BS4294 | Lifestyle Consumption and Experience Economies | Case Study: Tourism and Gastronomy. | | Clarice | 12/14/2011 |

“The study of gastronomy clearly has relevance to education and training in the hospitality industry. Accepting that hospitality is based on human exchange ‘undertaken to enhance the mutual well-being of the parties concerned’, then offering advice on what to eat and drink, explaining how these relate to the town’s or region’s culture, and suggesting where and when to find them at their best, are all part of this human exchange which can certainly affect the well-being of the visitor “(Santich 2004, p.15). |

Introduction

The term gastronomy has been defined in many ways and is evolving overtime. It used to describe sophisticated dishes prepared for the nobility but there are now much wider and even differing definitions. Food tourism can be considered as “a subset of cultural tourism” – to learn through an experience about a previously unknown or very specific culture and environment (Santich 2004). Consequently, one contribution of food is to provide tourists a greater experience. As tourists have to eat and generally at least partially participate in local food experiences, gastronomy has always implicitly been part of the tourism experience. Nowadays, gastronomy takes people to travel to other countries to taste and to know what other people eat, and how do they make such a delicious dish. The gastronomy tourism is a perfect example of what people can do to eat a different type of spices, combining food with travel.

Tourism and Gastronomy
In recent years food and wine have played an increasingly more important role in tourism. Not only are they featured in tourism promotions, but food and wine tourism (also referred to as gastronomy tourism, culinary tourism and cuisine tourism) has become a significant part of tourism in general in the past few decades. Ascertain gastronomy tourism is interesting due the fact that cultural tourism and gastronomy walk side by side. Culture and gastronomy is nothing more than one of the most significant cultural events of a people. The act of eating has a symbolic meaning for humans since all signs from the past cuisine, history and society relates to where it belongs. Cooking is a cultural action that relates to the man to what he was, is and will be, with which he produces, designs and dreams. The cuisine, and cultural aspect, it is also a major centre of tourist attraction, being responsible for the universalization of human exchange and interaction between cultures, different customs and habits. Gillespie (2000) stated that “the study of gastronomy is the understanding of the scope of production and preparation of food and drink as well as how, where, when and why they are consumed.” According to Kivela and Crotts (2006) gastronomy is becoming an important attribute in the development of niche travel and niche destinations. “Cuisine holidays are therefore an important aspect of the emerging innovative tourism sector, as tourists can learn to cook, can learn about the ingredients used, the way in which they are grown and appreciate how culinary traditions have come into existence” (Hjalager and Richards 2002).

Gastronomy tourism is a growth segment, and typically culinary tours are increasingly being combined with other activities such as cultural tours, heritage, walking, etc. Therefore, this is a segment that appeals to a broad range of consumers. Growth in this niche market is expected to be strong over the next 5-10 years, although from a relatively small base, so volumes will still be small. According to International culinary association (2011) Gastronomy consumers tend to be couples that have above-average income, are usually professionals and are aged 30 to 50. This correlates closely to the demographics of the cultural tourist. According to Santich (2004) in recent years food and wine have played an increasingly more important role in tourism. Not only are they featured in tourism promotions, but food and wine tourism (also referred to as gastronomy tourism, culinary tourism and cuisine tourism) has become a significant part of tourism in general in the past few decades (Santich 2004). In its broadest sense, Gastronomy tourism, or food and wine tourism, refers to tourism or travel motivated, at least in part, by an interest in food and drink, eating and drinking. It can be defined as ‘travel in order to search for, and enjoy, prepared food and drink’ and includes ‘all unique and memorable gastronomic experiences’ (Santich 2004).

According to Pine and Gilmore (1998), the basis of the economy now is slightly shifting from the delivering services to staging experiences. Food and beverage, besides accommodation and other tourism activities, are considered as one of the most important elements in the tourism and hospitality industry today. The various types of food and beverages are also viewed as an integral component of a travel experience (Kivela and Crotts 2006). In other words, the quality of the basic elements of the tourism products will increasingly be experienced by tourists, and these include food and beverages, food culture practices and food heritage. This is because food and beverages structure the tourists’ day and a large proportion of tourists experiences are spent either consuming food and drink or deciding what and where to eat (Santich 2004). Good food promotion and campaigns without a doubt is an important element in promoting popular holiday destinations and influencing tourists’ destination choices (Gursoy and McCleary 2004). In fact, many critics contended that it is crucial for the tourism marketers to develop or to find ways to add value to make the tourists’ eating experience lasting and memorable (Kivela and Crotts 2006; Hjalager 2003; Kivela and Chu 2001). Kivela and Chu (2001) noted that tourists not only dine out in the search of new tastes in the choice of food and beverages, but at the same time are also on the lookout for new gastronomy experiences when visiting a country. For tourists, this means that the destination’s restaurants’ ambience and cuisine, and/or its vineyards, are legitimate sources of pleasure that generate emotions and experiences, it is hoped pleasant ones, that they are supposed to be having while on holiday (Kivela and Chu 2001). It must be said, however, that such pleasure does not always have an enduring effect and that it does diminish over time. According to Hjalager (2003), the existential gastronomy tourists seek food and beverage combinations and eating experiences that foster (gastronomy) learning. For these tourists, food and beverage consumption does not only satisfy hunger and thirst but, important for them, such consumption means gaining in-depth knowledge about the local or regional cuisine, wine, and beverages and of the destination’s culture. Hall and Sharples (2003) differentiated food tourists as “those who consume food as a part of travel experience and those whose activities, behaviours and even destination selection are influenced by an interest in food”. The need for food definitely is a primary factor in influencing travel behaviour and decision making.

It is vital for physical sustenance and all tourists have to eat when travelling, but food can be a major draw and primary motivator for some, which satisfies a multiplicity of physiological and other needs and wants (Tikkanen, 2007). People with different cultural backgrounds may view food tourism differently. These experiences have the power to modify eating and drinking habits, tastes as well as permeate the tourists’ cultural experiences of the peoples of the new locations and countries being visited (Johns and Clarke, 2001; Johns and Kivela, 2001). Kivela and Crotts (2006) explained that seasoned tourists attach great value to the gastronomy and culinary experience of the countries being visited, and that these go hand in hand with the social and cultural attractions being experienced. In fact, they argue that gastronomic products play a pivotal role in marketing some tourism destinations. According to ‘about tourism destination consultants’ (2011) in the UK, food tourism is estimated to be worth nearly $8 billion each year. The growth in popularity of ethnic cuisines like Thai, Indian, North African, Mexican and Chinese throughout the industrialised countries is attributable to a significant degree to tourism where visitors sample local foods and develop a taste for them. Food and drink festivals constitute the sole instance where the decision to travel is taken solely on the grounds of the gastronomic experiences offered. These are becoming more prevalent, in particular in Europe, with France, Italy and Spain. Kivela and Crotts (2006) reported that holiday with cooking and wine appreciation feature regularly in destinations like Tuscany and Provence in Europe, Melbourne and the Sydney Napa Valley in Australia as well as the Sonoma Valley in California. These places in fact have become premier food and wine tourism destinations and for these destinations, gastronomy is a central feature of the tourist attraction.

Gastronomy versus Culture
Gastronomy is a dialogue about the pleasure of good food; it is tributary of the variety and is based on choice and on selection. An important part of culture, Gastronomy implies truly loving and enjoying good food and good wine, two of lives pleasures that when along with a good service and good company offer a really fantastic meal. Its preservation and valorisation must be seen as much as important as any other cultural patrimony. Several studies have shown that the most recent choices done by tourists prefer Cultural Tourism including intercultural experiences. The new tourist (21st Century) seeks these intercultural experiences. This means, that it is not enough to offer the traditional Tourist Inventory - accommodation, food and transport (tangible offer). Pine and Gilmore (1999) set out the vision for a new economic era: the ‘experience economy’ in which consumers are in search of extraordinary and memorable experiences. The 21st Century demands new emotions and new emotions connected to the intangible offer. This is where the new gastronomy appears as unique experiences that are lived beyond and inside culture as symbol of tourist product - the regional gastronomy villages.

A trip through the Gastronomy tells us that the Gastronomy of the Euro region is superior by its fineness degree, reflecting exigency standards capable of revelling to the tourist the identity of a destiny in the uniqueness composite of its geography, history and human scenery. Nevertheless, an increasing number of tourist destinations are very sought after because of their unique gastronomy (Hjalager, 2003). These destinations are also known as the “foodie” and/or wine holiday destinations, for example, cooking holidays in Provence and Lyons in France. France is a leading tourism destination and is recognised worldwide as having a strong food culture. The French tourism authorities promote French gastronomy as a key feature of the French travel experience. The importance of regional gastronomy tourism is also increasingly recognised in France and regional tourism boards are progressively structuring their gastronomy tourism offer around their regional specialities. Another example Jones and Jenkins (2002) demonstrated how food has been used as a vehicle to reposition Scotland and Wales. Both have developed similar marketing programs: ‘A Taste of Scotland’ and ‘A Taste of Wales’. The Taste of Scotland initiative created a marketing scheme in which participating establishments would agree to provide dishes which were either ‘traditional or using recognizably Scottish produce, to provide the visitor with a meal of Scottish food’ (Hughes, 1995). Hughes argued that the Taste of Scotland scheme constructed a food heritage for Scotland, which could then be used as an important marketing tool.

Experience Economy
The tourist experience has for a long time been one-sidedly understood as either the peak experience, or the consumer experience. In the age of postmodernity, the experiences of consumers play an increasingly important role in economic and social life (Quan and Wang 2004). It is claimed that we are witnessing the emergence of the experience economy (Pine and Gilmore 1999). Tourism is surely one of the pioneer examples of the experience economy.
Pine and Gilmore (1999) on “The Experience Economy” was permeating many facets of the service industry, including entertainment attractions, hospitality venues and customer services of all kinds. In it they described the experience economy as the next economy following the agrarian economy, the industrial economy, and the most recent service economy. Otto and Ritchie (1996) defined the leisure and tourism experience as “the subjective mental state felt by participants”. Ryan (1997) argued that the experience is the focus of tourism, and tourists wish to encounter the characteristics that are unique to a particular place. Quan and Wang (2004) used the relationship between food consumption and tourism experience to integrate peak touristic experience and supporting consumer experience as well as analyse the role of food consumption in tourism. They clarified that food consumption in tourism can be regarded as either the supporting consumer experience or the peak touristic experience. When food consumption is a supporting consumer experience, it is “the extension of the daily dining experience” (Quan and Wang 2004). When food consumption is a peak touristic experience, it offers tourists a novel or memorable experience. In an experience economy, consumers want good products and services; they also want to experience memorable events (Pine and Gilmore 1999). Richards (2002) argued that food can create experiences. For many tourists, much of their time is spent eating, drinking, or deciding how or where to experience local cuisine. Richards also suggested that food can sell the destination.

Pine and Gilmore (1999) defined and characterized of the ‘experience economy’. They suggest that the economy has evolving from a service paradigm into an experience paradigm, and that revenues would be generated more and more from memorable, exciting and engaging experiences. Pine and Gilmore (1999) argue that businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers, and that memory itself becomes the product – the "experience". More advanced experience businesses can begin charging for the value of the "transformation" that an experience offers, e.g., Tourism in particular have been producing experiences for centuries (actually since even before the term tourism was created) but the service industries in general have long been aware of the need to cater for intangible emotional and memorable experiences. Today’s tourists are looking for unique gratifying experiences. They are in constant pursuit of new destinations and new activities to satisfy their thirst for novel experiences. Thus, the hospitality and tourism industries are constantly looking for creative ideas and innovative products/services that can satisfy their customers’ desires for new enjoyable experiences. By providing unique and imaginative products/services, hospitality and tourism operators can differentiate themselves from the rest of the competitors and gain a competitive advantage over those who continue to offer the same old products/services. As Pine and Gilmore (1999) explain: “When a person buys a service, he purchases a set of intangible activities carried out on his behalf but when he buys an experience, he pays to spend time enjoying a series of memorable events that a company stages – as in a theatrical play – to engage him in a personal way”. Evidence for this trend in innovative hospitality and tourism products/services is the surge in the building of gastronomy tourism that immerse their guests into new imaginative experiences based on some central themes such as geographical location, culture, time period, activities, etc.

Authenticity has become one of the dominant consumer sensibilities that influence consumers’ choice to buy or not to buy (Pine and Gilmore 1999). When it comes to the concept of authenticity of local or regional food of a destination, Scarpato and Daniele (2003) pointed out that many scholars blamed globalization for “increased sameness” in the postmodern world. It becomes more unclear to identify how tourists perceive “authenticity” as the result of globalization. Since authenticity has always been viewed as an important aspect of tourism consumption, seeking out “authentic” local and regional food can become a powerful marketing tool for a specific country or region. However poor quality and service failure can impact negatively on health, disrupting trips and tarnishing destination reputations. Most consumers and tourists may not know how exactly to distinguish “authentic” food products (Scarpato and Daniele 2003); however, what leads consumers to choose to buy or not to buy largely depends on how they perceive authenticity. “Consumers’ perception of what is and is not authentic changes over time, based on different life stages, personal experiences, and changes in brands and offerings they habitually use” (Pine and Gilmore 1999).

Conclusion
Gastronomy is one of the elements incorporated in a new concept of cultural heritage and cultural tourism, driven by growing trends of a well-being lifestyle, authenticity and the need to have a high-quality experience. Tourists increasingly want foods which emphasise the heritage and culture of a place, which assist the preservation of traditional forms of regional and cultural heritage. Gastronomy, as a tourist resource, is appreciated not only for its own sake, but also for its ability to generate rural or destination development. Food tourism in its different manifestations currently enjoys a high degree of popularity and appears to have excellent prospects. The tourism and food sectors should strive for an increased awareness of the contribution of food to the tourist experience and improvements in quality, cooperating in new product development and joint marketing. Selling tourism experiences is part of the attention economy.

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