Gastronomic Tourism: Discovering the World through Culinary Journeys

Dr. Anukrati Sharma is the Associate Professor of the Department of Commerce and Management at the University of Kota (A State Govt. University) in Kota, Rajasthan, India. She is the Director of the Skill Development Centre of the same University. She is also Dean (Honorary) of Tourism and Hospitality at Vishwakarma Skills University, Jaipur (A Govt. State University). She worked three years( 06 Jan.2021- 06 Jan.24) as the Head of the Department of Commerce and Management, University of Kota. In 2015, she received a Research Award from the University Grants Commission(UGC), New Delhi, for her project "Analysis of the Status of Tourism in Hadoti and Shekhawati Region/Circuit (Rajasthan): Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Prospects." Her doctorate from the University of Rajasthan is in Tourism Marketing, and she completed her dissertation research on Tourism in Rajasthan--Progress &Prospects. She has two postgraduate degree specialties --one in International Business (Master of International Business) and the other in Business Administration (Master of Commerce). Her special interest areas are Tourism, Tourism Marketing, Strategic Management, and International Business Management. She is appointed as the Official Partner of the BRICS (DUT) Funded Project for the years 2022-2024 i.e. (BRICS Research Institute Grant Project Ref: BRI22/1215) titled " Growth and Sustainability of Livelihoods in the BRICS Countries : Knowledge Sharing in Social Justice, Governance, Multilateralism". Dr. Sharma is a Routledge featured author. Dr. Sharma is the Book Series Editor for "Building the Future of Tourism" published by Emerald Publishing. U.K.  She is also the Book Series Editor of " Routledge Insights in Tourism Series", Routledge, U.K. She also serves as Book Series Editor for " CABI Festival and Event Tourism and Hospitality Series(FETHS) and " Perspectives and Anthropology in Tourism and Hospitality (PATH)", Apple Academic Press (CRC Press a Taylor and Francis Group).  She has edited books on Tourism--Opportunities and Ventures, on Maximizing Business Performance and Efficiency through Intelligent Systems, under IGI Global( Scopus Indexded) , Tourism Sustainable Tourism Development Futuristic Approaches under Apple Academic Press (CRC Press a Taylor and Francis Group), USA under the series Advances in Hospitality and Tourism and book titled Tourism Events in Asia Marketing and Development Routledge, USA under Advances in Events Research Series, Sustainable Destination Branding and Marketing: Strategies for Tourism Development under CABI, UK, Future of Tourism: An Asian Perspective, under Springer, Singapore, Over-tourism as Destination Risk: Impacts and Solutions Emerald Publishing U.K. ( Scopus Indexded) under the Tourism Security - Safety Series , Over-tourism, Technology Solutions and Decimated Destinations, Springer, Singapore, Event Tourism in Asian Countries: Challenges and Prospects under Apple Academic Press ( Taylor and Francis Group), USA ( Scopus Indexded) and The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality under Emerald Publishing U.K. She also authored a book entitled "Event Management and Marketing Theory, Practical Approaches and Planning." Another book she wrote is entitled "International Best Practice in Event Management" and it was published by United Kingdom Event Industry Academy Ltd and Prasetiya Mulya Publishing, Indonesia. Her current projects include editing a book on "COVID-19 and Tourism Sustainability: Ethics, Responsibilities, Challenges and New Directions" for Routledge, USA, "Festivals and Event Tourism: Building Resilience and Promoting Sustainability" for CABI, UK , The Emerald Handbook of Destination Recovery in Tourism and Hospitality, Emerald Publishing, UK, COVID-19 and the Tourism Industry: Sustainability, Resilience & New Directions Routledge, UK ( Scopus Indexded),Event Tourism & Sustainable Community Development: Advances, Effects and Implications, Apple Academic Press, USA, Crisis, Resilience and Recovery in Tourism and Hospitality Springer Nature, Singapore , Strategic Tourism Planning for Communities: Restructuring and Rebranding, Emerald Publishing, Dynamics of Tourism Industry Post-Pandemic and Disasters, Apple Academic Press, USA and Resilient and Sustainable Destinations after Disaster: Challenges and Strategies, Emerald Publishing, UK. She is also working on a Major Research Project under Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India. A member of 7 professional bodies, she has attended a number of national and international conferences and presented 45 papers. She has been invited as Keynote , Speaker , Panel member by different countries such as Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey. She has been invited as Visiting Professor at Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Dr. Jeetesh Kumar is Head of Research Senior at the Faculty of Social Sciences & Leisure Management, Senior Lecturer at the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, Associate Director for Information Management & Documentation at the Centre for Research, and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), and also Hub Leader - of "Responsible Tourism for Inclusive Economic Growth" hub under Sustainable Tourism Impact Lab at Taylor's University, Malaysia. His doctorate is from Taylor's University in Hospitality and Tourism, with research on the Economic Value of the Business Events Industry in Malaysia. Jeetesh has two postgraduate degree specialities: a Professional Master's in Hospitality Management and International Tourism from the University of Toulouse, France and another in Business Administration (MBA - Marketing) from Hamdard University, Pakistan. His research areas include Economic Impacts, Economic Modelling, MICE, Medical Tourism, and Behavioural Studies. He has worked on consultancy and research projects at the national/ international level and authored 60 publications, including research articles and book chapters. 12 Postgraduate students (Masters and PhDs) have graduated under his supervision, and currently, he is supervising 11 PhD scholars. He is also active in several national and international associations, conferences, and journals. He is also an associate editor for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism (APJIHT) and regional editor of Event Management Journal, Co-editor for two books under CABI and Emerald, and currently editing five books under CABI, Emerald, Springer and Taylor & Francis. Recently, he has offered webinars/ guest speeches for universities in the Philippines, India, Japan, Indonesia, China, Australia, and Pakistan.

Samik Ray National Award Winner Guide (RLG -East & IITG), Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India and received Certificate of Excellence for Overseas Adventure Travel, South ASIA (Overseas Adventure Travel, USA) in 2015. Registered trainer of skillIndia, trainer of Guide Training courses and Tourism skill development training programs of Govt. of India (Tourism Ministry) and Govt. of West Bengal, taught tourism and folklore at universities. Ray is visiting faculty in the department of Tourism Management (Ramkrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Howrah & Swami Vivekanada Institute of Modern Science, Kolkata), and Member of Board of Studies in the department of Tourism and Hospitality; Neotia University and delivered lecture at seminars; webinars; Tourism Skill Development workshops, chaired sessions at national and international seminars and webinars on Tourism, and edited the journal 'Tourism: Theory and Practice' and published articles and chapters in academic journals and internationally acclaimed edited tourism volumes.