Local food and drink networks, the development of food trails and the rediscovery of farmers’ markets – often frequented by day-trippers and tourists – are testimony to the importance of the local within the global. Indeed, a key point to emerge from examining local food systems is that the problems of globalization for local food production and gastronomy present as much an opportunity as they do a threat. In addition, it should be noted that numerous places are using similar strategies, such as farmers’ markets, in order to maximize the benefits of food production and tourism for rural areas. Therefore, the question must be posed as to what factors may allow rural regions effectively to differentiate themselves in the competitive economy of the twenty-first century. Arguably, the key to maximizing the benefits of food, wine and tourism in local regional development is through understanding the nature of the global intangible economy in which we now operate. From a regional development perspective firms survive not only if they have privileged international capital but also if the places in which they are embedded do as well. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that the new, ‘intangible’ economy is not a radical break from the ‘old’ economy. The effects of scarce capital, transaction costs and regulatory and geographic barriers still have enormous influence. Cost-efficiency, market dynamics, and articulating a value proposition attractive to customers are as important in the ‘intangible economy’ as they were before. However, what is new is the growing appreciation that intangibles and globalization are important, and that no one is immune from their effects.
Food Tourism Defined: In Search of the Lost Taste
