Local Cuisine:A Tool for Destination Attraction in Uttarakhand

Tourist travelling throughout the world spends thirty to forty percent of their budget on food and beverage. Food cannot be neglected when travelling to distances away from home as it plays a major role in enhancing experiences. Travellers looking forward for new taste, new food and customs related with food directly or indirectly. Local food is a valuable resource for destination promotion and improves competitiveness among catering establishment. It plays an important role in developing brand image at regional, national and international level.

The region of Uttarakhand can be dived in two broad regions when we discuss the cuisine. The Garhwal region consist of district Chamoli, Tehri, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Dehradun, Haridwar and Rudraprayag have their own regional specialities. The Kumaun region has district as Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar, Bageshwar and Champwat. The Kumauni and Garhwali cuisine popularly known as Pahari Cuisine.

Being the holiest shrines of Hindu, for more than thousand year's pilgrims visiting as Char-Dham Yatra in hope of salvation and purification of sin. The cuisine has regional influences because of its geographical locations, invasions and foreign settlers. The food and style of cooking are seasonal due to change in weather. The organic food and slow cooking suits tremendously of high-energy necessities of mountain and cold climate.

The objectives of study are as

• To find special features of Local Cuisines of Uttarakhand.

• To analyze the association of demographic factors and popularity of Local Cuisine among tourist arrival.

• To study the level of acceptance of Local Cuisines among tourists arrival as destination attraction.