Logo_Service & Tourism: Current Challenges_eng

Marketing Hospitality and Tourism Services

Vol. 20 No. 2 (2026)

OMSK STREET FOOD BETWEEN ROUTINE AND BRAND: THE CITY LATENT GASTRONOMIC IDENTITY

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22412/2414-9063-2026-20-2-63-73
Submitted
May 29, 2026
Published
May 13, 2026

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of street food in shaping Omsk urban identity and its potential for enhancing the city tourist appeal. The aim of the study is to comprehensively examine local residents’ perceptions of Omsk street food through the lens of its connection to regional traditions, identify contradictions in consumer behavior, and develop recommendations for transforming it into a tourist resource. Based on a large-­scale online survey of Omsk residents (n=398), a comprehensive analysis of street food perceptions is conducted through the lens of its connection to local culture and history. The results demonstrate a significant contradiction between the high popularity and stable patterns of street food consumption among city residents and the weak association of street food with local culinary traditions. It has been established that consumer choice is determined primarily by taste, price, and convenience of location, rather than cultural significance. The authors introduce the concept of “latent gastronomic identity,” which explains the rootedness of street food in everyday practices in the absence of symbolic articulation. A four-stage model for transforming a gastronomic destination into a tourism brand element for Omsk is proposed. The conclusion substantiates the need for systematic efforts to integrate local identity into street food practices, promote regional gastronomic traditions, and develop event marketing. This will help overcome the “gastronomic amnesia” of the post-­Soviet space and transform street food into a significant tourist attraction for Omsk, fostering economic and cultural development.

References

  1. Список источников
  2. Соркин А. В. Макдональдизация как тенденция трансформации практик питания в современном обществе / А. В. Соркин // Вестник Челябинского государственного университета. – ​2021. – ​№ 11(457). Философские науки. Вып. 62. С. 78–83. DOI: 10.47475/1994-2796-2021-11111.
  3. Сохань И. В. Тоталитарный дискурс культуры еды в Советской России 1920–1930‑х гг. / И. В. Сохань // Вестник Томского государственного университета. Философия. Социология. Политология. – ​2010. – ​№ 4(12). – ​С. 63–69.
  4. Barzallo-­Neira C., Pulido-­Fernández J. I. The Demand for Gastronomic Tourism-­Characterization and Tourists’ Profiles // Sustainability. 2025. Vol. 17, № 16. Article 7206. DOI: 10.3390/su17167206
  5. Bell D., Valentine G. Consuming Geographies: We Are Where We Eat. London: Routledge, 1997. 224 p.
  6. Berg P. O., Sevоn G. Food-branding places – ​A sensory perspective // Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. 2014. Vol. 10, No. 4. P. 289–304. DOI: 10.1057/pb.2014.29
  7. Byrkjeflot H., Strandgaard Pedersen J., Svejenova S. From Label to Practice: The Process of Creating New Nordic Cuisine // Journal of Culinary Science & Technology. 2013. Vol. 11. № 1. P. 36–55.
  8. Cankül D., Cıtak B. The mediating role of nostalgia in the impact of street foods attributes on toward destination attitudes and behavioral intentions // Journal of Foodservice Business Research. 2025. July. DOI: 10.1080/15378020.2025.2536905
  9. Henderson J. C. Food tourism reviewed // British Food Journal. 2009. Vol. 111. № 4. P. 317–326.;
  10. Koufodontis N. I., Gaki E. Decoupling authenticity from place: culinary tourism and the globalization of ethnic dining // British Food Journal. 2025. P. 1–19. DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-06-2025-0759
  11. MacCannell D. The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. 231 p.
  12. Muñiz-­Martinez N., Florek M. Food-based place branding as holistic place ecosystems: the case of Basque Gastronomic Ecosystem // Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. 2023. Vol. 19. P. 155–166. DOI: 10.1057/s41254-021-00222-6
  13. Okumus B., Okumus F., McKercher B. Incorporating local and international cuisines in the marketing of tourism destinations: The cases of Hong Kong and Turkey // Tourism Management. 2007. Vol. 28. № 1. P. 253–261.
  14. Yan, Q., Shen, H., Xin, W., Ye, H. Examining the ritualized experiences of intangible cultural heritage tourism. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 2024. 31. 100843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100843
  15. References
  16. Sorkin, A. V. (2021). Makdonal’dizatsiya kak tendentsiya transformatsii praktik pitaniya v sovremennom obshchestve [McDonaldization as the tendency of eating practices’ in modern society transformation]. Vestnik Chelyabinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of Chelyabinsk State University], 11, 78–83. DOI: 10.47475/1994-2796-2021-11111. (In Russ.).
  17. Sokhan’, I. V. (2010). Totalitarnyy diskurs kul’tury yedy v Sovetskoy Rossii 1920–1930‑kh gg. [Totalitarian discourse of food culture in Soviet Russia in the 1920s‑1930s]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Tomsk State University Journal], 4, 63–69. (In Russ.).
  18. Barzallo-­Neira, C., & Pulido-­Fernández, J. I. (2025). The Demand for Gastronomic Tourism-­Characterization and Tourists’ Profiles. Sustainability, 17(16), 7206. DOI: 10.3390/su17167206.
  19. Bell, D., & Valentine, G. (1997). Consuming Geographies: We Are Where We Eat. London & New York: Routledge.
  20. Berg, P. O., & Sevоn, G. (2014). Food-branding places – ​A sensory perspective. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 10(4), 289–304. DOI: 10.1057/pb.2014.29.
  21. Byrkjeflot, H., Strandgaard Pedersen, J., & Svejenova, S. (2013). From Label to Practice: The Process of Creating New Nordic Cuisine. Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 11(1), 36–55.
  22. Cankül, D., & Cıtak, B. (2025). The mediating role of nostalgia in the impact of street foods attributes on toward destination attitudes and behavioral intentions. Journal of Foodservice Business Research. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1080/15378020.2025.2536905. URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2025.2536905. (Accessed on April 24, 2026).
  23. Henderson, J. C. (2009). Food tourism reviewed. British Food Journal, 111 (4), 317–326.
  24. Koufodontis, N. I., & Gaki, E. (2025). Decoupling authenticity from place: culinary tourism and the globalization of ethnic dining. British Food Journal, 1–19. DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-06-2025-0759.
  25. MacCannell, D. (1999). The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. Berkley, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press.
  26. Muñiz-­Martinez, N., & Florek, M. (2023). Food-based place branding as holistic place ecosystems: the case of Basque Gastronomic Ecosystem. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 19, 155–166. DOI: 10.1057/s41254-021-00222-6.
  27. Okumus, B., Okumus, F., & McKercher, B. (2007). Incorporating local and international cuisines in the marketing of tourism destinations: The cases of Hong Kong and Turkey. Tourism Management, 28(1), 253–261.
  28. Yan, Q., Shen, H., Xin, W., & Ye, H. (2024). Examining the ritualized experiences of intangible cultural heritage tourism. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 31, 100843. DOI: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100843.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.