For many destinations, cuisine and wine are an inseparable part of their collective identity and history, to the point of becoming their letter of introduction to the world; therefore, the combination of tourism and gastronomy is a lever of positioning, local development and authenticity that does not stop growing.
Beyond eating well, traveling with your palate first means participating in tastings, visiting producers, attending markets or learning local recipes; institutions such as the CTC have defined gastronomic tourism as an activity in which the visitor's experience is integrally linked to food and with products, territories and related activities.
What do we mean by gastronomic tourism and wine tourism?
When we talk about gastronomic tourism, we refer to trips where the central theme is the cuisine of a place: from tasting traditional dishes or innovative proposals, to living organized culinary experiences; this idea includes meeting producers, festivals, markets, cooking schools and everything that makes food a cultural and emotional experience.
Within this universe, wine tourism occupies a place of its own: it consists of visiting vineyards and wineries, participating in tastings, buying or consuming wine at source and learning about local viticulture; it is a form of tourism in which wine becomes the common thread and the wine-growing territory the focal point. setting and protagonist.
Value for destinations and communities
The cuisine and wines of a region help revitalize the tourist offer, diversify the seasons and create synergies between sectors (agri-food, hospitality, commerce, culture); well-developed, gastronomic tourism contributes to creating a destination brand and improving the distribution of expenditure, boosting employment, circular economy and pride of belonging.
Furthermore, it connects with key trends: more conscious travel, respect for the environment, preservation of traditions, seasonal products and short circuits; this way of traveling rewards authenticity and values ​​the primary sector, which helps protect landscapes and local knowledge.
A good example is the promotional action organized in Navarra to mark the start of the Lodosa Piquillo pepper season: local representatives, tourism companies and around twenty journalists and influencers (with more than four million followers) gathered in Lodosa to show the process of the pepper, from the farm to the table; all to position the Foral Community as a gastronomic destination with Genuine landscapes, unique pantry and hospitality.
The "The imperfect secret of our land" event included a visit to plantations, harvesting, roasting and tasting, and a proposal by chef Jesús Iñigo at the Torre de Velasco. This action is part of the Navarra Enogastronomica Digital Marketing Plan, financed with Next Generation EU funds and the Recovery Plan, with the aim of promoting a sustainable, responsible tourism model that is far from the overcrowding that boosts the local economy.
Features and trends of gastronomic tourism
The main characteristic is clear: food is placed as the reason for the trip and the route is planned based on this; from here, a thousand possibilities open up that turn gastronomy into a cultural and economic vector of the first order, from experiences with producers to tables with waiting lists in haute cuisine, a phenomenon that has triggered interest in travel to eat and drink well.
- Gastronomic tourism concentrates in one experience the gastronomy of a territory.
- Culinary culture is a key piece of cultural tourism and local identity.
- It is one of the sources of more powerful income within the tourism sector.
- For travelers, eating well is one of the most valued experiences From the trip.
- Seeking new culinary experiences defines his exploratory spirit.
- Provides keys to understanding the culture and territory from the table.
- It is considered an upward and continuous trend. evolution and diversification.
- Many analyses indicate that gastronomy influences a very high percentage of travel decisions, reaching figures such as 60% of tourism in certain contexts.
Benefits for travelers and destinations
This type of tourism offers clear advantages for both the traveler and the host communities, because it encourages local consumption, educates the palate, strengthens cultural ties and helps distribute spending; in the end, talking about food is talking about people, landscapes and memory and traditional dishes such as earth criadillas.
- Discover new flavors: ingredients, spices and techniques that broaden horizons.
- Learning recipes and techniques: nothing like trying it on site and asking how it is made.
- Integrate into the local culture: Eating like a local helps you understand the place better.
- Support the shopping locally: restaurants, markets and small producers.
- Expand the culinary knowledge: from theory to practice on the plate.
- Improve cooking skills: choose a dish out of curiosity, ask questions and repeat it at home to make it yours.
Cities like Madrid are a magnet for gastronomic tourism, with tapas tours, markets, and courses. If you also need to organize your stay, you can always compare accommodations on leading platforms like quehoteles to arrange a getaway that combines table, neighborhood and rest.
Profiles of gastronomic tourists
Not everyone travels the same way when food is king. There are very different profiles who, with nuances, share a passion for good food and discovery. Perhaps you'll recognize yourself in one of these profiles with tags that, with humor and a fair amount of reality, describe how we enjoy the table.
- Responsible and adaptable: advocates for animal welfare and ecological balance; is interested in how food is produced and its impact on the planet.
- Wine lover: passionate about wine, tastings, and continuous learning in wineries and at tables.
- Gourmet: seeks exclusivity, differentiation and precision in every bite that taste.
- Cosmopolitan: open to all, without gastronomic borders or prejudices of origin.
- Kitchenette: Enjoy cooking and travel to discover new products and recipes.
- Foodie: Without being an expert, he has a true passion for trying typical and local things.
- Sybarite: lover of luxury and haute cuisine experiences with Michelin stars.
- Gourmet moments: enjoys eating practically everything and experimenting new flavors.
- The wine lover: Dream of wineries, tastings and complete wine tourism getaways.
- The glutton: happy among pintxos, tapas, markets and restaurants of any level.
- The chef: : you don't have to be a cook, but ask, write down and replicate the recipes that intrigues him.
- The gourmet tourist: sybarite, fan of tasting menus and haute cuisine.
- The merchant: loves markets; buys local produce, chats with those who produce it and takes home the best of each final destination.
Destinations and proposals in Spain
Spain is such a diverse country that the cuisine changes every few kilometers, and that explains its appeal to those who travel with food in mind; it is no coincidence that in forums like FITUR the historical union between tourism and cuisine in our country.
Vitoria-Gasteiz, for example, rightly boasts of being a green city and has earned the title of Spanish capital of gastronomy, a recognition that is understood when strolling through its streets and bars; it is no surprise that its offerings manage to reconcile urban sustainability and culinary excellence.
In Andalusia, the routes are endless: from Jabugo ham to Seville rice, passing through wines and spirits in Jerez, Montilla or Ronda and the almadraba in Cádiz; each one allows you to discover producers and flavors with territory.
Galicia captivates with its fish, seafood and meat, as well as its food and wine festivals; the Festa do Albariño, declared of International Tourist Interest, is just an example of how tradition and wine become perfect excuse to travel.
The Basque Country is an absolute benchmark: it leads the way in Michelin stars and offers routes such as pintxos, seafood, cider and sweets; product quality and bar culture for an experience that combines haute cuisine and daily life.
The Community of Madrid is home to tapas, markets, and a vibrant gastronomic scene; more than one in five visitors is motivated by the food, and offerings like Sierra Norte Gastronómica combine territory, nature, and local product.
Asturias provides cider, cheeses and fabada, along with routes such as the flavors of the sea, the countryside or the wine of Cangas; here gastronomy is landscape, tradition and a delicious way of telling the Asturian identity.
Those looking for integrated hotel experiences will find high-quality restaurants in chains such as Catalonia Hotels & Resorts: in Madrid, the Bloved restaurant at the Catalonia Gran VÃa combines local produce (meat from the Sierra de Guadarrama, vegetables from the Vega) with modern techniques, and in Barcelona, ​​Filigrana at Catalonia Barcelona Plaza offers local Mediterranean cuisine in the heart of Plaza de España, ideal for travelers very sybarites.
Specialized training: design of experiences in gastronomic tourism
If you want to become a professional, there's an Online Specialization Course in Gastronomic Tourism Experience Design designed to create memorable proposals with identity, sustainability, and marketing. It combines live classes with experts, 24/7 resources, and applied activities such as a business plan, all in a web-based format. 100% online.
The next edition starts on October 28, 2025 (registration until October 21 or while places are sold out) and is taught in Spanish, with a 100% English version, 9 ECTS, 30 places, practical methodology and access to the platform 24/7; live classes are on Thursdays from 18:00 p.m. to 19:30 p.m. (CEST), are recorded and remain available throughout the course, and all content will remain accessible 3 months after its end, with own degree.
- Useful information: Start date: 10/28/2025; end date: 03/19/2026; virtual classroom close date: 06/19/2026.
- Mode: online; approximate weekly commitment of 12 hours.
- Contact: information request form for questions and queries.
Course objectives: Acquire fundamentals, develop design and management skills, explore the relationship between gastronomy and culture, and apply digital tools; and understand sustainability as a pillar of gastronomic tourism to preserve heritage, boost local economies, and respect the environment. natural and cultural.
- Purchase solid knowledge of gastronomic tourism: fundamentals, trends and challenges.
- Develop skills to design and manage memorable experiences: routes, events and culinary experiences.
- Exploring the relationship between gastronomy, culture and travel in the construction of destination identities.
- Apply technological tools: content marketing, social networks and specialized platforms.
- Understand sustainability for responsible and high-quality practices local impact.
Professional applications: consulting and advisory services, experience design and management, operations and promotion, marketing and events, teaching and research, and entrepreneurship. Upon completion, you'll be prepared to add value to destinations, companies, and projects with a focus on gastronomic.
- Consulting and advice
- Tourism development projects with a gastronomic focus.
- Strategies for enhancing culinary heritage.
- Design and management
- Creation of gastronomic tourism routes and products.
- Coordination of experiences in hotels, wineries, and agri-food spaces.
- Operation and promotion
- Guide specialized in gastronomic and cultural tourism.
- Destination Promotion Technician Stands.
- Marketing, communication and events
- Gastronomic communication in agencies or media.
- Participation in fairs, events and gastronomic markets.
- Teaching and research
- Collaboration in educational or research projects.
- Training in food culture and tourism.
- Entrepreneurship and development
- Creation of new services based on gastronomic identity.
- Management of museums or cultural centers focused on gastronomy.
Recommended profiles: tourism professionals (guides, agencies, managers), gastronomy professionals (hotels, restaurants, wineries, markets, industry), entrepreneurs, recent graduates in related areas and profiles from other sectors (marketing, communication, humanities) who want to specialize. If you don't fit exactly, you can write to us to evaluate your case and receive a quote. personalized guidance.
- Training program
Module I: Introduction to Gastronomic Tourism
- Global tourism scenario and the gastronomy-tourism binomial.
- Conceptualization, evolution and trends.
- Value chain in destinations and case studies.
Module II: Strategic Planning
- Concept, need and diagnostic tools.
- Business models, products, services and experiences.
- Management function and relationship between planning and marketing.
Module III: Market, profiles and segments
- Demand and tourism segmentation.
- Profiles of gastronomic tourists and demand references.
- User experience and tools for understanding tourists.
- Service culture and search for excellence.
Module IV: Product and experience design
- Concept and elements of the tourist experience.
- Typologies, differentiation-specialization and design steps.
- Featured cases of experiences gastronomic.
Module V: Branding and marketing
- Fundamentals of tourism marketing and branding: gastronomy as a brand argument.
- 360º Strategies: online and offline communication, marketing and Loyalty.
Module VI: Final Project
- Creating a product or experience.
- Destination strategy or research in gastronomic tourism.
- Other projects subject to evaluation by coordination academic.
Academic organization: Module 0 introduction to the platform at the beginning; school term from 10/28/2025 to 03/19/2026, live classes on Thursdays from 18:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (recorded and available 24/19), classroom closing on 06/19/2026 and estimated dedication of 12 hours per week to assimilate content and advance in projects.
Learning by doing methodology: a combination of theory and practice, real-life case studies, applied analysis, forums, and networking; includes personalized feedback with corrected activities, tutoring, and discussion spaces to connect previous experience and new content, building projects. differentiators.
- Methodological principles: activation of prior knowledge, presentation and applied analysis, real cases and collaborative spaces.
- Results: skills applicable from day one, strategic and sustainable vision of the market and construction of projects with culture, territory and communication.
Teaching team: experts in tourism, gastronomy, destination management and product development, with national and international experience; coordinated by David Mora Gómez (more than two decades in the sector, auditor of the Wine Routes of Spain and regular speaker), together with collaborators such as Iñaki Gaztelumendi (former Director of Tourism of Santiago and co-author of the UNWTO-BCC Guide) and Eduardo Serrano (hotel and restaurant director with extensive experience in planning and creativity).
Alumni who have already taken the course emphasize the variety of speakers, the practical approach, and the networking: guides specialized in the Camino de Santiago and cultural tourism emphasize the value of opening up to a growing segment, and tourism consultants emphasize the balance between content and coordination, which makes it easier to fully immerse themselves in the field of tourism. gastronomic.
Total price: €2.600; payment method: €150 registration fee, 40% (€980) as a reservation upon confirming admission and the remainder (€1.470) before the start; includes access to the platform, downloadable materials, weekly classes with experts, tutoring, access to the Basque Culinary Center Alumni community after completing the course and a certificate issued by BCC; there are specific benefits for BCC Alumni and guidance for international students depending on their level of experience. visa.
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- Group companies: iLERNA Online, SL (B25774720); iLERNA Comprehensive Vocational Training Centre, SL (B25026428); iLERNA Tarragona, SL (B42835900); Albor Vocational Training, SL (B11944261); CDP Albor Madrid, SL (B42970079); CDP Albor Córdoba, SL (B56078033); iLERNA Bidco, SL (B19741826); Bilbao Formación, SL (B19741826); Isabel I International University of Castile, SAU (A09515412).
Gastronomic tourism is now a well-established trend: in Spain, more than 85% of domestic travelers claim to have recently made getaways of this type, and of these, more than 20% would qualify as pure gastronomic tourists, with spending on restaurants that exceeds around 30% that of other profiles; signs that cuisine, from the Piquillo peppers of Lodosa to haute cuisine with waiting lists, passing through markets, wineries or regional routes, moves millions of people and offers destinations and professionals a magnificent opportunity to design experiences with identity, sustainability and profitability.