THE PROSPECT OF PROMOTING GASTRONOMIC TOURISM IN MEGHALAYA: A REVIEW

Abstract

Gastronomic Tourism is the type of tourism that involves people travelling to different places for the sole purpose of eating local food and engaging in local food related activities. Culture is also an important part of the gastronomic tourist experience because local food signifies the culture of a destination. Meghalaya, a north-eastern state in India, is rich in culture which is an attraction to tourists. Food forms an important part of the Khasi culture of the Khasi tribe of Meghalaya. The Khasi culture is an attractive tourism product with its dances, festivals, attires, religious practices and so on, however, Khasi food is not yet celebrated as a cultural tourism product. Tourists who visit Meghalaya often miss out on tasting and eating Khasi food because of many reasons which are mentioned in this paper. This paper employs content analysis and anecdotal approach towards achieving the objective of projecting the prospective aspects of gastronomic tourism promotion in Meghalaya. Therefore, Khasi food has the prospect to be promoted as a tourism product of Meghalaya because it is inherent with the Khasi culture and accordingly gastronomic tourism in Meghalaya will be branded as an image and promoted for tourism development in the state.