Celebrities enhance food tourism: a chef in the city or a city by the chef?

Resumo

During the last decades, previous studies have paid a growing attention to the relationships between celebrities and tourism because of their influence on travel behaviors. Based on the literature of celebrity-induced film tourism, chefs have emerged as a source of celebrity-induced food tourism which award value to food as art. This research note is based on a case study focused on the culinary empire of Karlos Arguiñano in Zarautz (Basque Country, Spain). Results show that celebrity chefs are powerful cultural and social agents who have developed their own brands and influence on food consumption through the case of Karlos Arguiñano and his businesses in Zarautz as a food destination. This research innovatively illustrates the potential of celebrity chefs for food tourism development.