Blending foodscapes and urban touristscapes: International tourism and 1 city marketing in Indian cities 2 Dr Alberto Amore, Solent University, Southampton, United Kingdom 3 Dr Hiran Roy, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Vancouver, Canada 4 5 Abstract 6 Purpose: Gateway cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are central in the tourist experience to 7 India, yet the official government authorities and destination marketing organizations tend to 8 underestimate the potential of these destinations to prospective and returning international tourists. In 9 particular, there is little empirical research on urban tourism, food tourism and city marketing in the 10 aforementioned cities. This study explores the scope for the promotion of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata 11 as food urban destinations. 12 Design/methodology/approach: For the purposes of this study, a case study methodology using 13 content analysis was developed to ascertain the nexus between food and tourism in the three observed 14 cities. Materials were gathered for the year 2019, with a focus on brochures, tourist guides, websites, 15 and social media accounts for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. A two-coding approach through NVivo 16 was designed to analyse and report the findings. 17 Findings: The findings of the study suggest that the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata fall short in 18 positioning themselves as food urban destinations. Moreover, the study reports a dissonance between 19 the imagery of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata portrayed to international tourists through induced images 20 and the food-related experiences available in the cities. This divide reflects a pattern in destination 21 marketing in India observed in previous research. 22 Research implications/limitations: The exploratory nature of this study calls for more research in the 23 trends and future directions of food tourism and urban marketing in Indian cities. Moreover, this study 24 calls for further research on the perceptions of urban food experience in Indian cities among 25 international and domestic tourists. 26 Practical implications: A series of practical implications can be drawn. First, urban and national 27 destination marketing organizations need to join efforts in developing urban marketing campaigns that 28 place food as a key element of the urban experience. Second, cities worldwide are rebranding 29