Rahman, EllmaParis, Cody MorrisBalasubramanian, Sreejith2024-04-262024-04-26https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/49522<p>Ellma Rahman completed her MSc in International Tourism Management with Distinction at Middlesex University Dubai. She currently teaches travel and tourism subjects at a school in Dubai.</p> <p>Dr. Cody Morris Paris is the Deputy Director for Academic Planning and Research at Middlesex University Dubai and currently serves as the President of the TTRA Asia Pacific Chapter.</p> <p>Dr. Sreejith Balasubramanian is the Chair of Research and a Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University Dubai.</p>In December 2020, the UAE Government launched the ‘UAE Strategy for Domestic Tourism’ across the seven Emirates and the country's first federal tourism campaign ('World's Coolest Winter'), which invited the public "to explore the hidden gems of the seven emirates, rediscover the UAE’s landmarks, reconnect with nature and share their experiences on social media platforms” (UAE, 2023). This study employed an overt passive netnographic approach to explore the drivers of domestic gastronomy tourism through the content shared by a small group of UAE residents through Instagram. The researchers 'hung out' on Instagram with 23 participants over eight months from November 2020 to July 2021 observing and documenting their shared domestic travel experiences. With a focus on gastronomy tourism, these observations were analyzed and four themes were identified: Aesthetics, Popular and Cultural Food, Mobility, and Participation in Food-related Activities.event