Culinary tourism product of Lipetsk region

Culinary tourism is a promising direction of the tourism industry. In 2001, the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) was created, which was the date of its official recognition. The COVID-19 pandemic has made significant changes to the situation in the international travel market. Due to the closure of the borders of many states, domestic tourism has become more in demand, and it has become an urgent task to fit into the new conditions for Russian tourist destinations, offering high-quality tourism products, taking into account epidemiological requirements. Culinary tourism at this stage is developing under difficult circumstances. But the importance of its role in the context of domestic tourism in the Russian Federation before the pandemic and in the future is obvious. The article touches upon the theoretical aspect of the topic, gives a characteristic of culinary tourism as the research subject. The main attention is focused on the regional characteristics of the culinary tourism product in the example of Lipetsk region. The author reviews one of the main types of this tourism that is culinary event and its festival format implementation in the region. A brief description of these events is given, with an emphasis on the gastronomic experience they form. The culinary tourism routes complete the gastronomy tourism picture of the region. However, their quantity and content, according to the author, do not fully reflect the rich gastronomy of the region. The regional culinary tourism product could be diversified by culinary classes, workshops and seminars, fairs and exhibitions presenting local products and cuisine, trips and tours to markets and grocery businesses. In general, Lipetsk region has all the opportunities for the development of culinary tourism, subject to the systematic and coordinated work of all market participants and a favorable epidemiological situation.