Constructing the Taste of Place Through Cultural Immersion: A Grounded Theory Study of Culinary Tourism Experiences

This study aimed to immerse itself in the most important cultural aspects that tourists see as the main part of their food experience in Chongqing, a city with an active culinary life. We used semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 50 tourists who had recent culinary travel experience in Chongqing. The interview data were systematized with the grounded theory coding process. It was found that six essential themes characterizing the cultural climate of the culinary experience in Chongqing can be taken as Sensory Immersion, Atmospheric Energy (Yanhuoqi), Communal Dining, Procedural Knowledge, Historical Symbolism, and Authenticity Seeking. The research adds a multi-dimensional and granular paradigm for perceiving cultural aspects of a food destination. Through the deconstruction of the taste of place, it gives detailed, contextual information about the manner in which the tourists both interpret and experience food culture. The results have profound practical implications for both destination marketers in relation to the manner in which they can develop powerful cultural narratives and to policymakers on the role of maintaining intangible culinary heritage.