Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach
AbstractGastronomy emerges as one of the key components of visitors’ holiday experiences and increasingly shapes vacationers’ holiday destination choices. As an integral component of the tourist experience and destinations’ cultural heritage, gastronomy enhances visitors’ local and cultural understa...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Food & Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2266195 |
| _version_ | 1797301983677251584 |
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| author | Amare Wondirad Gabrielle Verheye |
| author_facet | Amare Wondirad Gabrielle Verheye |
| author_sort | Amare Wondirad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | AbstractGastronomy emerges as one of the key components of visitors’ holiday experiences and increasingly shapes vacationers’ holiday destination choices. As an integral component of the tourist experience and destinations’ cultural heritage, gastronomy enhances visitors’ local and cultural understanding. Despite the increase in academic studies on gastronomy, there is still a scarcity of research that investigates whether gastronomy determines visitors’ holiday destination choices and the extent to which it does . To bridge this research gap, the current study examines whether gastronomy determines visitors’ holiday destination choice and explores the nexus between gastronomy and holiday destination image by adopting a mixed-methods research approach. We have collected data from 205 respondents, who represent 45 countries from all corners of the globe, using an online survey. Research findings show that for 87% of the respondents, gastronomy is one of the key factors that determine their holiday destination choice. Especially for Asian and African tourists, gastronomy plays a crucial role in determining their holiday destination choice compared to Europeans, Americans, and other tourists. Findings further demonstrate that gastronomy is intertwined with tourist destinations by creating a lasting destination image, complementing visitors’ holidays, and being one of the core destination products. Research findings offer substantial theoretical and practical implications for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and catering establishments by highlighting the vitality of gastronomy as a core tourist destinations’ product. The study calls for pertinent tourism stakeholders to work together to develop, market, and manage resilient, competitive, and sustainable gastronomy niche tourism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:30:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2457650aa25248929d44fe8fa78ea4b7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2331-1932 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:30:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Food & Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-2457650aa25248929d44fe8fa78ea4b72024-02-20T15:14:24ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Food & Agriculture2331-19322023-12-019210.1080/23311932.2023.2266195Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approachAmare Wondirad0Gabrielle Verheye1School of Business and Management Discipline of Tourism and Hospitality Management, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, FijiDepartment of Foreign Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Societies, Sorbonne-Nouvelle University, Paris III, FranceAbstractGastronomy emerges as one of the key components of visitors’ holiday experiences and increasingly shapes vacationers’ holiday destination choices. As an integral component of the tourist experience and destinations’ cultural heritage, gastronomy enhances visitors’ local and cultural understanding. Despite the increase in academic studies on gastronomy, there is still a scarcity of research that investigates whether gastronomy determines visitors’ holiday destination choices and the extent to which it does . To bridge this research gap, the current study examines whether gastronomy determines visitors’ holiday destination choice and explores the nexus between gastronomy and holiday destination image by adopting a mixed-methods research approach. We have collected data from 205 respondents, who represent 45 countries from all corners of the globe, using an online survey. Research findings show that for 87% of the respondents, gastronomy is one of the key factors that determine their holiday destination choice. Especially for Asian and African tourists, gastronomy plays a crucial role in determining their holiday destination choice compared to Europeans, Americans, and other tourists. Findings further demonstrate that gastronomy is intertwined with tourist destinations by creating a lasting destination image, complementing visitors’ holidays, and being one of the core destination products. Research findings offer substantial theoretical and practical implications for Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and catering establishments by highlighting the vitality of gastronomy as a core tourist destinations’ product. The study calls for pertinent tourism stakeholders to work together to develop, market, and manage resilient, competitive, and sustainable gastronomy niche tourism.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2266195authenticitycatering businessesDMOsgastronomy tourismdestination imagedestination choice |
| spellingShingle | Amare Wondirad Gabrielle Verheye Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach Cogent Food & Agriculture authenticity catering businesses DMOs gastronomy tourism destination image destination choice |
| title | Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach |
| title_full | Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach |
| title_fullStr | Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach |
| title_short | Does gastronomy determine visitors’ holiday destination choice? Empirical evidence based on a mixed-methods research approach |
| title_sort | does gastronomy determine visitors holiday destination choice empirical evidence based on a mixed methods research approach |
| topic | authenticity catering businesses DMOs gastronomy tourism destination image destination choice |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311932.2023.2266195 |
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