Geotourism, Food Heritage, and Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

Geotourism, food heritage, and sustainability intersect in a unique realm where the preservation of cultural and natural landscapes is linked to the promotion of sustainable rural development through the lens of the HoReCa (hotellerie–restaurant–café) sector. This Special Issue aims to explore the interplay between these three domains, with a specific focus on food heritage and its role in fostering sustainability.

Geotourism, characterized by its emphasis on preserving the environment, enhancing the cultural integrity of a destination, and providing meaningful experiences for visitors, catalyzes sustainable rural development. By promoting responsible tourism practices, geotourism initiatives not only attract visitors but can also contribute to the conservation of natural resources and the preservation of local traditions. Central to our exploration is the concept of food heritage, which embodies a corpus of tangible and intangible elements tied to the food and culinary cultures of a given community, including farming practices and agricultural products, ingredients, dishes, cooking artifacts, table manners, rituals, techniques, recipes, eating practices, behaviors, and beliefs. In an era of globalization and homogenized food cultures, preserving food heritage becomes paramount for maintaining cultural diversity and promoting livelihoods in rural areas through a sustainable promotion of local and traditional food-related resources. Employing the lens of food heritage, we delve into the intricate connections between gastronomy, identity, and sustainability.

This Special Issue seeks contributions that elucidate how geotourism can link with and enhance the restaurant and hospitality industries to promote sustainability and sustainable rural development.

Contributions to this Special Issue will shed light on innovative approaches, best practices, and challenges in leveraging geotourism and food heritage for sustainable rural development, paying particular attention to the role that actors and stakeholders in the food and restaurant domains can play in this path. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and knowledge exchange among different disciplines including, but not limited to, anthropology, history, geography, and sociology, we aim to advance understanding and inform policies and practices that promote the conservation of cultural and natural heritage linked to food while supporting the well-being of rural communities.

We invite scholarly articles, case studies, and policy analyses that explore the synergies between geotourism initiatives and the preservation, promotion, and sustainable utilization of food heritage. Submissions may examine various aspects, including the role of food tourism in community empowerment, strategies for integrating local cuisine into tourism experiences, as well as the social and environmental impacts of culinary tourism practices.

Research areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Sustainable gastronomy and hospitality management in geotourism sites;
• Community empowerment through food in geotourism sites;
• Tourist food behavior and preferences in sites of geotourism;
• Restaurateurs and chefs as food heritage activists;
• Marketing and branding of geoturism sites as food tourism destinations;
• Educational and culinary initiatives at geotourism sites.

Dr. Michele Fontefrancesco
Dr. Susanne Højlund Pedersen
Dr. Dauro Mattia Zocchi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• geotourism
• cultural heritage
• food heritage
• food tourism
• local development