Gastronomic guides to promote food tourism
Entrepreneur and writer Paul E. González-Mangual announced the launch of a new gastronomic tourism agency called FOODIEcations, which aims to give foodies who travel to eat and live to eat knowledge about Puerto Rico’s culture through its gastronomy.
“Traveling to eat has become a way of life for new generations. So much so, that millennials are investing 44% of their annual salary in gastronomic experiences, the vast majority of them when traveling outside their country,” said Gonzalez.
Although there are several platforms to find options to eat, people usually have to invest a lot of time reading, researching and corroborating the information, since it is out of sync and does not collect the best of the destination they’re visiting.
To meet this need, FOODIEcations will also offer books or culinary guides with curated information, where the best culinary experiences of a particular city or country are grouped.
The first guides available will be Puerto Rico and the city of Orlando, Florida, with the aim of launching Medellín, Colombia and Mexico City at the end of the year,” he said.
“These books, available in paper format, have a lot of resemblance to traditional travel guides like Lonely Planet, but the great difference is that they are totally focused on the gastronomic scene of the country or the documented city,” said González, author of the FOODIEcations guides.
Inside the guides users will find information about the country’s culinary scene, the list of the best restaurants, authentic and historical places, gastronomic parks, coffee shops, bars, vegan options, pastry, food trucks and culinary events.
Each place will have basic contact information (dress code, type of kitchen, how much they will spend), a general description of the place, suggestions for ordering, a professional review and an interactive section.
“Gastronomic tourism goes much further than simply eating for lunch or travel to post on social networks. This type of tourism is one of the largest growth segments worldwide and can become a great pillar of economic development for any city or country,” said González-Mangual.
