ABSTRACT
Markets, festivals, and shows are typical across the UK. In the UK, the ‘free-from’ market is an example of such a trend and includes gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-free, nut-free, soya-free, and dairy-free products. Innovation in food manufacturing has made ‘free-from’ product options more accessible and the market is expected to reach £673-million in 2020. This health-halo is extending into markets, festivals, and shows. This chapter discusses the role of markets, shows, and festivals in delivering sustainable gastronomic tourism, and draws on examples from the UK to exemplify how collaborative approaches are adopted in practice to realize sustainability outcomes. Gastronomy in the context of tourism has been found to deliver positive differentiation of destinations, which combine the dimensions of place, identity, and cuisine, and has been linked to impacts including footfall and economic stimulus in urban and rural areas. The experiential dimensions are particularly important in the context of markets, festivals and shows.
