The Global Report on Food Tourism published by the UN World Travel Organization, explores the links between tourism and food. For many of the world’s billions of tourists, returning to familiar destinations to enjoy tried and tested recipes or travelling further afield in search of new and special cuisine, gastronomy has become a central part of the tourism experience.

Culinary travel and foodie tourism are becoming more popular for both personal leisure and professional development. The World Culinary Travel Expo in Canada defines culinary tourism as a subset of cultural tourism, a leasure travel niche market where food and drink related activities are the attractions.

Travel companies and independent operators do not miss this market opportunity in Indonesia. Surabaya Culinary Tour takes travellers to sample the best traditional restaurant and street food known by locals only. The tour includes visits to Surabaya traditional market, fruit market, and fish market and food factories established during the colonial era.  Casa Luna Cooking School in Bali, founded by Janet de Neefe organizes Gourmet Food Tour to witness the time-honored technique of making caramel-flavored palm sugar in a charming hillside compound followed by a visit to the coast to see the making of fresh sea salt. The Hospitality and Tourism management of Binus International organized Indonesia Culinary & Cultural Tourism Event with culinary expert William Wongso. The 3-day program covers culinary tour in Yogyakarta, cooking demo, and hand-on experiences.

The value of food tourism to local economy convinced Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to launch 30 traditional Indonesian culinary icons. These icons represent Indonesian food and beverages ranging from appetizers, main course, desserts to snacks.

It was an initial stage for a bigger plan where each tourist destination and all regions in Indonesia are expected to have their culinary icons.

This blog post combines information from several sources cited in our earlier post Complete photos of Indonesia’s culinary icons  - Part 1. The following pictures are the culinary icons in alphabetical order, from no 16 to 30:

Rice cooked with coconut milk, served with side dishes - main course

Cone shaped fragrant rice served with condiments - main course

Sauteed string beans with scrambled eggs - main course

Fish soup - main course

Beef stew - main course

Beef cooked in spices and coconut milk - main course

Sticky rice with brown sugar & coconut milk - dessert

Chicken satay - main course

Minced fish satay - main course

Veal satay - main course

Young jackfruit and coconut milk - main course

Rice pancake with palm sugar syrup - dessert

Aromatic chicken soup - main course

Tofu with eggs - main course

Vegetable salad with grated coconut - main course

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Images: Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia.