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Gastronomy TourismJakša Kivela a & John C. Crotts ba School of Hotel and Tourism Management. TheHong Kong Polytechnic Universityb Department of Hospitality and TourismManagement , School of Business and Economics,College of CharlestonPublished online: 23 Sep 2008.

To cite this article: Jakša Kivela & John C. Crotts (2005) Gastronomy Tourism, Journalof Culinary Science & Technology, 4:2-3, 39-55, DOI: 10.1300/J385v04n02_03

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Gastronomy Tourism:A Meaningful Travel Market Segment

Jakša KivelaJohn C. Crotts

ABSTRACT. The existing literature supports the view that there is aconnection between tourism and gastronomy. However, there is littleempirical evidence, to show for example, whether or not there is a gas-tronomy-tourism market segment. Or, does destination’s gastronomycontribute to the tourists’ quality of experiences while visiting the desti-nation? And, do tourists return to the destination to resample its cuisine?

This study was undertaken in Hong Kong which, according to some isa city-destination that offers unique and diverse gastronomy. The resultsof the study provide evidence, suggesting that motivation to travel forgastronomy reasons is a reasonably valid construct for use for marketsegmentation purposes. Also, the results of the data analysis reveal thatgastronomy plays a major role in the way tourists experience the destination,and indicate that some travellers would return to the same destination tosavour its unique gastronomy. [Article copies available for a fee from TheHaworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address:

Jakša Kivela is Associate Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management.The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

John C. Crotts is Professor and Chair, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Man-agement, School of Business and Economics, College of Charleston.

Address correspondence to: Jakša Kivela, Associate Professor, School of Hotel andTourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (E-mail: hmjack@inet.polyu.edu.hk).

This research project was funded in part by the Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityProject Grant Allocation G-T752 and by the Hong Kong SAR Government’s “CentralEarmarked Research Grant” No: RGC/PolyU 5241/00H/ (B-Q397).

Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, Vol. 4(2/3) 2005Available online at http://www.haworthpress.com/web/JCST

© 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.doi:10.1300/J385v04n02_03 39

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<docdelivery@haworthpress.com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com>© 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

KEYWORDS. Gastronomy, tourism, market segment, Hong Kong

INTRODUCTION

Ecotourists, adventure tourists, cultural tourists, and short get-awaytourists are examples of tourism market segments that have beencoined to help describe visitors and the primary type of attraction(s)that are emphasised in destination. The importance of these classifica-tions is that they begin to define meaningful segments in a destina-tion’s existing and potential visitor markets as a part of theirsegmentation-targeting- positioning process. Market segmentation isa strategic management tool aiding in well-informed decision-making(Swinyard, 1977) designed to answer the following questions. Whoare the customers and where do they live? The answer to these ques-tions is one’s market segment or niche. Which segments offer thegreatest return on investment? The answer to this question is one’s tar-get markets. Why do they buy the product or service? The answer tothis question is one’s competitive advantage (Dobbins and Pettman,1998). Each segment is generally considered to have unique interests,needs, expectations, and often socio-demographics characteristicsthat can be focused on in promotional campaigns and tourism productdevelopment.

The significance of this research is twofold. One, if gastronomytourists can be shown to satisfy all the conventional requirements of aunique market segment, it becomes a viable alternative for new destina-tions that cannot benefit from “sun, sea, and sand,” or natural or culturalresources, or a valid addition to more established destinations. Unlikemany other travel activities and attractions, destination’s gastronomyis usually available year-round, any time of day and in any weather–Richards (2002). And two, gastronomy if viable could become the driv-ing force behind the revival of tourism for destinations that are strugglingat critical stage of the tourist product lifecycle. With this said, evidenceis needed to justify such claims that sufficient tourism demand can begenerated from a destination’s gastronomy resources.

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BACKGROUND

Gunn (1993) and recently Tribe (2005) set forth models that for manyresearchers conceptualise how tourism works at the destination level interms of its demand and supply characteristics, and according to theseauthors, tourism’s success is dependent on the destination’s ability tocreate and manage both demand and supply. Supply, according to Tribe(2005), is composed of four sectors: transportation, attractions, hospi-tality services, and information and promotions. The attractions’ sectoris the component of a tourism economy that activates a tourism system;they are the magnets that entice a person to select and travel to a particulardestination over its competing alternative. They often take the form ofconvention centres, beaches, natural-scenic parks, amusement parksand the like. Historically, the hospitality sector, such as food and beverageand accommodation, have served in a supporting role in the tourismeconomy in that they were not normally considered strong enoughattractions to bring tourists to a destination. In this context, foodserviceresearchers, for example, Hjalager (2002, 2003), Fields (2001), Rich-ards (2002), and Scarpato (2002) argue differently and have convinc-ingly proposed that an increasing number of tourist destinations havebecome very sought-after because of their unique gastronomy. Accordingto these researchers, these destinations have become the “foodie” holi-day destinations, for example, Tuscany and Lyons in France, wherefood has become the central marketing feature of the tourist attraction(see also Intrepid Travel, 2004).

GASTRONOMY

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines gastronomy as the art of se-lecting, preparing, serving, and enjoying fine food. The classical defini-tion of gastronomy is that it is the study of good eating, (see seminalwork by J.A. Brillat-Savarin [1826]. Physiologie du Gout, ou Medita-tions de Gastronomie Transcendante. English translation by FayetteRobinson (2004), The Physiology of Taste or Transcendental Gastron-omy), and is a corpus of knowledge with its roots in all major classicalstudies. “Culinaria” is a term which is often used synonymously withgastronomy, and it describes a country’s or region’s dishes, foods, andfood preparation techniques, which give rise to the country’s or region’sdistinctive cuisine. Hence, “Culinary Tourism,” was a term first suggestedby Long (2003) in 1998, to expresses the idea of tourists’ experiencing

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other cultures through food. Wolf (2002) however, defined culinaryand/or gastronomy tourism as travelling for the purpose of exploringand enjoying the destination’s food and beverage and to savour uniqueand memorable gastronomy experiences. This definition finds supportin an earlier research by Finkelstein (1989), Johns and Clarke (2001),and Kivela and Johns (2002) who suggest that feelings and memoriesmake dining out when on holiday, very special and attractive, becausethese become transposed into experiences that are often very personal(Finkelstein, 1989). In this context, one of the key functions of the desti-nation’s foodservice industries is the provision of those experiences andfeelings that individuals believe they should be having while on holidayor while travelling.

It is normal that we should experience pleasure as an essential part ofa holiday experience, and dining out should be a pleasurable and memo-rable part of that experience. So much in fact, that gastronomy hasplayed a pivotal role in the marketing of some tourist destinations. Forexample, some travel organisations (Intrepid Travel, 2004) regularly of-fer gourmet or gastronomy holidays to Asia, Italy, and France; holidayswith cooking classes in Tuscany and Provence; Melbourne and Sydneyin Australia are often marketed as the food and wine, and restaurantdestinations. In this context, the Australian Tourist Commission–ATCwas one of the first destination marketing organisations to make a com-mitment to gastronomy tourism as a matter of national tourism policyand planning. For tourists, this means that the destination’s restaurants’ambience and cuisine are legitimate attractions and sources of pleasurewhich generates emotions and experiences, hopefully pleasant ones,that they are supposed to be having while on holiday. It must be saidhowever, such pleasure does not always have an enduring effect andthat it does diminish over time. Also, while tourists often dine out insearch of new taste and culinary experiences, they also encounter disap-pointment from time to time: an eatery that is a parody of the destina-tion’s image, or what Finkelstein (1989) calls the “manufacturedimages.” Nevertheless, the review of current literature suggests that anumber of tourist destinations are very sought-after because of theirunique gastronomy. For these destinations, gastronomy is a centralfeature of the tourist attraction. Lifestyle and travel media also vigoro-usly promote gastronomy, for example, magazines such as the“Epicure” and “Australian Gourmet Traveller.” Therefore, it is plausibleto suggest that the relationship between gastronomy and that of the des-tination is symbiotic because the destination provides the food, recipes,chefs, and the cultural backdrop that makes gastronomy an ideal product

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for tourist consumption. In simple terms, gastronomy is an inextricablepart the holiday experience.

Based on Cohen’s (1984) phenomenological categorisation of touristlifestyles, Hjalager (2003) offers a phenomenological model of culinarytourism experiences. The model of gastronomy-tourism lifestyles de-picts tourist attitudes and preferences for food and eating according tofour categorisations: (1) recreational; (2) existential; (3) diversionary;and (4) experimental gastronomy tourists. The following section dis-cusses the gastronomy tourism experience in the context of Hjalager’smodel and highlights the variations in the tourists’ food-related behav-iour.

The existential gastronomy tourists seek food combinations and eatingexperiences that foster learning (about gastronomy). For these touristsfood consumption and drinking does not only satisfy hunger and thirst;importantly for them, such consumption means gaining in-depth knowl-edge about the local or regional cuisine and of the destination’s culture.The existential gastronomy tourists are unlikely to be found in typicaltourist-restaurants or crowded chain or popular restaurants. For thesetourists, the holiday’s success is measured by that special restaurant“where only the locals eat.” These tourists actively seek simple andunsophisticated peasant food which is prepared with care and respect totradition; for example, Portugal offers some great gastronomy retreatswhich attract the existential gastronomy tourist. The existentialist culinarytourists avoid expensive restaurants, not only because of the price, butalso because of the extravagant décor and service which is often offeredin these establishments, that according to Finkelstein (1989), is a manu-factured dining-out environment.

The existential gastronomy tourist will actively seek and visit workingfarms, participate in cooking classes, and harvesting of fruits, vegeta-bles and wines; they will visit cheese and wine makers, and go fishingwith professional fishermen. They are especially prone to samplingand buying the produce to take home with them. The Internet andspecialised travel literature are the main sources of knowledge aboutgastronomy opportunities; the existentialist gastronomy tourists paylittle attention to travel-agency adverts and the claims made in destinationbrochures.

On the other end of the spectrum, the experimental gastronomytourists symbolise their lifestyle through food–usually vis-à-vis trendyand “in” foods. These tourists will actively seek the destination’s smartestdesigner cafes and restaurants that serve innovative menus and offerequally chic service. The experimental gastronomy tourists keep up-

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to-date about fashionable foods, ingredients, and recipes. They activelypursue trying out new ingredients and new ways of eating and preparingfood. Yesterday’s food trends are quickly replaced by today’s foodfashions. Food styles and cuisines often form a part of their image andprestige and while they do not necessarily cook themselves, they arewell informed by reading stylish lifestyle and epicurean magazines. Inthis context, Gillespie (2002:5) suggested that “gastronomy is about therecognition of a variety of factors relevant to the foods and beverageseaten and consumed by a group, in a locality, region or even a nation.”Despite the literature, very few studies exist that examine the impact ofgastronomy on tourists’ destination choice. A notable exception is Sheldonand Fox’s (1988) very early study of the U.S.A., Canadian, and Japanesevisitors to Hawaii as to the role of gastronomy in the destination choiceand probability to repeat visit. Revealed by their study was that 16percent of the respondents indicated that gastronomy influenced theirdecision to come to Hawaii and for nine percent, gastronomy had astrong influence on their likelihood of repeat visit to Hawaii. In theiranalysis, Japanese tourists were more likely to respond that gastronomyhad a strong influence on their choice of destinations (36.7%) comparedto Canadian (7.6%) and (5.2%) visitors from the U.S.A. In addition, 14percent of Japanese visitors indicated that they were more likely to visitthe destination because of its gastronomy as compared to Canadian andvisitors for the U.S.A. at five percent and six percent, respectively. Theimpact of Hawaii’s gastronomy on these respondents’ decision choicearguably constituted a unique market segment, although Sheldon andFox (1988) did not go as far as confirming that Hawaii’s gastronomywas the chief or primary reason for the visit.

Richards (2003:11) eloquently suggested that “[f]ood organises thetourists’ day. [This is because] a large proportion of most tourist experi-ences are spent either consuming food and drink, or deciding what andwhere to consume. However, many of these experiences are taken forgranted, because we often regard eating as a necessity rather than a leisureactivity.” Given that virtually all tourists dine out when travelling andeach dining opportunity is a chance to get to know local food, culture(though food), and people, the question arises does the destination’soffer of gastronomy have the potential to generate tourism demand inand of itself? And if so, what factors uniquely describe the uniquemarket segment?

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METHODOLOGY

This research used in this analysis was from a broader study thatsought to identify the dining-out perceptions of tourists visiting HongKong. Hong Kong has a well-established tourism industry serving foryears as a gateway to Asia. A descriptive research design was adoptedthat utilised quantitative techniques for data collection and analysisinvolving the use of a survey questionnaire. The inter-relationships ofcultural awareness, motive for travelling, the destination’s gastronomyimage, food quality, satisfaction, tourists’ revisiting intentions, and theeffects of gastronomy on these inter-relationships, were tested with asample of respondents using the services of one sector, namely, therestaurant sector in Hong Kong.

A survey sample should normally represent the population, particu-larly when a random sampling method is used. In this instance, how-ever, it was very difficult to apply a random sampling methodology todisparate tourist subjects. The alternative strategy was to employ a sys-tematic approach in selecting the subjects, and the subjects’ age andgender were selected by a judgmental method. The sample size was setat 1,200. The survey time-frame was designated over a two-month pe-riod. The survey was conducted with the assistance and cooperation ofselect Hong Kong restaurants at two main tourist locations–Hong KongIsland and Kowloon.

Based on the researchers’ prior experience, the proposed samplingdesign minimised undue inconvenience to other guests and the partici-pating organisations. The survey was conducted at the participatingrestaurant properties. The survey was randomly administered twice perday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., threetimes per week on a continual basis over the two-month period.

Thus, over the two-month period, there were in all 24-survey dayswith a daily quota sample of three (three for the 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.time slot, and three for the 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. time slot), assigned for-every interviewer. Therefore, 6 � 8 (8 interviewers) = 48 respondentsper survey day � 24 survey days = 1,152 respondents (rounded off to1,200).

A random number was assigned to each interviewer for each surveyday. The random number was used to select potential respondents. Forinstance, a random number three indicated that every third, sixth, ninth,etc., subject would be selected for sampling during the sampling period.In-house training was provided for the interviewers before the actualsurveys took place. This included mini-workshops in which effective

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interview/sampling techniques were demonstrated and practised. Duringthe training sessions, interviewers were briefed with detailed informationon the process of conducting an interview. A pilot test was conductedprior to actual sampling, and necessary adjustments to the instrumentwere made, for example, the instrument was tested to estimate the sam-pling time and improve the precision, structure, and layout of questions.A team of eight interviewers, including the researcher, undertook thetask of surveying.

The first part of instrument contained introductory notes, a screeningquestion and demographic data, followed by a body of questions. Potentialrespondents were usually approached in the restaurants, and they had tosatisfy one screening question before they become qualified to participatein the survey. The filtering question was whether or not the respondentwas a resident of Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents were disqualifiedfrom the survey. The next section of the instrument was designed tosolicit demographic data such as gender, country of residence, age, edu-cation, and household income. The next section constituted the mainbody of the research. The entire process was conducted in face-to-facemode, followed by an administered questionnaire.

The reliability analysis was calculated to measure the internal consis-tency of each of the research instrument’s main item banks. The coeffi-cients for all item banks exceeded the recommended level of 0.50 (Hair,Anderson, and Black, 1995), ranging from 0.88 to 0.96.

In order to compare samples across perceptual and experiencedimensions or demographic grouping, appropriate comparative analy-ses such as ANOVA were used. Multivariate analysis (factor and re-gression) was also used to (1) create correlated variable compositesfrom the original attributes ratings, and obtain a relatively small num-ber of variables that explain most of the variances among attributes,and (2) apply the derived factor scores in subsequent multiple regres-sion analysis. The appropriateness of factor analysis was assessed bycorrelation, measures of sampling adequacy (MSA), partial correla-tion among variables, and reliability alpha to ensure that the factoranalysis was appropriate to the data. The maximum likelihood methodwas also used to test the resulting model. The results of the study dem-onstrated how gastronomy influenced tourists’ perceptions of thedestination, as well as their behavioural intentions based on their ex-periences. Only the findings of the select analyses are presented in thisarticle.

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

One thousand two hundred questionnaires were distributed to asystematic sample of tourists visiting Hong Kong. Of the 1,105 returnedquestionnaires (92.1 percent of 1,200), 1,067 useable questionnaires(89 percent of 1,200) were used for the analysis. Thirty-eight ques-tionnaires were not used for the analysis because they were more than15 percent incomplete. The demographic characteristics of the sampleare presented in Table 1. Of particular interest is that almost 21 percent ofthe sample indicated that their main reason for travelling to Hong Kongwas for the food. Given the projected tourist arrivals for Hong Kong forthe 2005 to be somewhere in the range of 14.5 million (Hong KongTourism Board, 2005), this means that about 3.02 million tourists willvisit Hong Kong just to savour its gastronomy. These numbers are notinconsequential, and a “gastronomy” segment representing 20.8 percentof the total visitor market is by any measure, a significant market segment.For Hong Kong, this represents a substantial gastronomy-tourism marketsegment, and its evidence suggests that motivation to travel for gastronomyis a reasonably valid construct to use for market segmentation purposes,in Hong Kong at any rate.

For purpose of reliability, a series of between-group mean comparisonswere performed to determine if those 20.8 percent of respondents re-sponded in predictable ways to the following questions. For purposes ofthis analysis, respondents were limited to visitors to Hong Kong who in-dicated their trip was for leisure purposes (excluding business travellers,visiting friends and relatives, and stopovers). These criteria effectivelyreduced the sample to 615 respondents or 57.6 percent of the originalsample. The questions were: (1) Would you describe yourself as some-one who is knowledgeable about cuisines? (2) When travelling, howimportant is it for you to experience gastronomy at a destination? and(3) Do you usually travel because you wish to experience destination’sgastronomy? Responses were recorded along a five-point scale and aresummarised in Table 2.

Respondents, on average, replied to the three-attitudinal questions inthe direction predicted. Those who indicated initially that their primarytrip purpose was to experience local food and culture were more likelyto rate their knowledge of food and cuisines higher, and the importanceof food and cuisine as more important when compared to other visitorson vacations and holidays. The between-group differences shown inTable 2 below, were statistically significant and in the directions

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TABLE 1. Demographic characteristics of the sample

Frequency Percent

(a) Gender

Male 544 51.0

Female 521 48.8

1,065 99.8

Missing 2 0.2

Total 1,067 100.0

(b) Age

under 18 5 .5

18-25 98 9.2

26-35 327 30.6

36-45 287 26.9

46-55 194 18.2

56-65 121 11.3

66 or above 32 3.0

1,064 99.7

Missing 3 0.3

Total 1,067 100.0

(c) Usual country/region of residence

China 85 8.0

Japan 146 13.7

Singapore 151 14.2

Taiwan 182 17.1

North America 186 17.4

Australia/New Zealand 117 11.0

Europe 200 18.7

Total 1,067 100.0

(d) Main reason for visiting Hong Kong

Holiday/pleasure 393 36.8

Business/meeting 340 31.9

Visiting friends or relatives 55 5.2

Stop-over 57 5.3

For the food 222 20.8

Total 1,067 100.0

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predicted, although they were not as robust as one would expect to validategroup membership.

Descriptive analysis also revealed that gastronomy tourists weremore likely to be male than female, between 26 and 45 years of age, andreasonably well educated. In addition, gastronomy tourists were morelikely to be repeat v. first time visitors (28.2% v. 17.4%, respectively).Cross-cultural differences were also found to be a factor useful in distin-guishing group membership. In this dataset, respondents who indicatedtheir primary purpose for visiting Hong Kong was to experience thefood were from Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan, rather than from Europeand North America. In addition, this also confirmed that Hong Kongwas more of a regional v. a long-haul gastronomy destination.

Factor Analysis

The Principal Components and Orthogonal (varimax) rotation methodwas used for the analysis. A variable was considered of practical signifi-cance and included in a factor when its factor loading was equal to orgreater than 0.5 (Norušis, 1994; 2000), with a Bartlett Test of Sphericityvalue of 5926.133. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin overall measure of samplingadequacy (MSA) was 0.891. From the Orthogonal (varimax) rotatedfactor matrix, seven factors with 21 variables were defined by the originalvariables that loaded most heavily (loading ≥ 0.5) on them. The factoranalysis produced a clean factor structure with relatively higher loadings

Jakša Kivela and John C. Crotts 49

TABLE 2. Attitudes Toward Food and Travel by Trip Purpose

Trip Purpose

Holiday Mean(SD) n = 393

Food Mean(SD) n = 222

t p<

Would you describe yourself assomeone who is knowledgeableabout food and cuisines?*

3.51(1.0) 3.8(1.0) 3.5 0.05

When travelling, how important is itfor you to experience different foodand culinary experiences at adestination?**

4.0(1.4) 4.5(1.1) 4.5 0.001

Do you usually travel because youwish to experience local cuisine atthe destination?**

3.0(1.0) 4.5(1.1) 4.5 0.001

* 5-point scale where 1 = Not at all knowledgeable, 5 Very knowledgeable** 5-point scale where 1 = Very unimportant, 5 = Very important

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on the appropriate factors with most variables loaded heavily on the firstfour factors but not on the fifth and sixth. This verified that there was aminimal overlap among these factors and that all factors were independ-ently structured. The higher loadings signalled the correlation of thevariables with the factors on which they loaded. The communality ofeach variable was relatively high, ranging from 0.337 to 0.825 whichalso indicates that the variance of the original values was captured wellby the six factors. The six-factor solution resulted in 66.8 percent of thevariance explained. The six-factor solution resulted in the followingfactor labels:

Factor 1: Expectations of gastronomyFactor 2: Importance of gastronomyFactor 3: Gastronomy experiences at destinationFactor 4: Gastronomy as reason for travelFactor 5: Evaluation of gastronomy experiences at destinationFactor 6: Culture and gastronomy

Regression Analysis–Dependent Variable: All things considered,would you return (revisit) to Hong Kong to sample its gastronomysometime in the future?

The analysis showed that all predictors except (F2) “Importance ofgastronomy,” (F4) “Gastronomy as reason for travel” and (F6) “Cultureand gastronomy” were included in the model for the prediction. Thesample’s gastronomy-tourist group “Expectations of gastronomy” withBeta = 0.877, accounted for a very high 87 percent of the varianceexplained, and together with (F3) “Gastronomy experiences atdestination” with Beta = 0.041, and (F5) “Evaluation of gastronomy ex-periences at destination” with Beta = 0.041, was found to be the mostimportant predictor groups, that is, visitor groups that would considerreturning to Hong Kong to sample its gastronomy sometime in the future.

Both the literature and evidence from this study suggest that whentravellers’ expectations were met and/or were exceeded and that theywere likely to return to the destination sometime in the future. Impor-tantly in this study, it appears that this also applies to gastronomy tourists,and arguably that the “Existential” and “Experimental” gastronomytourists, who are knowledgeable in gastronomy, are the most likelygroups who would return to the same destination because if its uniquegastronomy, providing they had satisfying gastronomy experiences(Evaluation of gastronomy experiences at destination). These results

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provide good evidence which suggests that as a result of favourableexperiences, repeat visits to a destination because of its unique gas-tronomy is a reasonably valid construct to use for destination marketingpurposes. The results from this study indicate that Hong Kong’s gas-tronomy was a significant factor that positively contributed to therespondents’ desire to return to Hong Kong. Hence, Hong Kong’s gas-tronomy plays a major contributing role in the creation of a high-qualitytravelling experience and return behaviour. In addition, the analysis ofthe findings also reveals that Hong Kong’s gastronomy might be increas-ingly converging as a significant element in a range of tourist experi-ences. That is, gastronomy is increasingly vital to a whole range oftourism products and services that are offered in Hong Kong.

CONCLUSION

The study described here, identifies that gastronomy is inextricablylinked to the destination and the destination’s image; maybe in multi-dimensional forms which we do not clearly understood as yet. Impor-tantly, the study confirms that gastronomy tourism is a meaningful andpossibly a highly loyal market segment. It can also be hypothesised thatgastronomy experiences are powerful tools for marketing the destina-tion. Although, it can be construed from this research that gastronomytourism is indeed a definitive concept and is appropriate for market seg-mentation purposes, more work is needed before we can conclusivelysay that a community’s gastronomy can motivate travellers in signifi-cant numbers to base a tourism economy on. However, it must also besaid that the findings of this exploratory study suggest that there indeedmay be such an appeal.

It is reasonable therefore to postulate that these self-described gas-tronomy visitors were more involved and purposeful in their restaurantand cuisine choices than the typical visitor and would therefore searchout destination’s unique and more satisfying gastronomy. The resultsalso suggest that these gastronomy tourists were more discerning cus-tomers as compared to typical leisure visitors. In addition, given thatthese self-described gastronomy tourists were more likely to be fromAsian countries instead of the West, such evaluations may also havebeen influenced by national culture.

It has been shown that visitors of different nationalities evaluateidentical services in a differential manner, where visitors from largepower-distance high-masculinity societies (e.g., Japan and Taiwan)

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reported more critical satisfaction measures than visitors from smallpower-distance low-masculinity societies (e.g., Australian, Canadian,U.S.A., Europe) (Crotts and Pizam, 2003). Nevertheless, the influenceof customer satisfaction in repeat patronage is well documented in thetourism and hospitality literature (see Crotts, 1999; Augustyn and Ho,1998; Kivela, 1999, 2000). Without meeting or even exceeding thesegastronomy tourists’ expectations, a destination should not expect tofind a market segment that not only repeat purchases but also “clone”themselves among their friends and relatives (Ford and Heaton, 2000).

If gastronomy tourists are to become a target market, it becomes acritical strategic task to better understand the market segment’s uniqueneeds and expectations in greater detail than what has been provided bythis or any other studies found in the literature. One of the essential tasksin developing and marketing gastronomy tourism, therefore, is to findways to add value to the eating experience in order to make it memora-ble (Richards, 2003:11). Therefore, it is quiet conceivable that the gas-tronomy tourist may be interested in actively participating in localgastronomy experiences. In other words, these visitors who place im-portance on cuisines are credibly driven by the need to continuallybroaden their gastronomy knowledge and/or to experience differenttaste sensations. Therefore, the experiential aspects of the dining expe-rience for this market segment may have to be re-thought and broad-ened. Unlike gastronomy destinations such as Tuscany and Lyons,France where travel packages involving the culinary arts are prevalent,the challenge for most foodservice operators, and other gastronomystakeholders, will be to distinguish between those customers who aregastronomy tourists and those who are not in their attempt to cater tosegments’ individual wants and needs. Also, if gastronomy tourists canbe shown to satisfy all the conventional requirements of a market seg-ment, it becomes a viable alternative for communities that do not havethe natural and cultural attractions known to motivate travellers to visit,or an attractive addition for communities that do have the natural andcultural attractions. In addition, if the market can be shown to be viable,the development and promotion of gastronomy offers affords a com-munity an economic basis. Finally, if gastronomy can be shown to influ-ence a significantly large segment of the travelling public’s destinationchoice, destinations and/or regions within the destination that are strug-gling for market share could reinvigorate their tourism demand throughpublic and private investments designed to enhance and promote theirgastronomy offers more effectively.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The literature suggests that destinations with best chances for devel-oping a gastronomy tourism product are those destinations that alreadyhave the advantageous “ingredients” to support a gastronomy tourismstrategy. Such resources include unique and/or multi-ethnic cuisine,creative chefs, unique marine and agricultural products, unique culinaryheritage, and so on. Although gastronomy tourism is the primary tourismproduct in only a handful of destinations, a gastronomy-would-be desti-nation, if serious about refining and nicheing its gastronomy tourismproducts, should first perform an asset inventory. Little research isevident in this area; hence, gastronomy asset inventory is an area wherefuture research can be targeted, for example, restaurants, cafés, farms,markets, etc. How many resources exist in each category? Another areafor potential research is to investigate the destination’s unique gastronomyheritage, for eample, uniquely cultural/traditional produce/preparationof food items; growing/producing certain kind of fruits/vegetables/foods:Gastronomy SWAT analysis, for example, opportunities and threats:Gastronomy partnerships and cross-marketing.

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