Gastronomy Tourism: A Study on Northern Ireland

TRAVEL AND TOURISM
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................................5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................9
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS................................................................................11
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION..................................................................................14
Reference list.......................................................................................................................................16
Appendices..........................................................................................................................................18
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INTRODUCTION
Food and drink are one of the essential needs of humans that help them in proper functioning.
Maslow (1943) stated that physiological needs are the most important and other needs become
secondary until these are met. This is because food & drink bring one of the main requirements for
people to survive. Hall and Mitchell (2005: 73) noted that food and drink have become an essential
part of popular culture in this developed society. It is also considered as an important part of
contemporary life styles’ and hence an important part of tourism.
Gastronomy tourism refers to tourism that solely depends on food, drink, and travel. People travel to
different types of destinations for experiencing a diverse range of dishes. Moreover, they travel for
experiencing other cultural food, visiting food festivals or markets. Another reason for traveling
might exist but their trip would be based on food products (Vasileska and Reckoska, 2010: 1622).
Many years go the Food Tourism Association was founded, which these days are also known as
World Food Travel Association that is abbreviated to WFTA (www.worldfoodtravel.org). The
WFTA is located in Portland, Oregon and its goal is to improve the quality and helps in promotion
of food tourism worldwide The (WFTA) describes food tourism as an action of traveling for
achieving taste of a destination. Different drinks and unique foods have a big role in tourism when it
comes to holidays. When people travel they are exposed to that destination’s local cuisines and that
also plays a huge part in the tourism industry as it also represents the culture of the destination,
making it unique from other countries. As opined by Galvez et al. (2017), food and drink in the
developed world is an essential component in popular culture. Food is considered as a significant
part of contemporary life styles’ and hence an essential part of tourism. Over the years gastronomy,
tourism has been growing, as tourists are now in search of something different from a ‘typical
holiday’. However, it’s not just going to different countries and trying food. Gastronomy tourism
has numerous ways that tourists are able to have an authentic experience on their holiday. This
includes wine tasting going to vineyards having local farmers demonstrate the process of
winemaking this is not only adding to their experience but educating them. Other experiences
include visiting farms, distilleries, going to cooking classes in the local areas. It does not matter
where in the world they are but they can go to food markets, festivals, and encounter street foods to
add on to their experience. This is increasing a tourism option that can be utilized on holidays
(Kivela and Crotts, 2006). The Lonely Planet states a few countries which would be ideal for
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tourists for visiting if they are searching for a unique taste experience. Countries like Thailand,
Greece, China, France, and Italy can be chosen as an ideal destination. This can help the tourist to
gain knowledge about the country and their local culture. Reason behind eating certain food and
gathering knowledge about the history behind it can be done. This can help in giving them a better
understanding of what they are consuming.
In 2016 it was the Year of Food & Drink in Northern Ireland. According to the Tourism NI
(Northern Ireland), ‘’33% of all spending by local and overseas tourists were on food and drink’’.
This means that majority of the tourists during their holidays spend more money on food than
anything else. It was also stated that £282 million was spent by NI residents on tourism day trips,
which were on ‘eating. During the NI Food & Year, different types of themes whereby set every
month to bring awareness and enhance the tourists and locals culinary experience. For example,
January is considered as a month of breakfast, love is the theme of February and March represents
tradition, culture, and heritage. As it has been years since the Year of Food & Drink, this report saw
if the theme of the year had altered the way Northern Ireland locals view on traveling for
gastronomic reasons. In this report, focus has been on influence of gastronomy on experience of a
tourist in a destination.
This project researched if people in Northern Ireland have proper knowledge regarding the growth
of gastronomy tourism and if they are willing to try to go on a food and drink holiday.
Aims
1. To find out if people in Northern Ireland have good knowledge about gastronomic tourism.
2. To establish if local communities in Northern Ireland are willing to try gastronomic tourism.
3. If they have knowledge of gastronomic tourism in Northern Ireland.
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LITERATURE REVIEW
Gastronomy and Tourism
The word ‘Culinary' was first coined in with the aim to express the notion of experiencing other
countries cultures through consuming food and drinks. According to Sengel et al. (2015)
gastronomy tourism is traveling for searching, enjoying prepared drinks and food and having a great
experience in toured destinations. As such while talking about gastronomy, it is not only about
consuming food but also drinks.
According to Brokaj (2014), nature of tourism has been changing over the past years and
preferences of tourists are changing. Tourists go to travel agents to book their holiday packages for
them as per their wish. Most of them want to soak up in the sun and they want to be more
adventurous with their holidays. Many of them get influenced by what they see online and
television shows regarding food/drink such as Master Chef, Man Vs Food, Top Chef, Come Dine
with Me, being told over word of mouth and many more. Tourists used to be a bit predictable when
it came to their holidays in past days (Sormaz et al. 2016). However, at present, they have access to
the internet which allows them to be able to book their own holidays online. Whether it is a weekend
getaway or a long-haul holiday, tourists are now able to do so themselves.
As per the definition of Hjalager (2002), food tourism is about enjoying memorable and unique food
and drink from various kinds of destinations. In 1945 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations have chosen the date October 16th to be World Food Day. The reason behind this
decision was to raise awareness of different food and ‘food dilemma' in third world countries in
terms of starvation. However, over the years the event has different types of themes to celebrate a
day and it allows tourists and the public to know about the origin of the food they like and consume.
As these days people want to know the origin of their food which encourages them to travel to
several areas. This approach allows them to experience taste of different foods and the processes of
preparing those foods (Lin, 2018). Additionally, they came to know the type of lifestyle people lead
to being vegan by only eating organic food. This will also encourage them to try different things
when traveling.
Over recent years, Gastronomy tourism has grown and it has become one of the most creative and
dynamic parts of tourism. Tour operating companies and holiday destinations have become more
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aware of the importance of understanding food and drink tourism. It has become another way to
bring money into the economy (Kivela and Crotts, 2006)
As stated by Kivela and Croots (2006), Gastronomy tourism is not only about understanding drink
and food, but also about understanding the culture of destinations, their local produce of where the
food originates from and the authenticity of the food. One main reason for the growth of gastronomy
tourism is changing demand of consumers.
Many researchers have researched about the growth of Gastronomy over the last few years, how it
has become an advantage for the industry and also its importance to the industry, the UNWTO
(World Travel Organization) gives an in-depth analysis of the Gastronomic tourism.
According to the OCTA, (Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance), a non-profit firm that is liable to look
into the gastronomic tourism development worldwide, “Food tourism allows tourists to experience
different food and drink that reflects heritage and culture of different regions. Hjalager (2003) has
stated that gastronomy tourists prefer to have a combination of food and beverages from different
destinations to foster learning about the culture associated with it. As per the perspective of these
tourists, consuming different food and beverages are not for pleasing the hunger and thirst. It is
important for them to gain in-depth knowledge regarding local or traditional cuisine, wine, and
beverages. It also helps to understand beliefs and culture of different destinations. Existential
gastronomy tourists do not search for tourist restaurants or well-known restaurants after reaching
destinations (De Jong et al. 2018). For this kind of tourists, the success holidays is measured by
consuming food and beverages from special authentic restaurant and vineyard those are populated
with local customers. Ordinary food and beverages that are prepared in traditional process are the
main attractions of gastronomy tourism.
Pérez-Priego et al. (2019) have revealed that Gastronomic has continuously been part of the
majority of travelers. Recent trend of tourism is to explore different kinds of beverages and food
from different tourist destination for understanding about associated cultural background.
"American Culinary Traveler Report," has been published by Mandala Research in 2003. This report
contains the percentage of leisure travelers of the US and their purpose of traveling. These travelers
travel to learn about and experience unique dining has grown from 40% to 51% from 2006 to 2013.
Also, there has become an increase in tourist destinations because of the unique gastronomy they
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