Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

Over ten years ago, Elizabeth Gilbert wrote the novel Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. After divorcing her husband, Gilbert chronicles her journey of recovery through personal stories of her travels through Italy, India, and Bali. Gilbert’s book inspired wanderlust in travelers eager to “find themselves” and launched a desire to experience global cuisine, spirituality, and romance through travel. In fact, googling “romance tourism” returned “Visit Indonesia” as the first result. These themes shaped into vital areas of tourism known as culinary tourism, spiritual tourism, and romance tourism. This paper and paper will explore the three special interest tourism niches of culinary tourism, spiritual tourism, and romance tourism. First, we will discuss the history of these specific fields of tourism. Next, we’ll discuss the initial impact of Gilbert’s book, and the subsequent 2010 release of the movie by the same name, on these fields. We’ll continue the discussion with the changes and evolution of these tourism niches through present day; and finally, look at trends and predictions for the future.