1. AKA “Culinary Tourism” or even “Gastronomic Tourism”
Food Tourism
AKA “Culinary Tourism” or even “Gastronomic Tourism”

2. What Is it?
: the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experience
Is one of fastest growing sectors in tourism
 1 in 6 of all American tourists took a food tour or tried a cooking class while they were on vacation

3. Where Is It?
Food tourists can go anywhere, but these destinations are common:
Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, USA (especially in areas such as California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys), Brazil, Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Chile, Malaysia, Japan
The Mediterranean diet of Spain, Greece, Italy and Morocco was included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010.

6. The 3 Most Famous Places for Food Tourists to Go

7. San Sebastien, Spain Where is it: northern Spain's Basque region
Why is it so popular: It has more Michelin stars than anywhere else on Earth.
The city itself is charming and old-world, even though its restaurants are very experimental.
The greatest culinary adventure in San Sebastian is the pintxos crawl. Twice a day, hundreds of people pour into the streets, moving from bar to bar: tasting, drinking and socializing over eclectic, artistic Basque-style tapas like anchovies, foie gras, beef cheeks and blood sausage.

8. Osaka, Japan
Where is it: Japan's third largest city, it has a young and hip reputation.
Why is it popular: The city is referred to as the culinary capital of Japan, famous for it's foodie philosophy of kuidaore, literally "eat until you drop.”
Takoyaki vendors dish out steaming hot, octopus-stuffed batter balls topped with sweet ponzu, mayo and bonito flakes.
Try okonomiyaki, savory pancakes piled with a wild mix of ingredients, or deep-fried kusikatsu, Osaka's answer to tempura.
Other must-eats include yakisoba, udon and the region's famous pressed sushi.

9. Palermo, Italy Where is it: on the Italian island of Sicily
Why is it so popular: This is a city that eats dessert for breakfast -- tall cups of sweet, slushy granita -- in flavors like almond, coffee or lemon, served with a freshly baked brioche for dunking.
Sicily's cultural history is reflected in its cuisine, with Italian, Greek and North African influences.
Adventurous foodies should sample the city's classic street food: pani ca meusa, an irresistible offal sandwich made with fried beef spleen tucked into soft sesame bread.
Palermo restaurants serve up fresh-caught seafood: sliced swordfish crudo, thick tuna steaks and spaghetti con i ricci -- creamy, rich sea urchin roe.

10. Most Bizarre Foods That People Eat Around the World

11. Blood Sausage - UK A sausage made of animal blood and oatmeal.
While a delicacy in the United Kingdom, it is often also eaten all across Europe. This dish is usually served with breakfast and is prepared cold.

12. Escargot - France
A cooked land snail. Escargots are usually served as a starter in Portugal, Spain and in France, and are a typical dish in the Catalan region of Spain

13. Tuna Eyeballs - Japan
These are commonly eaten throughout China and Japan.
They are typically served fried with garlic and soya sauce and eaten with white rice and soy sauce.
Apparently it tastes a bit like squid and the eyeball comes surrounded by fish fat and severed muscles that are also meant to be quite tasty.

14. Fried Brain Sandwich - USA
This delicacy is made up of sliced calf brain, which is said to be quite tasty.
While this dish has been banned throughout most of the United States, for certain mad cow disease reasons. 
The sandwich is still available in the Ohio River Valley, where the brains are now heavily battered and served on hamburger buns.

15. Fugu - Japan
Commonly known as the puffer fish, Fugu is one of the most lethal foods on the list. Filled with the poisonous tetrodotoxin, this can kill a man if ingested improperly.
Some chefs are known to actually keep a bit of this poison in the fish to cause a light tingling sensation on the mouth and lip.
 Only specially-trained chefs, who undergo two to three years of training and have passed an official test, can prepare the fish.

16. Rocky Mountain Oysters - USA
It is a well-known novelty dish in parts of the American West and Western Canada where cattle ranching is prevalent and castration of young animals is common.
Rocky Mountain oysters are bull calf testicles used for human consumption. Sometimes pig or sheep testicles are used. They are often deep-fried after being peeled, coated in flour, pepper and salt, and sometimes pounded flat. This delicacy is most often served as an appetizer with a cocktail sauce dip.

17. A-Ping - Cambodia
A street food favorite in Cambodia, these fried tarantulas aren’t as bad as they seem. Especially when there’s food shortages and your city is infested with the creatures. Eat them by hand or on a stick, there is no hiding the fact that you’re eating burnt spiders.
 In the Cambodian town of Skuon the vending of fried spiders as a specialty snack is a popular attraction for tourists passing through this town.

18. Haggis - Scotland
This Scottish dish contains the internal organs of a sheep, including the liver, heart, and lungs. Mix this with some chopped onions, raw beef or mutton’s fat, salt, and spices. Mixed with stock and traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.
Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach.

19. Sannakji – South Korea
Sannakji is a raw dish, in Korean cuisine. It consists of live nakji (a small octopus) that has been cut into small pieces and served immediately, usually lightly seasoned with sesame and sesame oil.
The nakji pieces are usually still squirming on the plate when this dish is served and, if not chewed carefully, the tiny suction cups can stick to the mouth and throat. This is not a dish for the fainthearted.
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20. Goat’s Head – South Africa
Their heads are served on a platter, completely charred, but without eyes. These are typically served at the most upscale of restaurants.

21. Casu Marzu – Sardinia, Italy
The direct translation of casu marzu is literally “rotten cheese.” This dish is so nasty that larvae of cheese flies actually grow inside of them.
But that doesn’t mean it’s gone bad. It means it’s ripe for the eating. In Sardinia, this is truly a delicacy, as these bugs break down the fat from the milk.

22. More on Casu Marzu
Often called the world’s most dangerous cheese, is an illegal cheese found in Sardinia, Italy, made from sheep’s milk and infested with live maggots.
Because of the obvious health implications, the European Union banned the cheese, however it is still available on the black market today. 
The cheese is typically eaten when the maggots are still alive, as dead maggots are a sign that it has gone bad.

23. Century Egg - China
While these eggs aren’t actually 100 years old, up to 10 months is enough to formulate one of the worst smells known to man.
The egg literally transforms from ripe and thriving to expired and decayed. Whose idea was it to eat this in the first place? Believe it or not, this is a real delicacy in China.

24. Cuy Bien - Peru
What appears to be a little fried rodent creature is actually a guinea pig.
It is said to taste a lot like rabbit.

25. Hakarl - Iceland
Hakarl is made by gutting a Basking Shark or Greenland which is further fermented for around two to four months.
Hakarl has the smell of ammonia. It is available in Icelandic stores all around the year.
Hakarl is usually served on toothpicks in cubes.
The fermentation and the smell of Hakarl definitely make it one of the strangest and most disgusting foods ever!

26. Hakarl on “Bizarre Foods”, 14:57

27. Escamoles - Mexico
Escamoles are the eggs of the giant black Liometopum ant
Collecting the eggs is a uniquely unpleasant job, since the ants are highly venomous
The eggs have the consistency of cottage cheese. The most popular way to eat them is in a taco with guacamole
Escamoles have a surprisingly pleasant taste: buttery and slightly nutty.

28. Lutefisk - Norway
Lutefisk is a traditional Norwegian dish featuring cod that has been steeped for many days in a solution of lye, until its flesh is caustic enough to dissolve silver cutlery.
For those of you who don't know, lye is a powerful industrial chemical used for cleaning drains, killing plants, de-budding cow horns, powering batteries and manufacturing biodiesel.
Contact with lye can cause chemical burns, permanent scarring, blindness or total deliciousness, depending on whether you pour it onto a herring or your own face.
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29. Baby Mice Wine – South Korea
Baby mice wine is a traditional Chinese and Korean "health tonic," which apparently tastes like raw gasoline.
Little mice, eyes still closed, are stuffed (while still alive) into a bottle of rice wine. They are left to ferment.

30. Balut - Phillippines
Balut seems to be on every strong and bizarre foods list
One of the most popular dishes in the Philippines, where it is commonly sold as streetfood
A balut is a fertilized duck or chicken embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell. As unappealing as half-developed ducklings are, balut is high in protein and also, an aphrodisiac. It’s up to you to decide if that’s all worth it, but if it’s any consolation, the people who’ve tried balut say it tastes much better than it looks. These are common food in countries in Southeast Asia, such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. These are often served with beer.

31. Foods You Need To Try Around the World
From Goodfood.com

32. Which foods in North America?
If you had to make a list of the foods you definitely need to eat when visiting North America, what would you include?

33. North America Lobster roll in Maine Poutine in Montreal
Gumbo in New Orleans
Southern fried chicken in Tennessee
Dungeness crab in San Francisco
Hamburger in NYC
Texas BBQ in Texas
Tacos al pastor in Mexico City
Korean taco in LA
Mole Poblano in Puebla
Key Lime Pie in Florida Keys

34. Europe Pasta al ragu in Bologna Steak and kidney pie in England
Cassoulet in Toulouse
Mussels in Brussels
Souvlaki in Athens
Smorrebrod in Copenhagen
Paella in Valencia
Bouillabaisse in Marseilles
Pinchos in San Sebastian
Risotto in Verona
Swedish meatballs in Stockholm
Pizza in Naples
Sachertorte In Vienna
Macarons in Paris

35. Asia Pho in Vietnam Masala Dosa in Bangalore
Hainan Chicken in Singapore
Peking duck in Beijing
Dim Sum in Hong Kong
Sushi in Tokyo
Roast goose in Hong Kong
Pad Thai in Bangkok
Beef rendang in Jakarta
Fugu in Japan
Kimchi in Seoul
Sanaki Udon in Kagawa
Bun Cha in Hanoi

36. What others can you think of?