MSC INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

Traditional food within the tourism destination marketing

Vasilena Barbayaneva

P58905 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Dr Alexandros Paraskevas

13. 02. 2012

Abstract

Title: Traditional food within the tourism destination marketing

Purpose: To examine if the traditional food can be successfully used for the

purposes of destination marketing and what are the limitations of its applicability.

Design/methodology/approach: A broad variety of scholar publications are

critically discussed, most of them recently published (2000 – 2012), but also

including some of the fundamental concepts, dating back in the 70s and 80s.

Predominantly used are scientific journal articles from the electronic databases

EBSCOhost electronic journals service, Academic search complete and Emerald

fulltext and to lesser extent books. The sources are organised into sections:

destination marketing, food within the tourism experience, typologies of tourists,

current issues in the tourist consumer behaviour and development of destinations in

connection with traditional food

Findings: The traditional food can be successfully implemented in the destination

marketing. However, in order to determine the correct scope of the implementation, it

is important to consider the target tourists’ attitudes towards unfamiliarity as well as

the trends in tourist consumer behaviour and the destination’s current state and

future development in connection with traditional cuisine.

Limitations: Very few are the works, which comment the variety of tourists’ attitudes

towards traditional food within the tourism experience. No primary research was

conducted in order to support the findings of the article.

Practical implications: In order successfully to use the traditional food in the

destination marketing, the potential customers’ attitudes towards novelty should be

researched and taken into consideration. Important is also the actual connection

between traditional food and the destination. Both people’s attitudes and links

between local cuisine and destination can be influenced by marketers.

Originality/Value: It is the first article that makes recommendations about the scope

of the implementation of traditional food within the destination marketing regarding

typologies of tourists, contemporary tendencies in the tourist consumer behaviour

and destinations development in terms of gastronomy

1

Introduction

Marketing plays a significant role for the success of a destination (Prideaux and

Cooper, 2002). Destination marketing in the traditional sense is the promotion of the

destination to its target segment, or identifying and addressing the consumers who

would be attracted by the destination’s products (Collier, 1999, Kotler and Gertner,

2002). Lately destination marketing is also seen as a strategic development

mechanism for reaching balance between all stakeholders’ interests and

sustainability of the local resources (Kotler et al. 1993, Buhalis, 2000).

Destination marketing is an important concept nowadays, when people could choose

from steadily increasing number of destinations (Pike, 2005, Morgan et al., 2002).

Destinations are vigorously competing for tourists and in order to distinguish

themselves they have to emphasise on their unique products (Buhalis, 2000,

Okumus et al. 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). Moreover, contemporary tourists are very

often well experienced in travelling, educated and can get easily informed (King,

2002, Mohsin, 2004, Hassan, 2008), so in order to attract potential visitors it is

important that destinations address them in the most effective way.

Owing to its major importance for the destination’s success, the topic destination

marketing has been widely researched by the scholars. The main challenge for

marketers is that the destination has a very comprehensive essence, consisting of all

the products and services offered at the place (Buhalis, 2000, Pike, 2005, Murphy et

al., 2000). The entity of the destination suggests that there are many stakeholders

and as a result destinations are very difficult to be managed and promoted (Pike,

2005 Buhalis, 2000, Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Gretzel et al., 2006). This requires

the existence of destination marketing organisations, whose main role and purpose

is to provide a unified strategy and facilitate a coherent development of the

destination (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Blumberg, 2005). There are many works,

which study the roles, responsibilities and best strategies for destination marketing

organisations (Gretzel et al., 2006, Pike, 2005, Blumberg, 2005, King, 2005).

Many researches have been conducted about the means, used by the destinations

for the purpose of marketing. It is agreed that the destination image has a significant

power to attract tourists (Pike, 2005 Buhalis, 2000, Prideaux and Cooper, 2002,

Gretzel et al., 2006, Morgan et al, 2002). However, commonly used in the marketing

are many other destination’s dimensions – the natural resources (Waitt et al., 2003,

Middleton and Hawkins,1998), the culture (Boyd, 2002, Richards, 2007), the facilities

2

and infrastructure (King, 2005), the attractions (Morse, 2001, Chalip et al. 2003,

Richards, 2007, Law and Au, 2000, Jansen-Verbeke, 1991, Turner and Reisinger,

2001) and many more. The challenges and opportunities in their marketing

implementation are widely researched.

Nevertheless, while some marketing means are extremely popular in both academia

and industry, others remain insufficiently researched and their practical implications

are underestimated. One example is the traditional food of the destination. Few

authors have researched the food in terms of its marketing and promotional abilities

for a destination and the amount of studies does not match the practical potential of

the relationship traditional food-destination marketing.

The academic works are mostly descriptive and do not see the cuisine from the

perspective of marketing instrument. They discuss the nature of the food experience:

as biological necessity (Ritchards 2002, Frochot, 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004) as

culture and authenticity carrier (Okumus, B., Okumus, F. McKercher, B., 2007, Mak

et al., 2011), as pure delight (Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003, Frochot, 2003). Also the

level of significance of food within the tourism experience is researched – when

offering the home comfort it is supportive experience, when presenting novelty and

memorable moments it is a peak experience (Quan and Wang, 2004). Recently there

is a growing interest in the literature about food tourism, or food as a major

motivation to visit a particular destinations (Mak et al, 2011, Long, 2004, Boniface,

2003, Hall and Sharples, 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004), some of the works discuss

the role of food tourism within the destination marketing (Boniface, 2003, Long,

2004, Hall et al. 2003). Only few are the publications, where the authors explicitly

connect the traditional food experience (in its general sense, not specifically food

tourism) and destination marketing (Rand and Heath, 2006, Rand et al 2003.,

Richards, 2002, Okumus et al, 2007, Hassan, 2008), but they do not make practical

recommendations about the extent to which destination marketing can employ the

traditional food.

The aim of this article is to examine if the traditional cuisine can be effectively used

for the purposes of destination marketing and what is the scope of its applicability.

After analysing the two bodies of literature, destination marketing and food within the

tourism experience, it is concluded that they interrelate, but the extent to which the

traditional food can be successfully implemented in the destination marketing

depends on the attitudes of the target tourists towards unfamiliarity and the

destination development in terms of gastronomy.

3

Literature review

Destination marketing

There are two main concepts about the essence of the tourist destination (Blumberg,

2005). The older one takes into consideration just its physical characteristics as a

place, where the journey occurs (Blumberg, 2005), or as a fixed geographical region

– country, island, city. The newer scholar perception of a destination is that it is a

mixture of specifically touristic products and services (accommodation, food and

beverages, means of transport, entertainment) as well as public goods (nature,

architecture, atmosphere) (Buhalis, 2000, Pike, 2005). Because it embodies

everything that can be consumed or experienced while on holiday, the tourism

destination define the total tourism experience (Murphy et al., 2000).

Definition given by Bornhorst et al. (2010, p. 572) is that a tourism destination is ‘a

public geographical region, political jurisdiction, or major attraction, which seeks to

provide visitors with a range of satisfying to memorable visitation experiences’. And

because geographical and political boundaries very often overlap, the authors

propose that a destination is considered mainly as a geographical region. As a

destination they also identify big cities and major attractions (Disney World,

Versailles Palace) which offer a variety of visitation experiences and could compete

in attractiveness with many larger geographical entities. So the leading conception

when determine a place as a destination, is the experiences and products it offers

and not its specific physical characteristics. Ritchie and Crouch (2003) have a similar

perception about the destination as a place, offering tourism experiences.

Tourists ‘consume destinations’ without realising that they consist of many different

products and services, which have different producers and managers (Buhalis,

2000). The destination is the experience itself or it could be considered as a macro-

product (Travis,1989; Vukonic, 1997, cited in Blumberg, 2005). Therefore it should

be regarded as a marketing unit (Blumberg, 2005) and as a central figure in the

tourism competition (Ritchie & Crouch, 2000).

In order to succeed destinations have to possess competitiveness. Because the

destination competitiveness is a very important part of the industry, it is of growing

interest for policy makers and people in the business (Ritchie & Crouch, 2000). The

concept of destination competitiveness was primary researched from the perspective

of destination image and attractiveness (Enright and Newton, 2004). In earlier

studies image and attractiveness are considered to be determined by the

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destination’s attributes such as climate and scenery (Chon, et al., 1991; Hu and

Ritchie, 1993). Buhalis (2000) adds the importance of the uniqueness of the

products and services offered as well as the meaning of the suppliers. Dwyer and

Kim (2003) make a distinction between destinations’ competitive advantages

(infrastructure, management, staff) and comparative advantages (nature, climate,

culture), which have to interrelate so that the destination is competitive.

On the one hand destinations worldwide are becoming more rival and therefore need

to distinguish themselves from the others by emphasising on their unique products

(Buhalis, 2000, Okumus et al., 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). On the other hand

tourists nowadays are more experienced and independent, become better educated

about the destinations and search information by themselves (King, 2002, Mohsin,

2004, Hassan, 2008). As a result marketing is an important issue when trying to

manage a successful destination (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002), in order to

communicate with the actual and potential customers in the most effective way.

The core aim of tourism destination marketing is to attract visitors by introducing

relevant information (Buhalis, 1998, Werthner and Klein, 1999, Mohsin, 2004).

Effective marketing leads to destination’s growth (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). In

order to address the correct target markets, the marketers in the industry have to

take into consideration the motives and requirements of the actively demanding as

well as of potential visitors (Buhalis, 2000), to research their characteristics and to

position the products using appropriate campaigns (Mohsin, 2004).

Destination marketing is examined from two perspectives. Collier (1999) refers to the

definition narrowly, considering it as targeted promotion of the destination. He also

claims that the destination should find and attract the market segment, which is

determined by the destination’s core product, instead of trying to invent new products

which satisfy a particular target market. The statement is supported by Kotler and

Gertner (2002), who argue that different places attract different people and

destinations should be very specific when deciding what they want to promote and to

whom.

However, there is another way of understanding about the essence of destination

marketing. According to Kotler et al. (1993, p. 16, cited in Blumberg, 2005),

destination marketing is ‘market-orientated strategic planning’, which is successful

only when all stakeholders in the process (citizens, businesses and tourists) are

satisfied. Buhalis (2000) also refers to destination marketing as a well-considered

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strategy which aims not only to attract more visitors, but also to improve the

destinations’ sustainable development, decrease seasonality and avoid stagnation. It

must lead to the optimisation of tourism impacts by balance between strategic

objectives of all stakeholders as well the sustainability of local resources. As a result

destination marketing is a mechanism for coordination between the region

development goals and tourism policies. Ritchie and Crouch (2000) claim that

destination marketing’s main objective is long term effect on regional sustainable

development.

Middleton (1994) makes a distinction between two possible strategies in destination

marketing. The one is to concentrate on the promotion and mainly on advertisement,

so that an awareness and interest among the target market is created. The second

possibility is that destination marketing organisation and individual tourism operators

work together for achieving shared goals. Prideaux and Cooper (2002) add another

element to the role of destination marketing, namely marketing to the supply side.

They pay attention to the importance of attracting more sellers, which could be

achieved by improvement of the destination’s public goods and services, for example

the infrastructure.

To summarise, although scholars give different definitions of tourism destination

marketing, it is clearly described as a strategic concept and its initial aim is to attract

visitors. Then some authors add, that achieving sustainable development in the

destination should be the long term effect of its marketing.

Destinations are very difficult to manage and market because they are

‘multidimensional’ (Pike, 2005) , they have complex character and the wide range of

stakeholders – government, authorities, businesses, environment, public (Buhalis,

2000, Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Gretzel et al., 2006). The businesses or the

suppliers in the tourism industry are very often small firms, which do not cooperate

and coordinate, but severely compete against each other. Moreover, this competition

take place in a heterogeneous market, which consists of both domestic and

international components, so there is a wide range of target groups (Prideaux and

Cooper, 2002, Pike, 2005 ), which makes the destination strategic planning more

complicated.

Lately the governments realise the importance of destination marketing for the

tourism development and start funding tourism marketing structures, called tourism

marketing organisations (DMO) (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). They could vary in

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terms of public or private equity, but have the same character of institutions that

govern a marketing strategy of the destination as a unit (Prideaux and Cooper,

2002). DMOs determine and follow strategic objectives which are common and

beneficial for all stakeholders within the destination (Blumberg, 2005). In addition

they are non-profit entities with the objective to enhance the unique image of the

destination (Gretzel et al., 2006).

In order to operate effectively DMOs have to be supported in terms of strategic

planning by local and national authorities as well as the private sector (Prideaux and

Cooper, 2002). In addition, the interests and demand of the local communities

should always be taken into consideration in order to achieve not only temporary

growth but also a sustainable development of the destination (Prideaux and Cooper,

2002, Pike, 2005 ). As the local residents support the destination by providing it with

products and services, the DMOs have to ensure a high return on the community

(King, 2002).

There is a huge variety of tools used for destination marketing. The visitors’ choice of

the destination depends on many criteria, which marketers have to research, in order

most successfully to position the destination among the proper target market and to

promote it. One of the main, or according to Buhalis (2000) the most influential factor

on the choice of destination is its image, and therefore one of the most effective

elements of destination marketing is branding (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Morgan

et al., 2002). Nowadays consumers are ‘spoilt’ by the significant number of

destinations available (Pike, 2005) and each destination claims to offer all the same

resources, such as luxury resorts, unique heritage, professional staff and friendly

local people (Morgan et al, 2002). It is the brand name that actually makes the

difference and incite the customer to prefer one destination to another. Gilmore

(2002) claims that the thoughtfully created brand image is a destination’s competitive

advantage. When the brand is linked to the genuine values of the destination, it

allows added value to its products (Martinovic, 2002). Even if not intentionally

created, images of the countries help people evaluate their products and services

(Kotler and Gertner, 2002). Therefore today, as never before, it is important that

destinations create and keep easy recognisable image and successful brand.

When branding a destination all its elements – facilities and services, nature, socio-

cultural resources etc. are branded together and associated with the destination

(Buhallis, 2000). While the brand is a conception that gives consumers a general

perception of a destination, each of its elements could be promoted more

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specifically. According to Buhalis (2000) of significant importance for the destination

marketing is to determine its core as well as supportive products and to promote

them to its target markets. Many different resources that the destination possess can

be used for the purpose of attracting visitors – for instance the natural resources, the

culture, the facilities and infrastructure, the attractions.

The natural beauties and landscapes are maybe the resources firstly used for

promoting a destination (Waitt et al, 2003). In order to preserve them, nowadays

growing attention is directed to the sustainability and nature preservation, and many

destinations use these concepts for promotion in order to distinct themselves from

the others (Middleton and Howkins, 1998). Frequently used conception in the

destination marketing is the cultural heritage of the destination, as the cultural

tourism becomes increasingly popular (Boyd, 2002, Richards, 2007). As the holiday

is relaxation and escape from the everyday life, many destinations rely on their

luxury facilities in order to attract visitors – hotels, resorts, infrastructure,

transportation (King, 2002). Major tourism attractions are also important for drawing

guests. They vary in large range – from shopping to international events. The

Shopping is an activity that for long time has been recognised and used as a

marketing tool for destinations (Jansen-Verbeke, 1991). It is a major expense while

on holiday, has a significant economic impact on the local retail (Turner & Reisinger,

2001) and is regarded as one of the major attractions in many destination (Law & Au,

2000). Popularising a destination via mega sport events held in it (such as Olympic

games) contributes not only to its current tourist attendance, but also generate

future interest in it (Chalip, Green, & Hill, 2003, Morse, 2001).

This is only a small part of the destination’s resources, typically used for its

promotion. However, some destination products remain underestimated and barely

unexploited in terms of their marketing potential. One of them is the traditional food

or cuisine.

Cohen and Avieli (2004) claim that in the academia, as well as in the industry, the

tourists are traditionally viewed as sightseers and therefore as tourist products and

experiences are considered predominantly the objects of the visual senses.

Consequently, food consumption, which is not associated with the gaze, is not

explicitly researched in terms of the marketing opportunities that it could possess.

Hall and Sharples (2003) give another argument why food is neglected in the

marketing tourism studies and as a result in the marketing practice. The authors

state that it is such a fundamental part of the everyday life, thus it is often not

8

perceived as a tourism experience. Additional reason is that food is a consistent part

of each trip and tourists do not consider it is as a separate tourism activity, so some

scholars and practitioners regard that there is no need to develop a special concept

of food in terms of its tourism marketing abilities (Frochot, 2003).

However, recently there is a growing interest in topic food within the tourism

experience in general and more specifically its implications to the destination

marketing (Hall and Sharples, 2003, Long, 2004, Bonface, 2003).

Food consumption within the tourism experience

Food consumption is a significant part of the tourism experience. Not only is it a

major expense while on holiday, accounting for one fourth to one third of the total

expenditures (Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Mak et al, 2011, Quan and Wang,

2004), but food is also one of the main products or experiences, that a destination

offers (Hall and Sharples, 2003, Frochot, 2003, Robinson and Clifford, 2011 ). When

being on holiday at most places people can choose from eating

international/standardised or traditional food.

This work addresses the traditional food in its broader sense – under food here is

assumed foodstuffs as well as cuisine or gastronomy (used as synonyms), which is a

set of ingredients, manner of cooking and etiquette of eating (Goody, 1982, cited in

Bradatan, 2003). The traditional food is connected with the concept of destination, as

it cannot be determined by national borders – it can vary within the country and

spread over more than one region (Mintz, 1996, cited in Bradatan, 2003). In this

article the terms traditional food or local cuisine are used, referring to the food

heritage of a destination, which could be any kind of territorial entity, as long as it is

characterised by a common and authentic gastronomy.

Long (2004) refers to traditional food consumption within the tourism experience as

tasting the ‘otherness’. The otherness results from dissimilar culture, region, religion,

time and socioeconomic class, which all have influence on the character of the

cuisine (Long, 2004).

The gastronomy is part of the identity of any society, ‘we are what we eat’ (Richards,

2002, p. 2). The traditional cuisine is a fragment of the destination’s authentic culture

and intangible heritage (Okumus, et al., 2007). Consequently traditional food

consumption is an educational act giving knowledge about the local culture (Mak et

9

al., 2011). Moreover, it is an experience that inspires the individual actively to

engage in the destination’s essence and to draw personal conclusions about it.

(Long, 2004). In addition, the traditional cuisine is a very stable social institution,

(Bradatan, 2003) which does not change even among emigrant groups (Okumus, et

al., 2007). Thus it is a significant carrier of the culture authenticity.

Another dimension of the food consumption is that it brings pure physical pleasure

and feeling of relaxation (Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003). Frochot (2003) refers to food

as one of the most pleasurable activities that holidaymakers will undertake during

their vacation. Food consumption is also associated with celebration and rituals

(Boniface, 2003). It is a unique act, which involves all the senses (Kivela and

Crottes, 2006, Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Urry, 2002). So food is a

multidimensional medium to discover and feel the destination (Boniface, 2003).

Food within the tourism experience could be perceived from two perspectives. On

the one hand food provides body with the needed nutrients and energy - it can be

seen as an ‘obligatory activity’ (Ritchards 2002), ‘basic necessity’ (Frochot 2003,

Cohen and Avieli, 2004) and ‘crucial precondition for other touristic activities’

(Cohen and Avieli, 2004). On the other hand the meaning of food within the tourism

experience vary (Mak et al, 2011, Quan and Wang, 2004). Quan and Wang (2004)

propose a theoretical framework, classifying the tourist food experience. When

tourists are seeking the routine and the comfort of the home environment, the food

consumption is a supportive experience – its role is just to answer the biological

needs or to offer the home comfort. When there is a search for novelty and contrast

to the daily life, food consumption could be the peak experience - memorable and

intensifying the quality of the whole holiday. A satisfactory supportive experience

cannot compensate for disappointing peak experience, but if the supportive one is

frustrating the total impression of the holiday will be also unpleasant (Quan and

Wang, 2004). So after all food has a significant influence on the total holiday, even if

it is not perceived as a considerable part of it .

In addition, the meaning of the food can be so significant as to represent the whole

aim of the holiday or the major motivation to visit the destination (Mak et al, 2011,

Quan and Wang, 2004). Long (2004) even calls the food a destination. Boniface

(2003), Long (2004), Hall and Sharples (2003) note that people are travelling with

the purpose of trying new cuisines, which is called food/gastronomy/culinary tourism

(with minor differences between the terms).

10

Whether food is a peak or supportive experience in one’s journey and whether a

tourist would prefer local cuisine or well-known international food, depends on many

criteria such as the purpose of the trip, the attributes of the destination, the traveller’s

characteristics and the external environment (Buhalis, 2000). As trying traditional

food in most of the cases means ‘tasting the otherness’ (Long, 2004) very

determining factor for the tourist’s choice to do it is one’s personal attitudes towards

the new.

The approach to the novelty is a basis of some classifications of tourists. Cohen

(1974) claims that tourists seek new experiences, but at the same time need to feel

the comfort of home or the ‘environmental bubble’ in order truly to enjoy the

destination. Everybody requires different amount of home environment while on

holiday and this determines the person’s involvement in new experiences. Cohen

(1972) has a classification based on the proportion between novelty and familiarity,

which the tourist search while on holiday. He distinguishes between: drifter – novelty

is at its maximum , explorer – novelty dominates, individual mass tourist – familiarity

dominates and organised mass tourist – familiarity is at its maximum. Plog (2002)

classifies ‘dependables’ and ‘venturers’, following his older classification of

‘psychocentrics’ and ‘allocentrics’, or tourists who prefer the comfort of the familiarity

respectively those who are happy to explore the unknown.

There are also classifications, based on people’s attitudes towards unfamiliar food.

Fischer (1988) makes specific sorting, considering the attitude to new and strange

tastes. He speaks about neophobic and neophylic preferences in food, or people

afraid of the new respectively people who search for an unique food experience.

Cohen and Avieli (2004) point out that of significant importance is the cultural

background and the social class of the individuals for forming a special approach

towards different food – for example Westerners are more experimental in

comparison with Asians. Finkelstein (1989) (cited in Au and Law, 2002) offers 3

types of dining behaviour: experiential – never try new things second time,

experimental – try out in order to choose the favourite, existential – devoted to try out

different things.

Consumer behaviour towards gastronomy products while on vacation is unknown

and barely researched (Boyne et al, 200, Mitchell and Hall 2003). Mitchel and Hall

(2003) make a typology of tourist behaviour related to the interest and involvement in

food while on holiday. Their classification segments the tourists into four types,

namely gastronomes, indigenous foodies, tourist foodies, familiar foods. The

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gastronomes would try every kind of food, visit food markets of local producers and

could even undertake cooking schools while on holiday. Indigenous foodies would

usually eat in local ethnic restaurants. Tourist foodies visit mainstream restaurants at

the destination. Familiar foodies normally do not eat out and when on holiday will

only visit well known fast food chains.

Boyne et al (2003) highlight an omission in the literature that there are no empirical

researches about the role of food in tourists’ decision making process and choice of

destination. In order to fill this gap they make a special adapted classification of

consumers according to the importance of gastronomy in the decision making

process. The first type are people who consider the cuisine as a significant part of

their tourism experience and try to inform themselves about the local food heritage

prior to their vacation. Gastronomy is important also for the second kind of tourists,

but they would not actively search for information about it. The third ones are people

who do not assign significance to the cuisine, but their interest could grow as a

consequence of an enjoyable food experience. The fourth type of tourists do not

have any interest in traditional food the destination offers and their attitude cannot be

influenced.

Most of the classifications take into consideration that there are not just the extreme

cases of people who assign importance on food and people not interested in food at

all, but suppose that there are persons, whose interest in food could be influenced.

The same is valid for the classifications of person’s attitudes towards novelty.

Discussion

The literature review of this article makes an outline of the destination marketing and

its importance for the success of a destination in the modern tourism market, which

is overloaded by supply. The destinations have to promote their unique products in

order to be easily recognisable and appealing (Buhalis, 2000, Okumus et al. 2007,

Dioko and So, 2012). It can be argued, that the traditional food can successfully be

included in the destination marketing, owing to its essence as an unique and

competitive product.

Porter (1990, p. 19) states that the competitive advantage is created in ‘localised

process’, proposing that differences in culture, history, values, economy can bring

success in terms of competition. All these features have a reflection on the local

cuisine. The traditional food is a distinctive product, contributor to the destination

12

authenticity (Okumus, et al., 2011). It can position the destination against its

competitors (Frochot, 2003). Many authors consider food as pool factor for a

destination (Hjalager and Richards, 2002, Boniface, 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004,

Hall and Sharples, 2003). Moreover, the food contributes to the destination image

(Boniface, 2003, Long, 2004, Boyne, Hall and Williams, 2003). Cuisines are often

connected with nationality (Italian, French, Chinese, Indian etc.) which is an

evidence that it possible to establish a positive connotation between the cuisine and

the destination (Okumus et al., 2007). Moreover meaning of food is nowadays

changing – it is a status and identity symbol (Hall and Sharples, 2003, Frochot,

2003), as well as symbol of active and exciting lifestyle (Frochot, 2003) and therefore

it is an influential image for the modern person. Because all the characteristics of the

traditional food, it is recognised as a destination’s unique product and competitive

advantage.

However, according to the traditional theories of destination marketing it is important

that destinations address people who are potentially interested in their products

(Collier, 1999), as there are no universal means for attracting every single person

(Kotler and Gertner, 2002). In this line of thought, market segmentation is an

important part of the destination marketing process. So it should be examined, if the

potential visitors of the particular destination will be appealed by its cuisine.

As earlier noted, Buhalis (2000) states that people make their choice of products in

relation to their personal characteristics and attitudes. It is necessary to research the

market and to estimate the character of the tourists, who are currently or could be

potentially interested in the destination, according to their attitudes towards

unfamiliar food, or, if it is easier towards novelty in general. It is not of practical

importance which academic classification will be used to determine the tourist types,

more essential is to get acquainted with their preferences. If the destination’s target

market consists of individuals, who are neophilic towards taste, gastronomes or

foodies, with allocentric behavior, need less of the ‘environmental bubble’, then the

image of traditional cuisine would be appealing for them and could be used within

the destination marketing. Logically, if the actual and potential visitors are with

neophobic taste (Fischer, 1988) and psychocentric tourist behaviour (Plog, 2002),

they will not be attracted by the traditional food products, as they are most often

something unfamiliar to the visitors. However, it does not completely exclude the

necessity that local cuisine is promoted to them, which can be argued by the

following discussion:

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Strangeness of the local gastronomy can vary in different margins. In the context of

food, Long (2004) relates to otherness as consisting of three elements – exotic (what

is different from one’s individually constructed universe), edible (what can be eaten)

and palatable (what is savoury and tasty). It is stated that these domains are

determined by person’s personality, past experience and own perceptions, therefore

they are flexible and easily changeable categories (Long, 2004). Consequently, if

somebody has a conservative attitude towards food now, it can change in the future.

This theory also suggests that even if food is found rather untypical, it could still be

considered as edible or even appetizing. In addition, the classifications earlier

presented (Boyne et al, 2003, Mitchell and Hall, 2003) suggest that some tourists do

not usually consider food as an important part of their holiday, but they would try

something traditional at the place. Moreover Boyne et al (2003) believe that for some

people a pleasant experience with food could arouse interest in local cuisine. As a

conclusion, it can be stated that even if a person is not eager for new experiences,

this characteristic can be influenced and changed in the future. Considering this type

of people main aim of the marketers in the context of food should be to initiate first

tasting, which in turn can pique their interest and liking of traditional cuisine.

Important is to mention that in many cases people are not repulsed by the unfamiliar

taste of the food at the tourism destination, but may be reluctant to try because of

considerations about the risk. Cohen and Avieli (2004) claim that even if eager for

new experiences tourists are often anxious about the destinations attributes

important for their adaptation, such as climate, accommodation, safety and

availability of food when visiting unfamiliar destinations. The authors point out that

one of the biggest concerns of the tourists about local meals are the hygiene

standards they are produced in and the health risk the tourists could be exposed to.

As a result, traditional food could be even a discouraging factor to visit a destination,

as it is connected not only with unfamiliarity but sometimes with physical risk (Cohen

and Avieli, 2004, Mak et al, 2011). It is another evidence that promoting the food

products of the destination is important, but in this case with the main aim to inform

people about the food safety and availability.

To summarise, it is essential to find the destination’s market segment and its

attitude towards novelty. If it is positive, traditional food can be an alluring attraction

for the tourists, and so it should be used in the destination marketing. If the target

visitors are more conservative, then the role of food promotion should be to inform

and provoke interest. Sometimes, the visitors can be just afraid to try the local

14

cuisine, because of health concerns. Then the promotion of food should be to notify

them about its safety.

However, by segmentation of the market a significant difficulty can arise. Even

though there are many scholar works, which try to classify tourists in groups with

attributed characteristics, Buhalis (2000) state that subdivision of tourists is more

complicated nowadays, because the contemporary travellers very often seek

different types of experiences during the same vacation. This statement is supported

by several other authors, who challenge the applicability of tourists’ classifications

(Maoz and Bekerman , 2010, Larsen et.al. 2011, Collins-Kreiner 2010). So it is

appropriate to discuss current trends in tourist behaviour related to traditional food or

novelty in general.

On the one hand Cohen and Avieli (2004) argue that humans tend to be habitually

attached to the cuisine, or in other words to like the food they are used to. The eating

habits are considered as an unchangeable personality characteristic (Bradatan,

2003). These notions question the applicability of traditional food to the destination

marketing.

On the other hand, there is a statement, that tourists have become more

adventurous (Renko et al., 2011, Buhalis, 2000). First of all it is due to the economic

progress and the general development in the world. Nowadays people have more

time and financial funds for holidays and could reach each destination comparatively

easily, which results in their desire to explore the unknown (Renko et al., 2011). The

new consumers are well-educated and sophisticated, therefore they appreciate the

authenticity and search for unique experiences (Buhalis, 2000). Another factor that

stimulates the tourists’ exploratory attitudes towards food is the globalisation (Mak et

al, 2011). There is a boom of ethnic restaurants, where people can try cuisines from

all over the world without leaving their home towns (Cohen and Aveli, 2004). The

‘average world citizen’ has an access to great amount of ethnic dishes (Torres,

2002), as well as exotic foodstuffs and information sources as cookbooks (Cohen

and Aveli, 2004). Globalisation among the food has the result that individuals get

used to wide variety of cuisines, which favours them to try new dishes while on

holiday (Mak et al, 2011).

The traditional food completely responds to the trend for adventure seeking – it is

connected with the destination’s authenticity and its consumption is per se an

extraordinary occasion. Even if people prefer food they are used to, the globalisation

familiarises them with cuisines from all over the world. In addition, Long (2004) pays

15

attention that tourists get satisfied not only by the products and services offered to

them, but also find pleasure while exploring new things. So even if the discover of

their search does not bring delight, the exploring itself can be enjoyable (Long,

2004). Consequently, when tasting unfamiliar cuisine it is possible that people even

would not like the food, but the process itself could be exciting (Long, 2004). These

findings support the statement that in the modern tourism world traditional food can

be a successfully implemented in the destination marketing.

Moreover, recently tourists’ interest in local culture is significantly growing and

gastronomy is a way to answer this trend as it is an important foundation of

destination’s identity (Richards, 2002, Okumus et al., 2007, Mak et al., 2011).

Contemporary tourists like learning about the culture by actively involving in it

(Richards, 2000). Traditional food is definitely a representation of the culture and

lifestyle of the local community, which tourists can feel, engaging all their senses

(Kivela and Crottes, 2006, Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Urry, 2002). But gastronomy

has an additional characteristic, which contributes to its attractiveness. Although the

cuisine is part of the culture heritage of a destination, it is totally different from the

destinations tangible heritage, such as monuments or architecture, in terms of its

possibilities to change (Richards, 2002). And this is an advantage, because cuisine

represents the traditions, but at the same time could be adaptive to people’s tastes

(Richards, 2002). Because of all these features, which respond to the modern

consumers’ wants, the traditional food has the potential to be a drawing force to the

destination.

When discussing tendencies in the modern lifestyle, it is important to mention that

nowadays the fashionable, modern body is the thin one, and this trend, popularised

by the mass media is significantly growing (Ritchards, 2002). Especially women

attempt to follow the fashion tendencies and very often keep strict diets. Sometimes,

while on vacation they could be subject of stronger pressure for losing weight,

because for example more flesh is shown on the beach (Ritchards, 2002). However,

some authors claim that there is a significant distinction between people’s behaviour

in the everyday life and within the tourism experience and main characteristic of the

holiday attitudes is hedonism, or pleasure seeking (Cohen, 2004, Bowen and Clarke,

2009, Shields 1990). Eating is a memorable experience and a delightful activity,

which purvey enjoyment to both body and soul (Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003,

Frochot, 2003). As people seek pleasure when on holiday, it is probable that they

would indulge eating with no scruples. So even if the modern societies value the thin

16

body, it is very possible that people would violate the restrictive food dietaries and

truly enjoy food while on holiday.

Another main tendency in the tourist consumer behaviour is noticed by King (2002)

Gilmour and Pine (2002) and Williams (2006), who claim that the promised

experiences grow in significance for attracting customers. People travel in search of

emotions and feelings rather than places and goods (King, 2002). Gilmour and Pine

(2002) analyse the new economy paradigm and conclude that it is an economy of

the experience – people do not get satisfied just by the perfect facilities anymore,

they pursue memories. Williams (2006) also claims, that tourists seek unforgettable

events beyond service and product excellence.

Although the aforementioned evidences from the literature, that tourists nowadays

look for unfamiliar sensations and assign great importance on the intangible

characteristics of the destination, marketers seem not to appreciate this and continue

advertising through mass conceptions such as luxury accommodation or comfortable

transportation (King, 2002). Williams (2006) state that very important for the tourism

industry is to start engaging with ‘experiential marketing’, or designing innovative

experiences for their customers. Marketing through traditional food has the potential

to answer the contemporary tendencies in marketing, as the cuisine can respond to

the desire of the modern tourist for a memorable and emotional experience.

In summary, the role of food from the perspective of the classic destination

marketing concept was discussed. It is important that the destination addresses its

potential visitors with the means that will be attractive to them (Collier, 1999, Kotler

and Gertner, 2002). Although there are different types of tourists regarding their

attitudes towards novelty and unfamiliar food, there are many common tendencies in

the tourist consumer behaviour, to which food is strongly related. So when the

practitioners make a segmentation of their target market, it is useful to be aware of

the contemporary tourists’ characteristics, which imply more positive perceptions of

unknown cuisine.

Above and beyond, traditional food is also applicable to the modern concept of

destination marketing, as a strategy for destination sustainability and benefits for all

stakeholders (Kotler et al., 1993 Buhalis, 2000, Ritchie and Crouch, 2000).

Traditional food can have a multilateral effect on the local economy. Boyne et al.

(2003) and Richards (2002) claim that the gastronomy heritage not only improves

the region’s tourism, but in the same time stimulate the local production through the

17

tourist demand for traditional food. Additionally local producers could benefit from

growth in the external market, as some tourists could continue demanding the

specific food production when they are back home (Boyne et all 2003, Richards,

2002). The authors conclude that because of all the benefits that gastronomy could

bring to the destination’s prosperity, there should be an emphasis on the local food

when promoting the destination. In addition the sustainability in the region also have

the effect of increased tourism demand, because the idea of ‘being good’ and

responsible while on vacation appeals to many people (Fields, 2002).

Moreover, the traditional food has also a considerable business potential and can

provide significant financial inflows to the destination, as it constitutes one fourth to

one third of the tourists’ total expenditures (Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Mak et al,

2011, Quan and Wang, 2004). In addition, as an essential life condition, food

demand is not dependent on price and tourists are unlikely to cut their spending on

food (Au and Law, 2002). Furthermore, one of the result of advertising through

gastronomy is that it invites more up-market tourists, interested in culture and

experiences and not just in mass attractions (Fields, 2002), which is a profitable

situation for all stakeholders at the destination.

An important question that emerges is if the food can be a dimension of the

marketing of any destination and to what extent. Hjalager, A. (2002) makes a

framework for developing gastronomy tourism at destination according to the actual

relationship between tourism and food. Although this concept is for food tourism and

not for food consumption within the vacation in general, it is a good source of

practical advices for improving the correlation between gastronomy and destination.

The first type of a relationship between the destination and the food is weak and the

author proposes several ideas to enhance it: including culinary in the promotion of

the region, launching campaigns for food products, as well as food fairs and food

events. The second order of development in gastronomy within the destination, is

when there is a particular relationship, but more awareness in the consumers should

be incited by adherence to quality standards, certification and branding. The third

type of relationship between culinary and destination is when the food is a significant

part of the destination’s image and many activities and attractions connected with

food can be developed, for example museums and cooking classes. The fourth

category is when the destination and the food are so connected, that not only

tourists, but also professionals and scientists are attracted to the region because of

the food, so the destination can sell know-how. A conclusion can be drawn that in

the first two cases food will be promoted, but not in order to attract people to the

18

place, but to create revenue and be profitable for its own. In the third and fourth type

destinations, food should be an actual dimension of their marketing strategies.

However, the relation between food and local cuisine can be changed. If considering

the reality, there are many examples showing how the role of the gastronomy within

the destination has altered and how the traditional food has influenced the

destination’s image and the tourism demand. This article suggests a classification of

three types of interrelations between local cuisine and destination: enhancing the

image, rebranding and differentiation. The first type is when the cuisine has a

supportive role in the destination marketing, or in other words the destination is

known for something else, but the local cuisine becomes value added to the

destination products and enhances its image. Examples are the nature based

destinations South Africa (Rand and Heath, 2006) and New Zealand (Hall and

Mitchell, 2002) and the urban destination – Hong Kong (Okumus et al, 2007). A

significant segment that has very successfully implemented the gastronomy in its

marketing are the rural destinations. Isle of Arran, Scotland (Boyne et al, 2002),

Northern Portugal (Beer et al, 2002), Southwest England (Beer et al, 2002) are just

some examples for the boosting the tourism of a destination as a result of promoting

local cuisine. Another type of influence that the traditional cuisine can have on the

destination is rebranding it. Gastronomy has been successfully implemented in some

traditional mass tourism destinations, in order to reshape their image and to attract

wider variety of tourists. Examples are Mallorca (Alcock, 1995, cited in Fields, 2002),

and mainland Spain (Ravenscroft and Westering, 2002). Third form of affiliation is

when traditional food is used to differentiate destinations, which have indistinctive

image, such as Wales (Jones and Jenkins, 2002).

And last, there are destinations as France and Italy, where traditional food is for long

considered as a majors attraction and became a key association when mentioning

them (Fields, 2002, Corigliano, 2002). More than logical and obvious is how they

took advantage of this situation. The challenge for them is not to change the relation

they have with the food, but to keep the expected level of quality and attractiveness.

In conclusion, the destinations have different relationships with their traditional

cuisine – for some of them it is a significant attraction, whether for others the local

food is not considered as an important dimension of their essence. DMOs should

take this into consideration, when deciding to apply the local cuisine to the

destination marketing. However, as the reality shows, this interrelation could be

changed. So, it is important, that the marketers determine the aimed interrelation

19

between cuisine and destination and work on it, in order later to use the strengthen

relationship for the purposes of the destination marketing.

Despite all the advantages that the traditional food offers, there are of course some

challenges when using it for marketing a destination. When promoting local cuisine,

the demand for it will most probably grow. The destination has to be prepared to

answer the new situation with increased quantity of production (Jones and Jenkins,

2002). At the same time this should not be through mass production, because it will

badly influence the quality of the food and it is controversial to the essence of local

cuisine (Jones and Jenkins, 2002). So the balance between quantity and quality is

very important and difficult to manage. Keeping the authenticity of the local cuisine is

also a critical issue as it is its main asset, (Hjalager and Ritchards, 2002), which is

threaten by the McDonaldisation and global standardisation (Scarpatio, 2002).

Conclusion:

This article aimed to explore if the traditional cuisine within the tourism experience

can be effectively used for the purposes of destination marketing and what is the

practicable scope of this implementation.

In the previous literature, there is a limited number of studies, which examine

traditional food from the prospective of its marketing and promotional abilities for a

destination and the quantity of works does not match the practical potential of this

relationship. Therefore an additional article in the field is useful in order to provide a

new perspective of preceding findings. All the encountered works on the topic

emphasise either on traditional food or on destination marketing, but the present

article has a comprehensive discussion and synthesis of both subjects. Some of the

scholars comment precisely food tourism (Boniface, 2003, Long, 2004, Hall et al.

2003), whereas this work consider food consumption in its general sense, and not

only when it is a major motivation for the holiday. The few publications, where the

authors explicitly connect traditional food and destination marketing (Rand et Heath,

2006, Rand et al 2003., Richards, 2002, Okumus et al, 2007, Hassan, 2008) do not

comment on the different aspects, which can affect the marketing abilities of the

traditional food for a destination. This article argues that the target tourists’ profile as

well as the existing link between destination and its traditional cuisine influence the

capacity of local food to be a successful agent for the destination marketing. Several

conclusions have been drawn from the study.

20

First, the traditional cuisine relates to both concepts of destination marketing. The

classical perspective (Collier, 1999, Kotler and Gertner, 2002) of destination

marketing is promoting the unique products in order to be easily recognisable and

appealing (Buhalis, 2000, Okumus et al. 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). Owing to its

characteristic the traditional food is definitely a destination’s unique product. The

modern concept of destination marketing as a strategy for local sustainability and

benefits for all stakeholders (Kotler et al., 1993 Buhalis, 2000, Ritchie & Crouch,

2000) also relates to the traditional food, which stimulate the local production and so

has a multiple effect on the local economy (Boyne et all 2003, Richards, 2002). In

addition, apart from increased occupancy, the popularised local cuisine can provide

significant financial inflows to the destination, as it can attract more up-market

tourists.

Second, although traditional food seems an unmistakable dimension of the

destination marketing, a logical question is if it is universally applicable. As Buhalis

(2000) state people make choices of products according to their personal

characteristics. So important is the consideration of the target’s market attitudes

towards novelty in general and unfamiliar food in particular. If the potential tourists

are open to the new, they can be attracted by the local cuisine. If the target visitors’

attitudes are more conservative, then the role of food promotion should be to inform

and provoke interest, rather than to be used as a pull factor to the destination. Other

case is when people are afraid to taste local food because of hygiene and health

consideration. Then the role of food promotion is to inform and build a confidence in

the tourists about the safety of the traditional cuisine.

Third, even if it is useful to classify the tourists according to their perceptions towards

unfamiliarity, there are several mutual trends in the tourist consumer behaviour -

interest in local culture and authenticity, seeking of pleasure, adventure and

memories, which suggest more positive perceptions of unfamiliar cuisine. This

should be taken into consideration by marketers, especially when the target

customers are with no clearly manifested preferences of familiarity and it is possible

that their attitudes can be influenced by adequate marketing actions.

Fourth, traditional food and destination can be linked to different degree (Hjalager,

2002), but the practice shows that this relation can be changed. It is important to

examine their present link and then to determine an aimed one, according to which

to undertake the adequate actions for promoting the destination by food.

21

The practical implications of this work are the following: Food has the possibility to

be a significant dimension of the destination marketing. However, it is not practical to

use it for each target market and for each destination. The potential customers’

attitudes towards novelty should be researched. The actions by the two extreme

situations are clear: when people are excited by the new, food can be used in the

destination marketing, and the contrary case. If people’s attitudes are more neutral,

they can be easily influenced by the marketers. Food can be successfully promoted

in terms of its authenticity, uniqueness and taste qualities, as these attributes are

searched by the modern tourists. Important is also the actual connection between

traditional food and the destination – when it is not of big significance, the food

cannot be effectively used as a marketing tool. However, the DMOs can change that

by an appropriate strategy. Important by such major changes is to consider the

relation profit-investment. For a successful outcome, when implementing traditional

food in the destination marketing strategy, it is important to balance between

increased quantities as a result of increased demand and consistency in the quality.

Main limitation of the study is that it is not based on a primary research. Another

weakness is that the actual tourists’ perceptions of destination’s traditional food has

barely been researched by the scholars. For the purposes of this article it was

considered that if people’s attitude towards novelty is positive, so will be their

approach towards unfamiliar food. However, although logical that is not scientifically

proven. More research should be conducted in order to determine how tourists

perceive the local cuisine when they are on vacation.

22

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