ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
Many tourist destinations have started to recognize their local food as the core element or supporting attraction of their intangible heritage. Thus, integration of the relationship between food and tourism destination has become an important issue in the current food tourism study which covers various aspects. This study aims to explore the local food characteristics in Lenggong Valley, Perak. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and supported with participant observation. A total of nine informants were involved in this study comprising of traditional local food experts, local food providers, and local authorities. Four main characteristics of Lenggong local food were identified. These include i) practicing food culture using natural ingredients, ii) Malay traditional food as main dishes iii) the use of wild edible plants in traditional cooking and iv) freshwater fish sources used as signature dishes. The findings showed that Lenggong Valley is rich with assorted natural resources and diverse food cultural backgrounds that could be highlighted as a potential attraction to develop more memorable tourism experiences. It can also assist public and private agencies to develop food tourism at a destination by incorporating local food through tourism marketing strategies, in a way of destination’s culinary culture representation.
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doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580802359293
In-Text Citation: (Raji et al., 2020)
To Cite this Article: Raji, M. N. A., Karim, S. A., Ishak, F. A. C., & Arshad, M. M. (2020). Exploring Local Food Characteristics in Developing Food Tourism Destination at Lenggong Valley, Perak. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(6), 927–936.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
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