“Tourist expectations – potential opportunities for agriculture, food and the tourism industry”

Dawn Gibson, The University of the South Pacific

Dawn Gibson, Senior LecturerSchool of Tourism & Hospitality Management, The University of the South Pacific, 2016Email: gibson_d@usp.ac.fj Phone: (679) 323 2814

Tourist expectations – potential opportunities for agriculture, food and the tourism industry

Outline

• Introduction• Gastronomy’s importance in the development of food tourism

destinations• Types of food tourists• Emerging global trend – Home meals on demand• Food, safety, hygiene and insurance• Food allergies and intolerances – Gluten, Lactose• Food interpretation – an educational experience• Case study – Cook Islands• References

Introduction

• Food expresses local culture & heritage and connect tourists with a destination’s landscape and unique way of life (Ottenbacher & Harrington, 2013)

• Is an important destination attribute and fundamental to destination imaging (Hjalager & Richards, 2002).

• Food consumption is integral to tourism & can have significant economic effects in the supply chain

• Dining is consistently ranked in the top three favourite tourist activities

• Approximately 25% - 35% of tourist expenditure is on food• Culinary, gastronomic & food tourists considered high yield

Gastronomy's/Foods importance in the development of food tourism

• Travellers today more experienced, have more leisure time and disposable income

• Looking for escape and new learning experiences• Cuisine of a destination extremely important to quality of

holiday experience• Tourists seek authentic, quality experiences based on

local food and cultural heritage• Gastronomy and food a vital element in getting to know a

country/communities heritage and culture (UNWTO, 2012)

Types of food tourists

• Gastronomes (Foodies)– High interest/ involvement

• Indigenous Foodies– High & Moderate interest/ involvement

• ‘Tourist’ Foodies– Low interest/ involvement

• Familiar foods – Low interest/ involvement (Hall, 2011)

Foodies

• Mainly educated, more affluent, like communal shared experiences, actively participate in food blogs and related online food websites

• Motivated by unique experiences e.g. destination’s environmental and cultural elements

• Participated in a range of food-related experiences including cooking classes, dining out, visiting farmers markets, gourmet food shopping, and attending food festivals (Robinson & Getz, 2016).

Interest and opportunities

• While everyone must eat, not everyone is a food tourist• However, more people interested in trying new foods• Even if most tourists will only eat familiar foods still creates

opportunity for local food linkages, import substitution and food related products (Hall, 2011)

• Opportunities for local economic development and alternative livelihoods e.g. Agritourism, village/farm stays/tours/street markets/food products e.g. ShangriLa Fijian, Fiji – Local women’s jam/chutney/chilli sauce shop using recycled jars & wine bottles

Emerging global trend – home meals on demand

• Internationally online food experience opportunities now offered through websites and apps e.g. Airbnb – Pillow to Plate, EatWith, WeFiFo, VizEat, Bonappetour, DishNextDoor, & Travelling Spoon etc.

• Visitors want to experience authentic cuisine in local households

• Opportunities exist for Pacific entrepreneurs and communities

• Smaller set ups may not have adequate hygiene standards so this could be a source of differentiation.

Food safety, hygiene & insurance

• WeFiFo pays for hosts to get their Level 2 food hygiene certificate.

• VizEat is insured with Lloyds of London, covering hosts and guests for up to £250,000 (e.g. against food poisoning or other problems)

• Bonappetour vets households not only for food hygiene but also hosting personality and style. Source:https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/jun/03/real-life-come-dine-with-me-social-dining-revolution

Food allergies and intolerances – Gluten, Lactose

• Increasing numbers of visitors & locals with allergies & intolerances

• Traditional Pacific Island cuisines are gluten and lactose free

• Provides opportunities to promote authentic local cuisine

• Needs training Seinivalati, Tanoa International, Nadi

Food interpretation – an educational experience

•To add value to food/agritourism products there is a need for interpretation e.g. Destination guides which include local stories, culture, customs, and recipes along lines of ‘Recipes for Development’; food blogs etc.•Identify personalities & elders to deliver tours etc.

Case study – Cook Islands(Berno et al., 2016)

What are tourist’s experience and perceptions of food in the Cook Islands?

Can local food be positioned as a unique and differentiating attribute for the Cooks?

Secondary data analysis Cook Islands International Visitor Survey (IVS) - June 2012 to June 2015, covering 10,950 participants

Web audit of Cook Islands websites - 26 Cook Islands specific websites and 14 ‘other’ sites (Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor, Flikr etc)- Content analysis; characteristics, strengths, weaknesses

Menu audit (online) of Cook Islands food – 32 restaurants

Reviewed visitor satisfaction with: Brewery, food tours, BBQ, other food activities, local market

FINDINGS - IVS

Food a significant part of visitor experience37% total trip expenditure is on foodActivity Participation rate Mean satisfaction Restaurant, bars & cafes 98% 4.4Local markets 85% 4.4Local produce 72% 4.4Island night feast & show 67% 4.6Meal in a Cook Islands home

20% 4.8

Participation in and Satisfaction with Food-related Activities.

VISITOR’S EXPERIENCE WITH LOCAL FOOD

Key themes (positive)•Unique – connects visitors to local culture•Enjoyable – adds to the visitor experience

“The holiday in Cook Islands was unique as we also did something known as fruit picking. As we wondered round the island we went to gardens of local people and bought fruit like mangoes and coconuts and enjoyed eating them. We found this experience very overwhelming and it was a joy to interact with the locals who are friendliest people on the earth.”

“[I] enjoyed the experience of discovering wonderful new foods”

Key themes (Positive)

VISITOR’S EXPERIENCE WITH LOCAL FOOD

•Lack of local produce/Cook Islands cuisine – imported foods•Food overpriced in restaurants•Lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, eggs

“ Most Breakfast Buffets did not have proper fresh fruit during the winter season; we complained at one resort when they served us apples when we did not travel all the way fromAustralia to eat apples”

“ The amount of processed NZ foods available, would be great to see more local 'value added' food products available - would be good for visitors to eat, and great for locals to make money from.”

“ Over the last few years we have seen a decrease in local produce and cuisine, it would be great to come to Rarotonga and see things unique to the Cook Islands.”(Berno et al., 2016).

Key themes (Negative)

• Food not a prominent feature on websites

• Menu’s featured catered for ‘international cuisine’ with a touch of the Pacific, images also reflect this

• Local products do feature on menus but are subordinate to international/imported products

• Very hard to determine what is ‘local Cook Islands food products and dishes’ (Berno et al., 2016)

Key themes (Negative)

CONCLUSIONS AND OPPORTUNTIES

• Currently difficult to create an ‘image’ of local Cook Islands cuisine and to create expectations

• Little information online relating to culture and food• Opportunities to promote food tourism – enhance visual

aspects online, offer more local produce at resorts and restaurants and offer local dishes

• Opportunities to develop activities relating to food such as agri-food tours, culinary experiences

• Promote local food as a differentiating feature of the Cook Islands

Findings

Recommendations

• Increase use and cultivation of indigenous products• Increase local production of exotics (e.g. salads, micro greens,

herbs)• Create a distinctive contemporary “Pacific cuisine”• Broaden presentation of traditional foods and cookery methods• Opportunities to capitalise on broader societal trends towards

organic production, “slow food”, interest in “authentic” tourist experiences etc.

• Spin-offs such as agri-tourism, value added products, food festivals, “healthy-foods” concept etc and boost agricultural exports

• By forging stronger linkages between agriculture and tourism through the development and promotion of sustainable cuisine, a symbiotic relationship between these sectors can be established (Berno, 2011)

Conclusion

• Potential for increased linkages and economic development and entrepreneurship between agriculture and tourism exist

• Challenges exist for large scale mass tourism multinational hotels but can be minimised with government incentives and orientation of expatriate chefs

• Increased opportunities for all including MSMEs to continue to increase use of local produce and recognise value of Pacific Cuisines for tourism

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