Agency-structure: Tourists' sustainable food journey

Abstract

This study integrates visual and qualitative methodologies within a longitudinal framework to examine how agency and structure shape tourists' sustainable healthy food consumption before, during, and after holidays. Pre-holiday food practices are influenced by intergenerational knowledge, lay beliefs, and supermarket routines. Holiday food practices often disrupt or enhance these patterns through culinary curiosity, local food cultures, sensory engagement, and improved infrastructure. Post-holiday food consumption is shaped by (de)contextualization of food practices, evolving food perceptions, and lingering holiday lethargy. Theoretically, this research underscores the dynamic interplay of structural influences and multidimensional agency, addressing the often-overlooked post-holiday stage of food consumption in tourism. Practically, it highlights a feedback loop where tourists inspire tailored sustainable holiday offerings, with potential extension to everyday life.