ABSTRACT
Food is evolving into an art, and becoming an essential element in the tourism industry. Several terms are used interchangeably to coin the linkage between food consumption and tourism: gastronomic tourism, food tourism, culinary tourism, gourmet tourism. The inner drive of an individual explains the reason food is not just to address the basic physiological need recognition, but to satisfy the higher order of human needs as well. The status and prestige motivators are much associated with self-esteem, recognition, and attention seeking. Motivation to travel for gastronomy is consistently tested to be a valid construct. Gastronomic experiences that enable tourists to recuperate their mental and physical energy are related to physical motivators. Affiliation motivator in gastronomy provides the space to recognise the social need and as a means of reproducing social relations. As health concern escalates, good quality and, to a certain extent, natural food products are essential to attracting gastronomic tourists.
