Gastronomic Tourists Experiences in Hanjeli Tourism Village: From Farm to Table Activities

Gastronomy plays a vital role in cultural exploration for tourists, enabling them to experience the heritage of their travel destinations. The pleasure derived from culinary experiences influences travel choices and shapes the overall travel experience. Implementing sustainable practices in nature-based destinations, as events or occurrences within these locations can leave lasting memories and promote environmental consciousness and natural resource conservation. This research aims to investigate the gastronomic experiences of local tourists visiting Hanjeli village, a rural tourism destination in Sukabumi, West Java Province, Indonesia. The study utilizes a qualitative methodology, specifically semi-structured interviews, involving tourists, the manager of Hanjeli tourist village, a travel agent, a tour operator, and the local community. In-depth interviews are chosen as the preferred method to gain new insights into the farm-to-table activities that travelers engage in at the research site. The findings of this study are that gastronomic experience is obtained when tourists (1) engage in Hanjeli or adlay (Coix Lacryma-jobi L.) planting activities in the fields; (2) participate in grinding and separating adlay with local farmers; (3) cooking adlay porridge and make several snacks; (4) eating with locals; (5) make some handicrafts from adlay kernels. The results show that the gastronomic tourist experience has a beneficial impact on the destination and improves the well-being of the rural community.