Traditional Food Local Stories and Tourism Exploring Participants Experiences and Perceptions of Food Walks in Pune.

Pune is hailed as one of the prominent and emerging culinary tourism destinations in India. Pune is a city where traditional Maharashtrian cuisine, local history, and cultural narratives come together to create a very engaging and enriching visitor experiences. Nowadays, food walks have gained a lot of popularity by providing opportunities to the participants to explore authentic local food along with discovering the heritage of Pune its, traditions, and numerous stories associated with Pune. This study, "Traditional Food, Local Stories and Tourism: Exploring Participants' Experiences and Perceptions of Food Walks in Pune," investigates participants' experiences their perceptions of food walks and contribution of food walks to culinary tourism in Pune city. The research is based on both secondary and primary data. Secondary data include a review of existing literature and an analysis of online customer reviews of food walks to identify recurring themes related to authenticity, storytelling, cultural immersion, service quality, and visitor satisfaction. Primary data were collected from 182 participants using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and standard deviations. The findings indicate that authentic traditional cuisine, engaging storytelling, and cultural interpretation significantly enhance visitor experiences and satisfaction. Participants generally perceived food walks as offering good value for money and recognised them as an effective medium for promoting Pune's culinary heritage and local businesses. The study concludes that food walks represent a sustainable experiential tourism product with significant potential to strengthen Pune's identity as a leading culinary tourism destination while preserving its traditional food culture and local stories.

Culinary Tourism, Food Walks, Pune, Traditional Food, Tourist Experience

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