13. Food Representation and Media: Experiencing Culinary Tourism Through Foodgasm and Foodporn

Some studies have found culinary tourism to support the development of cultural tourism. Through social media, the promotion of culinary tourism has influenced many people to consume food and drinks in variety of ways than they might have otherwise, and has drawn them to different tourist destinations to experience culinary attractions. Two of the most popular words in tourism social media jargon that have arisen with this phenomenon are #foodgasm and #foodporn. Neither of these has been widely studied by contemporary tourism researchers. Tourists using social media services, such as Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr, Youtube and Twitter, will use the hashtags (#)foodgasm and (#)foodporn on the photos that they share of particularly attractive food experiences, tastes and pleasures. Food representations via social media, especially in the form of photos, have created broader awareness of the diverse chain of global food production, distribution and consumption. Furthermore, pop culture involving aesthetics of food, as well as its social and cultural construction, has created food photography websites and food blogs. This research used content analysis to outline how tourists are using the two hashtags, all of which have implications on culinary tourism promotion and destination marketing.