Understanding and Managing the Dark Side of Food Tourism

Call for Papers – Understanding and Managing the Dark Side of Food Tourism

Journal: Journal of Destination Marketing & Management (JDMM)
Publisher: Elsevier
Submission deadline: 31 December 2026

This special issue invites critical research on the unsustainable, inequitable, and ethically problematic aspects of food tourism—often overlooked in otherwise celebratory accounts of gastronomic destinations. It focuses on how marketing and managing food tourism can unintentionally drive overtourism, commodify culture, exploit labor, and strain local food systems, while also exploring how destinations can respond more responsibly.

Why this special issue?

Food tourism is widely promoted as a way to celebrate local culture, support rural economies, and enhance destination image. However, the “dark side” includes:

• Overtourism and sustainability pressures (waste, emissions, over‑used infrastructure).

• Commodification and staged “authenticity” (simplified, mass‑produced food experiences).

• Unequal economic benefits (revenue concentrated among a few firms, local producers and residents left behind).

• Social and ethical risks (rising local food prices, exploitative labor practices, disrupted family and community life through the meal‑sharing economy).

This SI seeks empirical work that diagnoses these problems and proposes theoretically grounded, practically actionable strategies for more sustainable, just, and authentic food‑tourism destinations.

Guest editors

• Prof Marianna Sigala, University of Newcastle, Australia

• Prof Henry Cheah Chee Wei, Shenzhen MSU‑BIT University, China

• Prof Bendegul Okumus, University of South Carolina, USA

• Prof Li Xi, City University of Macau, Macau

Suggested research themes

Papers may address one or more of the following (not exhaustive):

• Theoretical integrations:

  • New frameworks combining food tourism with stakeholder theory, sustainability, cultural studies, and power relations.

• Stakeholder collaboration and equity:

  • Power asymmetries and governance in the food‑tourism chain (DMOs, chefs, farmers, indigenous groups, small producers).

• Marketing strategies and brand narratives:

  • How food festivals, social‑media branding, UNESCO labels, and “authentic” storytelling affect image, authenticity, and over‑commercialisation.

• Tourist experiences and authenticity:

  • How tourists perceive and value authenticity; whether marketing creates “staged” expectations that distort local food cultures.

• Sustainability and “dark side” impacts:

  • Food waste, resource strain, carbon emissions, and labor exploitation linked to food tourism.

• Local food systems and supply chains:

  • Impacts on farmers, fishers, winemakers, and food producers; ethical sourcing, farm‑to‑fork models, and over‑demand pressures.

• Post‑pandemic adaptation:

  • Long‑term shifts in local sourcing, health‑safety protocols, virtual cooking classes, and meal‑sharing platforms.

• Methodological advances:

  • Innovative methods (big data, ethnography, participatory research, network analysis) to uncover hidden voices and complex supply‑chain dynamics.

Submission information

• Extended abstracts (500 words): 31 July 2026 (to be sent to the Guest Editors for early feedback).

• Full paper deadline: 31 December 2026 via the JDMM Editorial System:
  https://submit.elsevier.com/JDMM

• Select article type “Food Tourism - Dark Side” or relevant special‑issue code per the journal’s instructions.

• Follow the journal’s Guide for Authors for structure, ethics, and formatting:
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-destination-marketing-and-management/publish/guide-for-authors

All submissions undergo double‑blind review; the Guest Editors and the Editor‑in‑Chief make final decisions. The special issue is expected to be published in late 2027.

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