The Ecosystem of Local Gastronomy and Creative Agriculture Tourism for Sustainable Destination Value Creation: A Case Study of the Lower Northeastern Thematic Tourism Route, Thailand

Abstract

This article employs a qualitative case study approach combined with the synthesis of academic literature and policy documents. The findings reveal that tourism development in the study area lacks systematic integration among food and agricultural resources, stakeholders, tourism activities, and governance mechanisms, resulting in discontinuities within the tourism value chain. The study proposes a tourism ecosystem framework to explain systemic relationships, with case studies from Surin, Sisaket, and Ubon Ratchathani provinces demonstrating that ecosystem-based management can generate destination value across economic, social, cultural, and experiential dimensions in a holistic manner. The knowledge generated from this study contributes to expanding perspectives on tourism policy formulation, shifting the focus from activity-based development toward an integrated understanding of resource linkages, stakeholder networks, and management mechanisms within a territorial context. The findings also provide empirical insights to support the development of gastronomy and agro-tourism policies tailored to local contexts. As a policy recommendation, integrated tourism management should be promoted through collaborative mechanisms among local stakeholders, using the tourism ecosystem as a guiding framework for policy formulation and development planning aligned with local capacities and potentials.