There is also the fact that there are places in the world best known not only for their sites but also have thriving cuisine cultures. Among them are France, Italy, and Thailand, which are recognized for their famed cuisines. Food sector rank as among the world’s most challenging sectors. Moreover, assessing the attitudes and beliefs of people with respect to food is extraordinarily complicated and can be ascribed to multiple causes underneath that People have been increasingly eating outside and spending more on the food consumed every day in many countries (Boyne et al., 2002). Quite naturally, Bangladesh is not isolated from this phenomenon. Eating various dishes has become more of a trend, especially during contemporary times in Bangladesh, rather than just a survival need. This is mainly due to the urbanization and the present mood of the individual. Thus, as food has an undoubted significant role in tourism services, it has to be adequately taken into account in this aspect for the tourism industry. Every nation requires exploring the nuances of culinary tourism due to complex geographic, environmental and cultural differences. People’s eating preferences and diversities are the best guaranteed for sustainability in this developing industry. Food and drink-related products account for about one-third of the world tourism consumption. Gastronomy is probably the softest area of the hospitality industry (Dittmer & Griffin 1993). Although diversity is inherent in human food culture, culinary tourism has indeed turned out to be an indispensable constituent of every types of tourism and should be preserved and propagated with care (Richards, 2002). Culinary tourism might be seen as an artistic facet of national tourist growth (Pilcher, 2017). With the tourism slices of Bangladesh, it opens up all the amazing and interesting foods and cultures. As creating different wide-spaced economic opportunities, better local community acquisitions, and developing a responsible food sector, Culinary tourism may be one of the great prospects for Bangladesh (Huda et al., 2020). Culinary tourism has become an important part of people’s knowledge that relates to a country’s indigenous cuisine, their decisions, food choices, and leisure places. While ways of cooking, eating and drinking have been incorporated into customs, civilizations, cultures, and history, they often tend to have a great connection with the reason for attracting foreign tourists (Dutta & Naumov, 2020). To explore local foods, it promotes experience-based tourism in a given area and presents learning opportunities in food history, culture, cooking, and tasting at a good price (Shenoy, 2005). Given the rich cultural heritage of Bangladesh, there is promising scope for developing culinary tourism the growth of culinary tourism is contingent on government and other stakeholders’ initiatives (Majumder, 2015). The diversity of cuisine and culture that characterize Bangladesh are determinants of the uniqueness of the nation’s travel industry (Wijayanti & Zahra, 2022). It is the food of Bangladesh that is one of the major attractions for foreign tourists to this country (Das & Chakraborty, 2012). Known for its different local cuisines, culinary talents, and cultures everywhere, there could be immense potential for the world tourist industry in the culinary treasures of Bangladesh if well maintained and marketed (Huda et al., 2020).

Research Gaps

By studying current published researches on gastronomy mostly deals with its generalities, predominantly involving culinary tourism and food trends within larger contexts. Contrast this with the almost virgin studies of gastronomy in relation specifically to tourism and hospitality in Bangladesh, very few investigate either the opportunities or challenges that world studies mention about culinary tourism viz Horng & Tsai (2012) and Kim & Iwashita (2016). There hasn’t been much thorough research done on the economic impact of gastronomy tourism on Bangladesh, especially focused on how it affects local businesses and jobs to community development (Islam & Carlsen, 2012). The current study focus will be placed on this critical missing part in the debate regarding opportunities, challenges, and benefits-in-economics in terms of gastronomy in view of the tourism and hospitality industry within Bangladesh. Moreover, this research provide some important recommendations how to overcome challenges in Bangladesh

METHODOLOGY

The first stage of research allocated with an elaborate examination of gastronomy-related literature. In the first phase of research, a plethora of research papers, books, and newspaper articles were downloaded. Among these, some high-quality and relevant papers were finally selected for a detailed analysis. Mostly, this method takes into account the collection of secondary data from credible sources like academic journals, published books, and reliable news articles. These resources helped the researchers understand the topic under study and further shaped its research framework. Analysis of data was done qualitative, where analyzed information was critically studied and integrated to build a view of the topic under study. Such type of structured and systematic processing helped to base the research on sound theoretical background and according to evidence from the literature studied.

Theoretical Overview

Gastronomy

The term “gastronomy” is a combination of two Greek words “gaster” and “nomas”. The first word connotes stomach, while the second means law. It would be more beneficial and significant to interpret what it denotes and covers beyond its dictionary meaning rather than its dictionary meaning only (Altınel, 2014). According to many sources, “Gastronomy” refers to the art of eating and drinking, it is actually a branch of art and science very intimately associated with chemistry, literature, biology, geology, history, music, philosophy, psychology, sociology, medicine, nutrition, and agriculture (Kivela & Crotts, 2006). As the subject is related to eating and drinking, it includes matters regarding nutritional science, sense of tasting and its physiology, production of wine, roles of nutritional elements in the human body, specifying the qualities that should be determined in the foodstuffs to be itemized, and developing production processes in facilitation of hygienic and sanitary norms to prevent the products from going off physically, chemically, and biologically (Shenoy, 2005). Therefore, the goals of gastronomy include the maintaining human health through the provision of the best nutritious foods possible, as well as the enjoyment of life and eating.

Historical development of ‘gastronomy’

Hellenic word came into the reckoning in Europe after a long gap of some 15 centuries, to be revived in the title of a poem, La Gastronomie, by one French minor poet, Joseph Berchoux. The 19th-century French atmosphere was certainly swarming with propitious auspices…. ‘Like any emerging social practice, gastronomy drew on a nexus of social, economic and cultural conditions. All these ingredients-the food, the people and places, the attitudes and ideas-became part of early 19th-century Paris’ (Ferguson, 2000, p. 1057). In 1804 Grimod de la Reyniere published the first of his best-ommended Almanachs des Gourmands, which advised Parisians what they should eat when, and how this should be prepared, in his capacity as founder of gastronomic journalism. Grimod even introduced gastronomy as a branch of learning into his Manuel des Amphitryons (1808), along the lines that it would not be surprising soon to see a Chair of Gastronomy in the colleges, given the current craze for gastronomic science (Grimod de la Reyniere 1808, pp. xxii–xxiii ” ). ‘gastronomy’ was quickly taken up in England. The anonymous author of ‘The School for Good Living’ (1814) translated it into ‘precepts for eating, which reflected most precisely the etymology of the term. But it was the French lawyer and judge Brillat-Savarin who really developed a new idea of gastronomy and fixed the word in the collective consciousness in his classic text a Physiologie du Gout(1826)—The Physiology of Taste in the most recent English translation ; within its pages, the concepts of gastronomy and its developments in contemporary society are traced (Brillat-Savarin, 1994). More than having the work translated into English, Spanish and German, a host of magazines and journals sprouted around it, including Le Gastronome (1830-1831), La Gastronomie (1839-1841), Il Gastronomo italiano (1866), and Le Gastronome (1872-1873). It was also the precursor of many books published during the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century-in both French and English-revolving around the science and art of dining. The literature of gastronomy advised compounding the composition of menus, choosing appropriate wines for certain meals, what should be eaten at what time and how best it should be prepared, and general home hospitality. As such, Physiologie du Gout revived the term and established the theory and practice of gastronomy. The Brillat-Savarinian ‘gastronomy’  would thus be described as ‘the reasoned understanding of everything that concerns us in as much as we nourish ourselves’ (Santich, 1996a, p. 172). It was just “an art or science of good nourishment for the purpose of preservation of man,” as Jot de Savarin had put it for the guidance of everybody “who searches for, supplies, or prepares materials that would turn into food” (Brillat-Savarin, 1994, p. 52). Thus, those notions of guidance correspond with what Archestratus intended. In addition, and most importantly, Brillat-Savarin put forth an added argument for gastronomy: it is for pleasure and enjoyment reason with knowledge and information provided. As the learned judge said, “Some knowledge of gastronomy is necessary to all men, since it adds to the sum of useful pleasures; yand it is indispensable to persons with considerable incomes ythey derive this special detail from their knowledge” (Brillat-Savarin, 1994, p. 54).

Gastronomic Tourism

Tourism in modern society is among the most essential sectors of the economy and activities undertaken in leisure time. The fact that it has a huge multiplier effect on the economy and can directly and indirectly induce activation in many other subsectors makes it an ideal means of development (Caglı, 2012). As it is in societies, which it develops, tourism becomes income generation for those who provide services. When travelling, people spend on meeting their needs. As the needs of people increase, they in effect manage to produce, offer, and make even more goods and services which are only possible through increased production, investment, income within societies (Akgoz, 2003). Tourism to nations and individuals includes the relationships that nations would form with others. It thereby incorporates culture, heritage, economy, and environment; thus making important the issues of directing its development as well as coordination and control (Caglı, 2012). Although so many different terms have been coined to refer to it-from “culinary tourism” to “gastronomy tourism”, “gastro-tourism”, “wine tourism”, “food tourism”, and “gourmet tourism”-this most widely used term is simply defined as: “the pursuit of unique experience in eating and drinking.” Gastronomy tourism, more popularly refers to food that is original but is indigenous to a place or a specific part of the world. It usually encompasses the major areas of indigenous dish and wine tourism (Hall & Mitchell, 2000; Groves 2001, Green & Dogherty, 2008; Caglı 2012, URL 2014).

The Importance of Gastronomy for Destinations

It has emerged in marketing concepts about destinations to an imported extent that marketing a place is very different from designing a product or introducing a new product into the market because of its many challenges with various purposes and expectations against it,; local cuisines are the relatively novel means to develop, introduce, and market a destination (Uner, 2014). Gastronomic tourism is viewed as non-removable and reflective development and promotion of a destination, later it will allow incorporating as much as possible of tourists visiting that destination into regional culture. Gastronomic tourism activities in a destination can directly create work and income as well as indirect work and income (Sahin, 2015). Gastronomic tourism is the vital one to make travel an exceptional one undertaken towards a particular destination while allowing an easier way for destinations to outshine others and earn a firm place among and beyond others in reputation and value in symbolic meanings food and beverages will be consuming beyond the physiological needs (Calıskan, 2013). With this view, gastronomic tourism gives an indication of a tourist’s stature and tells what, where, when, and with whom they eat, thus making its need for an image-making research quite careful as that quality serves its importance in terms of marketing activities (Karim, 2006; Sahin, 2015).

In fact, for the planning, marketing and managing of tourist destinations, a lot of efforts have been made to safeguard the culture-rich source of local cuisines with applications of specific geographical, cultural and climatic conditions. For instance, the Barrosa beef control has a most exemplary control in Portugal where the rearing of the animals is just on locally prepared feeds and herbs and no additional types of feeds should be given during the period of growth; the organic material of this feed will then produce products that cannot be imitated anywhere else and creates a high-rivalry edge (Calıskan, 2013). Gastronomic events, such as gastronomy festivals, gastronomic courses, and gastronomy-associated museums, wherein one speaks of protecting the gastronomic welfare of a place, are very critical for destination marketing. It follows that to properly ensure successful researching into gastronomic identity, such would be what a high-quality tourist population visits in a region and what it expects every season and thereby helps in conserving cultural heritage while paving the way for economic and socio-cultural development (Sahin, 2015).

Economic Benefits of Gastronomy

Gastronomy, a part of tourism, can prove much more effective in economic terms for Bangladesh. The country is endowed with a myriad of culinary traditions and sink properly gastronomical indulgence into its tourism sector.

Job Creation and Employment Opportunities

There is a myriad of professions available in the gastronomic business like being a chef, restaurant staff, and even food producers. For Bangladesh, gastronomy brings job opportunities to both urban and rural areas, thus improving local communities and reducing poverty (Horng & Tsai, 2012; Kim & Ellis, 2015). All these contribute towards economic growth for direct and indirect jobs in the food service, hospitality, and retail sectors.

Promotion of Local Agricultural Products

Gastronomic tourism has served well to projects local food prod­ucts with the p­rosperity of farmers and suppliers within the region. This has stimulated culinary tourism from farm-to-table concepts in the form of stimulating local consumers about fresh locally grown ingredients for use in rice, fish, and vegetables. The two thus connect gastronomy and agriculture, strengthening the local economy (Kim & Iwashita, 2016; Mallik & Nova, 2024).

Tourism Revenue Enhancement

Culinary tourism can grow stays in a destination and increase tourist spend. Food-related cooking classes, food tours, or culinary festivals get tourists more involved with food and dining experiences, which increases their overall spend on the tourism experience (Islam & Carlsen, 2012; Horng & Tsai, 2012). Such spending behavior usually creates a multiplier effect towards hotels, restaurants, transport providers, and other local businesses.

Culture Heritage Maintenance

Gastronomy contributes to cultural preservation through traditional cooking methods and recipes. It is pride, identity development with cultural roots in a community that turns them into cultural tourists who seek authentic culinary experience (Islam & Carlsen, 2012; Kim & Iwashita, 2016). These can also go a long way in the long-term sustained tourism development of the country and also add culturally to the country as a whole.

Enhancement of Destination Image

A culinary establishment will only enhance the appeal of Bangladesh as a destination for unique tourism in other aspects. Food fests, food competitions, and food events attract international audiences to the country and make it a cultural and gastronomic hot spot. Therefore, as the tourism numbers are amplified through food tourism, the aggregate brand and image of Bangladesh will strengthen as a travel destination (Liberato et al., 2019; Kim et al. 2010). International tourists attracted by gastronomic experiences are bringing in foreign exchange by feasting on food, beverages, and services around the world. Culinary tourism has the potential to cause considerable foreign exchange inflows into the economy, and this is of course when it is specific to travel for food experiences (Kim & Iwashita, 2016; Mallik & Nova, 2024). This diversification reduces mobilization pressure on the national economy.

Support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

Gastronomy tourism benefits small food-related businesses like street food vendors, local chefs, and family-run eateries. They benefit because for them tourism is an opportunity to showcase their place and offer what authentic food experience could mean and engage in localities, improving the local economies. In rural areas, food tourism can promote small-scale producers and artisans, enabling them to reach wider markets (Horng & Tsai, 2012; Kim & Ellis, 2015).

Opportunities of Gastronomy

Gastronomy is one of the best aspects that augments the tourism and hospitality industry across the globe, and Bangladesh is no exception too. A rich cuisine legacy coupled with a developing interest in food tourism could highlight gastronomy as one of the key emerging fields in the tourism and hospitality industry of the nation. Following are the identified opportunities.

Promote Culinary Heritage

Bangladesh cuisine ranges from creep to diverse and broader and is associated with its cultural history and geographical diversity. Gastronomy tourism is expected to best exhibit dishes such as panta bhat, bhuna khichuri, and regional specialties that would attract tourists at home and abroad (Islam et al., 2023).

Economic Empowerment for Local Communities.

The gastronomy field can empower people within local communities through many different employment opportunities in the food production, processing, and service industries. Local food markets, festivals, and those rural food tours can create more opportunities and stimulate rural economies (Khan & Rahman, 2023).

Enrich Cultural Identity

Ideas focused on the traditional ways of preparing food and the ingredients that are used will mainly serve to safeguard the cultural identity of Bangladesh while giving tourists a realistic taste of the country (Sarker & Ahmed, 2023).

Develop Infrastructures for Food Tourism

Investing in food courts, gastronomic hubs, and food streets captures tourism at important destinations such as Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet. This will overall increase the experience of tourists (Hossain et al., 2023).

Potential of Gastronomic Events

The country would become one of the premier destinations for gastronomic tourism by organizing annual food fairs and cooking workshops, which would keep the global tourists flocking to Bangladesh (Rahman & Yasmin, 2023).

Fusion with Ecotourism

The merging of gastronomy and ecotourism such as farm-to-table experience or organic food tours is going to lure the green travelers towards this destination (Karim et al., 2023).

Expansions of Hospitality Education

The intention of introducing culinary arts and gastronomy courses is to produce some specialized professionals who would cater to the increasing market demand because of their potential for employment in such programs (Ahmed & Chowdhury, 2023).

Digital Marketing of Local Foods

Last but not least, Bangladeshi gastronomy opens itself to the world by digitalizing itself into channels or platforms like YouTube and food blogs (Rahman et al., 2023).

Challenges of Gastronomy

As a major component of cultural tourism, gastronomy serves a very significant role in extending the experience of a tourist. In Bangladesh, despite having a very strong culinary legacy, the development of gastronomy within the tourism and hospitality sector comes across several challenges.

Branding and Promotion Absence

Indeed, Bangladesh lacks in brand and internationally promote the cuisines of heritage of the country. While India and Thailand are known all over the world for their food tourism, Bangladeshi cuisine hardly finds mention in the international tourism market (Rahman et al., 2022).

Poor Infrastructure

Infrastructure, covering lack of world-class restaurants as well as food hubs, is not promoted for gastronomy. No food circuits are present and street food areas do not maintain proper health conditions (Ahmed & Karim, 2023).

Hygiene and Food Safe

Hazard food to remain a big question. Most small restaurants and street food vendors serve food but do not follow international hygiene standards, which creates health threats to domestic tourists and foreign alike (Khan et al., 2023).

Lack of Skilled Manpower

At this stage, gastronomic activity in Bangladesh remains devoid of proper practitioners owing to inadequate training facilities. That infancy in culinary education did not furnish much opportunity for innovation and modernization (Hasan et al., 2021).

Cultural Misrepresentation

Most of the gastronomical offerings do not efficiently penetrate the diversity of Bangladeshi cuisine. General dishes take up most of the slots in restaurants and tend to ignore regional and indigenous specialties that could draw niche tourists (Chowdhury & Sultana, 2021).

Limited Government Support

Gastronomy has not been adequately included in developing policy frameworks for the tourism and hospitality sector by the government to consider that an overall strategy limitation in terms of the potential of the industry to leverage food tourism as one of the critical draws within its destinations (Islam et al., 2022) .

Global Competition

Bangladesh competes bitterly with more established gastronomy countries, like India and Thai gastronomy.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To elaborate on Comprehensive Culinary Tourism Policies

Encourage national policy frameworks that showcase Bangladeshi cuisine as a critical component of its tourism strategy for consumption. Mainstream traditional dishes like hilsa and pithas in the international marketing campaign and celebrations (Horng & Tsai, 2012; Islam & Carlsen, 2012).

Upgrading the Standards of Food Safety and Hygiene

Hygiene into strict regulation and monitoring in particularly tourist areas. Provide more avenues for certification systems by street food vendors regarding safety standards (Kim and Ellis, 2015; Liberato et al., 2019).

Promoting Regional Culinary Diversity

The variety of dishes such as Sylheti and Chittagonian and indigenous dishes will also present variety in the destination to draw in niche food tourists, thereby improving the destination’s sell-ability (Islam & Carlsen, 2012; Kim & Iwashita, 2016).

Training and Capacity Building

Training programs will be instituted for skill improvement among chefs, food handlers, and hospitality workers in modern culinary skills, food safety, and customer service. Partnering with international culinary schools will contribute to raising local expertise (Liberato et al. 2019; Horng & Tsai, 2012).

Utilize Digital Marketing Platforms

Use platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and travel blogs to showcase Bangladeshi gastronomy. The recipes, cooking tutorial sessions, and food travel experiences will reach audiences all over the globe (Kim et al., 2010; Islam & Carlsen, 2012).

Strengthening Public and Private Partnership

Partnership in working with private investors for gastronomic initiatives such as food streets, culinary festivals, and regional food hubs should be focused on building such partnerships (Liberato et al., 2019; Kim & Ellis, 2015).

Sustainability practices

Advocate for eco – friendly farm to table, minimizing food waste, and biodegradability packaging. To the environment – friendly travelers, sustainability resonates well (Kim & Iwashita, 2016; Liberato et al., 2019).

Organize Gastronomy Events and Competition

For example, have international food festivals, street food fairs, and cooking contests. Organize these events to celebrate Bangladeshi food to the local communities. (Kim & Ellis, 2015; Islam & Carlsen, 2012).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge gratefully this instance of support and encouragement through the entire research journey from research Committee of the department. The invaluable advice along with motivation made me able to develop this study’s concept as well as focus. The research would not have been possible without the inspiration and trust put on me by such individuals. I really appreciate all their bright efforts toward developing me academically and completing the research successfully.

Limitations and Future Direction

This study comprehensively discuss all aspects that related to gastronomy. It mainly used secondary sources, for example, previously published research papers, books, and news articles. Besides, it could jeopardize the relevance and accuracy of arguments without any empirical evidence gathering from hotel managers, restaurant owners, and other frontline industry professionals, as they will not be able to capture the dynamic and diverse on-the-ground nature of the sector (Kim et al., 2010; Liberato et al., 2019). For future research, there needs to be an empirical field study based on primary data collected straight from the Bangladesh tourism and hospitality industry. Through interviews, surveys, and field observations directly at hotels, restaurants, and food markets, further accuracy and comprehensiveness could be provided about the direct gastronomy practices and effects of tourism. Such empirical research may also identify specific challenges faced by local businesses, such as sourcing ingredients, meeting standards for food safety, and marketing strategies, which may not appear in secondary data (Horng & Tsai, 2012; Kim & Iwashita, 2016). Further research can also focus on gastronomic tourism’s contribution to marketing regional cuisines and local agricultural products, thereby building the nexus between food tourism and rural economic development (Islam & Carlsen, 2012). Such studies would reduce future research gaps and provide useful information to policymakers, businesspersons, and the hospitality sector on how best to use gastronomy as leverage for sound tourism development into the future in Bangladesh.

CONCLUSION 

There are enormous opportunities embedded in gastronomy for tourism, and in the broader economic and social transformation of Bangladesh. Keeping in mind the amazingly rich culinary heritage, different regional cuisines, and the increasing global interest in experiencing food, most assuredly, this country can forge itself into a unique gastronomic destination. However, it would be very important to join hands to face the challenges such as poor branding, lack of infrastructure, food safety issues, and lack of skilled human resources that prevent the complete unleashing of this gastronomical potential. Strategic initiatives that can be taken by Bangladesh in this regard include designing and rolling out comprehensive culinary tourism policies, improving food safety and hygiene standards for diverse regional cuisines, technology-based human capital development in the food industry using digital marketing platforms, fostering public-private partnerships, and organizing gastronomic events and competitions. These steps will go a long way in unleashing the much-vaunted economic, cultural, and social dividends of gastronomy and will help position Bangladesh as one of the topmost vibrant and attractive destinations for food lovers and tourists.

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