OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY MSC INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

Traditional food within the tourism destination marketing

Vasilena Barbayaneva

P58905 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Dr Alexandros Paraskevas

13. 02. 2012

Abstract

Title: Traditional food within the tourism destination marketing Purpose: To examine if the traditional food can be successfully used for the purposes of destination marketing and what are the limitations of its applicability. Design/methodology/approach: A broad variety of scholar publications are critically discussed, most of them recently published (2000 2012), but also including some of the fundamental concepts, dating back in the 70s and 80s. Predominantly used are scientific journal articles from the electronic databases EBSCOhost electronic journals service, Academic search complete and Emerald fulltext and to lesser extent books. The sources are organised into sections: destination marketing, food within the tourism experience, typologies of tourists, current issues in the tourist consumer behaviour and development of destinations in connection with traditional food Findings: The traditional food can be successfully implemented in the destination marketing. However, in order to determine the correct scope of the implementation, it is important to consider the target tourists attitudes towards unfamiliarity as well as the trends in tourist consumer behaviour and the destinations current state and future development in connection with traditional cuisine. Limitations: Very few are the works, which comment the variety of tourists attitudes towards traditional food within the tourism experience. No primary research was conducted in order to support the findings of the article. Practical implications: In order successfully to use the traditional food in the destination marketing, the potential customers attitudes towards novelty should be researched and taken into consideration. Important is also the actual connection between traditional food and the destination. Both peoples attitudes and links between local cuisine and destination can be influenced by marketers. Originality/Value: It is the first article that makes recommendations about the scope of the implementation of traditional food within the destination marketing regarding typologies of tourists, contemporary tendencies in the tourist consumer behaviour and destinations development in terms of gastronomy

Introduction Marketing plays a significant role for the success of a destination (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). Destination marketing in the traditional sense is the promotion of the destination to its target segment, or identifying and addressing the consumers who would be attracted by the destinations products (Collier, 1999, Kotler and Gertner, 2002). Lately destination marketing is also seen as a strategic development mechanism for reaching balance between all stakeholders interests and sustainability of the local resources (Kotler et al. 1993, Buhalis, 2000). Destination marketing is an important concept nowadays, when people could choose from steadily increasing number of destinations (Pike, 2005, Morgan et al., 2002). Destinations are vigorously competing for tourists and in order to distinguish themselves they have to emphasise on their unique products (Buhalis, 2000,

Okumus et al. 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). Moreover, contemporary tourists are very often well experienced in travelling, educated and can get easily informed (King, 2002, Mohsin, 2004, Hassan, 2008), so in order to attract potential visitors it is important that destinations address them in the most effective way. Owing to its major importance for the destinations success, the topic destination marketing has been widely researched by the scholars. The main challenge for marketers is that the destination has a very comprehensive essence, consisting of all the products and services offered at the place (Buhalis, 2000, Pike, 2005, Murphy et al., 2000). The entity of the destination suggests that there are many stakeholders and as a result destinations are very difficult to be managed and promoted (Pike, 2005 Buhalis, 2000, Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Gretzel et al., 2006). This requires the existence of destination marketing organisations, whose main role and purpose is to provide a unified strategy and facilitate a coherent development of the destination (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Blumberg, 2005). There are many works, which study the roles, responsibilities and best strategies for destination marketing organisations (Gretzel et al., 2006, Pike, 2005, Blumberg, 2005, King, 2005). Many researches have been conducted about the means, used by the destinations for the purpose of marketing. It is agreed that the destination image has a significant power to attract tourists (Pike, 2005 Buhalis, 2000, Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Gretzel et al., 2006, Morgan et al, 2002). However, commonly used in the marketing are many other destinations dimensions the natural resources (Waitt et al., 2003, Middleton and Hawkins,1998), the culture (Boyd, 2002, Richards, 2007), the facilities

and infrastructure (King, 2005), the attractions (Morse, 2001, Chalip et al. 2003, Richards, 2007, Law and Au, 2000, Jansen-Verbeke, 1991, Turner and Reisinger, 2001) and many more. The challenges and opportunities in their marketing implementation are widely researched. Nevertheless, while some marketing means are extremely popular in both academia and industry, others remain insufficiently researched and their practical implications are underestimated. One example is the traditional food of the destination. Few authors have researched the food in terms of its marketing and promotional abilities for a destination and the amount of studies does not match the practical potential of the relationship traditional food-destination marketing. The academic works are mostly descriptive and do not see the cuisine from the perspective of marketing instrument. They discuss the nature of the food experience: as biological necessity (Ritchards 2002, Frochot, 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004) as culture and authenticity carrier (Okumus, B., Okumus, F. McKercher, B., 2007, Mak et al., 2011), as pure delight (Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003, Frochot, 2003). Also the level of significance of food within the tourism experience is researched when offering the home comfort it is supportive experience, when presenting novelty and memorable moments it is a peak experience (Quan and Wang, 2004). Recently there is a growing interest in the literature about food tourism, or food as a major motivation to visit a particular destinations (Mak et al, 2011, Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003, Hall and Sharples, 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004), some of the works discuss the role of food tourism within the destination marketing (Boniface, 2003, Long, 2004, Hall et al. 2003). Only few are the publications, where the authors explicitly connect the traditional food experience (in its general sense, not specifically food tourism) and destination marketing (Rand and Heath, 2006, Rand et al 2003., Richards, 2002, Okumus et al, 2007, Hassan, 2008), but they do not make practical recommendations about the extent to which destination marketing can employ the traditional food. The aim of this article is to examine if the traditional cuisine can be effectively used for the purposes of destination marketing and what is the scope of its applicability. After analysing the two bodies of literature, destination marketing and food within the tourism experience, it is concluded that they interrelate, but the extent to which the traditional food can be successfully implemented in the destination marketing depends on the attitudes of the target tourists towards unfamiliarity and the destination development in terms of gastronomy. 3

Literature review Destination marketing There are two main concepts about the essence of the tourist destination (Blumberg, 2005). The older one takes into consideration just its physical characteristics as a place, where the journey occurs (Blumberg, 2005), or as a fixed geographical region country, island, city. The newer scholar perception of a destination is that it is a mixture of specifically touristic products and services (accommodation, food and beverages, means of transport, entertainment) as well as public goods (nature, architecture, atmosphere) (Buhalis, 2000, Pike, 2005). Because it embodies everything that can be consumed or experienced while on holiday, the tourism destination define the total tourism experience (Murphy et al., 2000). Definition given by Bornhorst et al. (2010, p. 572) is that a tourism destination is a public geographical region, political jurisdiction, or major attraction, which seeks to provide visitors with a range of satisfying to memorable visitation experiences. And because geographical and political boundaries very often overlap, the authors propose that a destination is considered mainly as a geographical region. As a destination they also identify big cities and major attractions (Disney World, Versailles Palace) which offer a variety of visitation experiences and could compete in attractiveness with many larger geographical entities. So the leading conception when determine a place as a destination, is the experiences and products it offers and not its specific physical characteristics. Ritchie and Crouch (2003) have a similar perception about the destination as a place, offering tourism experiences. Tourists consume destinations without realising that they consist of many different products and services, which have different producers and managers (Buhalis, 2000). The destination is the experience itself or it could be considered as a macroproduct (Travis,1989; Vukonic, 1997, cited in Blumberg, 2005). Therefore it should be regarded as a marketing unit (Blumberg, 2005) and as a central figure in the tourism competition (Ritchie & Crouch, 2000). In order to succeed destinations have to possess competitiveness. Because the destination competitiveness is a very important part of the industry, it is of growing interest for policy makers and people in the business (Ritchie & Crouch, 2000). The concept of destination competitiveness was primary researched from the perspective of destination image and attractiveness (Enright and Newton, 2004). In earlier studies image and attractiveness are considered to be determined by the 4

destinations attributes such as climate and scenery (Chon, et al., 1991; Hu and Ritchie, 1993). Buhalis (2000) adds the importance of the uniqueness of the

products and services offered as well as the meaning of the suppliers. Dwyer and Kim (2003) make a distinction between destinations competitive advantages (infrastructure, management, staff) and comparative advantages (nature, climate, culture), which have to interrelate so that the destination is competitive. On the one hand destinations worldwide are becoming more rival and therefore need to distinguish themselves from the others by emphasising on their unique products (Buhalis, 2000, Okumus et al., 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). On the other hand tourists nowadays are more experienced and independent, become better educated about the destinations and search information by themselves (King, 2002, Mohsin, 2004, Hassan, 2008). As a result marketing is an important issue when trying to manage a successful destination (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002), in order to communicate with the actual and potential customers in the most effective way. The core aim of tourism destination marketing is to attract visitors by introducing relevant information (Buhalis, 1998, Werthner and Klein, 1999, Mohsin, 2004). Effective marketing leads to destinations growth (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). In order to address the correct target markets, the marketers in the industry have to take into consideration the motives and requirements of the actively demanding as well as of potential visitors (Buhalis, 2000), to research their characteristics and to position the products using appropriate campaigns (Mohsin, 2004). Destination marketing is examined from two perspectives. Collier (1999) refers to the definition narrowly, considering it as targeted promotion of the destination. He also claims that the destination should find and attract the market segment, which is determined by the destinations core product, instead of trying to invent new products which satisfy a particular target market. The statement is supported by Kotler and Gertner (2002), who argue that different places attract different people and destinations should be very specific when deciding what they want to promote and to whom.

However, there is another way of understanding about the essence of destination marketing. According to Kotler et al. (1993, p. 16, cited in Blumberg, 2005), destination marketing is market-orientated strategic planning, which is successful only when all stakeholders in the process (citizens, businesses and tourists) are satisfied. Buhalis (2000) also refers to destination marketing as a well-considered 5

strategy which aims not only to attract more visitors, but also to improve the destinations sustainable development, decrease seasonality and avoid stagnation. It must lead to the optimisation of tourism impacts by balance between strategic objectives of all stakeholders as well the sustainability of local resources. As a result destination marketing is a mechanism for coordination between the region development goals and tourism policies. Ritchie and Crouch (2000) claim that destination marketings main objective is long term effect on regional sustainable development.

Middleton (1994) makes a distinction between two possible strategies in destination marketing. The one is to concentrate on the promotion and mainly on advertisement, so that an awareness and interest among the target market is created. The second possibility is that destination marketing organisation and individual tourism operators work together for achieving shared goals. Prideaux and Cooper (2002) add another element to the role of destination marketing, namely marketing to the supply side. They pay attention to the importance of attracting more sellers, which could be achieved by improvement of the destinations public goods and services, for example the infrastructure.

To summarise, although scholars give different definitions of tourism destination marketing, it is clearly described as a strategic concept and its initial aim is to attract visitors. Then some authors add, that achieving sustainable development in the destination should be the long term effect of its marketing. Destinations are very difficult to manage and market because they are multidimensional (Pike, 2005) , they have complex character and the wide range of stakeholders government, authorities, businesses, environment, public (Buhalis, 2000, Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Gretzel et al., 2006). The businesses or the suppliers in the tourism industry are very often small firms, which do not cooperate and coordinate, but severely compete against each other. Moreover, this competition take place in a heterogeneous market, which consists of both domestic and international components, so there is a wide range of target groups (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Pike, 2005 ), which makes the destination strategic planning more complicated. Lately the governments realise the importance of destination marketing for the tourism development and start funding tourism marketing structures, called tourism marketing organisations (DMO) (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). They could vary in 6

terms of public or private equity, but have the same character of institutions that govern a marketing strategy of the destination as a unit (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). DMOs determine and follow strategic objectives which are common and beneficial for all stakeholders within the destination (Blumberg, 2005). In addition they are non-profit entities with the objective to enhance the unique image of the destination (Gretzel et al., 2006). In order to operate effectively DMOs have to be supported in terms of strategic planning by local and national authorities as well as the private sector (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002). In addition, the interests and demand of the local communities should always be taken into consideration in order to achieve not only temporary growth but also a sustainable development of the destination (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Pike, 2005 ). As the local residents support the destination by providing it with products and services, the DMOs have to ensure a high return on the community (King, 2002). There is a huge variety of tools used for destination marketing. The visitors choice of the destination depends on many criteria, which marketers have to research, in order most successfully to position the destination among the proper target market and to promote it. One of the main, or according to Buhalis (2000) the most influential factor on the choice of destination is its image, and therefore one of the most effective elements of destination marketing is branding (Prideaux and Cooper, 2002, Morgan et al., 2002). Nowadays consumers are spoilt by the significant number of destinations available (Pike, 2005) and each destination claims to offer all the same resources, such as luxury resorts, unique heritage, professional staff and friendly local people (Morgan et al, 2002). It is the brand name that actually makes the difference and incite the customer to prefer one destination to another. Gilmore (2002) claims that the thoughtfully created brand image is a destinations competitive advantage. When the brand is linked to the genuine values of the destination, it allows added value to its products (Martinovic, 2002). Even if not intentionally created, images of the countries help people evaluate their products and services (Kotler and Gertner, 2002). Therefore today, as never before, it is important that destinations create and keep easy recognisable image and successful brand. When branding a destination all its elements facilities and services, nature, sociocultural resources etc. are branded together and associated with the destination (Buhallis, 2000). While the brand is a conception that gives consumers a general perception of a destination, each of its elements could be promoted more 7

specifically. According to Buhalis (2000) of significant importance for the destination marketing is to determine its core as well as supportive products and to promote them to its target markets. Many different resources that the destination possess can be used for the purpose of attracting visitors for instance the natural resources, the culture, the facilities and infrastructure, the attractions. The natural beauties and landscapes are maybe the resources firstly used for promoting a destination (Waitt et al, 2003). In order to preserve them, nowadays growing attention is directed to the sustainability and nature preservation, and many destinations use these concepts for promotion in order to distinct themselves from the others (Middleton and Howkins, 1998). Frequently used conception in the destination marketing is the cultural heritage of the destination, as the cultural tourism becomes increasingly popular (Boyd, 2002, Richards, 2007). As the holiday is relaxation and escape from the everyday life, many destinations rely on their luxury facilities in order to attract visitors hotels, resorts, infrastructure, transportation (King, 2002). Major tourism attractions are also important for drawing guests. They vary in large range from shopping to international events. The Shopping is an activity that for long time has been recognised and used as a marketing tool for destinations (Jansen-Verbeke, 1991). It is a major expense while on holiday, has a significant economic impact on the local retail (Turner & Reisinger, 2001) and is regarded as one of the major attractions in many destination (Law & Au, 2000). Popularising a destination via mega sport events held in it (such as Olympic games) contributes not only to its current tourist attendance, but also generate

future interest in it (Chalip, Green, & Hill, 2003, Morse, 2001). This is only a small part of the destinations resources, typically used for its

promotion. However, some destination products remain underestimated and barely unexploited in terms of their marketing potential. One of them is the traditional food or cuisine. Cohen and Avieli (2004) claim that in the academia, as well as in the industry, the tourists are traditionally viewed as sightseers and therefore as tourist products and experiences are considered predominantly the objects of the visual senses. Consequently, food consumption, which is not associated with the gaze, is not explicitly researched in terms of the marketing opportunities that it could possess. Hall and Sharples (2003) give another argument why food is neglected in the marketing tourism studies and as a result in the marketing practice. The authors state that it is such a fundamental part of the everyday life, thus it is often not 8

perceived as a tourism experience. Additional reason is that food is a consistent part of each trip and tourists do not consider it is as a separate tourism activity, so some scholars and practitioners regard that there is no need to develop a special concept of food in terms of its tourism marketing abilities (Frochot, 2003). However, recently there is a growing interest in topic food within the tourism experience in general and more specifically its implications to the destination marketing (Hall and Sharples, 2003, Long, 2004, Bonface, 2003).

Food consumption within the tourism experience Food consumption is a significant part of the tourism experience. Not only is it a major expense while on holiday, accounting for one fourth to one third of the total expenditures (Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Mak et al, 2011, Quan and Wang,

2004), but food is also one of the main products or experiences, that a destination offers (Hall and Sharples, 2003, Frochot, 2003, Robinson and Clifford, 2011 ). When being on holiday at most places people can choose from eating

international/standardised or traditional food. This work addresses the traditional food in its broader sense under food here is assumed foodstuffs as well as cuisine or gastronomy (used as synonyms), which is a set of ingredients, manner of cooking and etiquette of eating (Goody, 1982, cited in Bradatan, 2003). The traditional food is connected with the concept of destination, as it cannot be determined by national borders it can vary within the country and spread over more than one region (Mintz, 1996, cited in Bradatan, 2003). In this article the terms traditional food or local cuisine are used, referring to the food heritage of a destination, which could be any kind of territorial entity, as long as it is characterised by a common and authentic gastronomy. Long (2004) refers to traditional food consumption within the tourism experience as tasting the otherness. The otherness results from dissimilar culture, region, religion, time and socioeconomic class, which all have influence on the character of the cuisine (Long, 2004). The gastronomy is part of the identity of any society, we are what we eat (Richards, 2002, p. 2). The traditional cuisine is a fragment of the destinations authentic culture and intangible heritage (Okumus, et al., 2007). Consequently traditional food consumption is an educational act giving knowledge about the local culture (Mak et 9

al., 2011). Moreover, it is an experience that inspires the individual actively to engage in the destinations essence and to draw personal conclusions about it. (Long, 2004). In addition, the traditional cuisine is a very stable social institution, (Bradatan, 2003) which does not change even among emigrant groups (Okumus, et al., 2007). Thus it is a significant carrier of the culture authenticity. Another dimension of the food consumption is that it brings pure physical pleasure and feeling of relaxation (Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003). Frochot (2003) refers to food as one of the most pleasurable activities that holidaymakers will undertake during their vacation. Food consumption is also associated with celebration and rituals (Boniface, 2003). It is a unique act, which involves all the senses (Kivela and Crottes, 2006, Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Urry, 2002). So food is a

multidimensional medium to discover and feel the destination (Boniface, 2003). Food within the tourism experience could be perceived from two perspectives. On the one hand food provides body with the needed nutrients and energy - it can be seen as an obligatory activity (Ritchards 2002), basic necessity (Frochot 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004) and crucial precondition for other touristic activities

(Cohen and Avieli, 2004). On the other hand the meaning of food within the tourism experience vary (Mak et al, 2011, Quan and Wang, 2004). Quan and Wang (2004) propose a theoretical framework, classifying the tourist food experience. When tourists are seeking the routine and the comfort of the home environment, the food consumption is a supportive experience its role is just to answer the biological needs or to offer the home comfort. When there is a search for novelty and contrast to the daily life, food consumption could be the peak experience - memorable and intensifying the quality of the whole holiday. A satisfactory supportive experience cannot compensate for disappointing peak experience, but if the supportive one is frustrating the total impression of the holiday will be also unpleasant (Quan and Wang, 2004). So after all food has a significant influence on the total holiday, even if it is not perceived as a considerable part of it . In addition, the meaning of the food can be so significant as to represent the whole aim of the holiday or the major motivation to visit the destination (Mak et al, 2011, Quan and Wang, 2004). Long (2004) even calls the food a destination. Boniface (2003), Long (2004), Hall and Sharples (2003) note that people are travelling with the purpose of trying new cuisines, which is called food/gastronomy/culinary tourism (with minor differences between the terms).

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Whether food is a peak or supportive experience in ones journey and whether a tourist would prefer local cuisine or well-known international food, depends on many criteria such as the purpose of the trip, the attributes of the destination, the travellers characteristics and the external environment (Buhalis, 2000). As trying traditional food in most of the cases means tasting the otherness (Long, 2004) very determining factor for the tourists choice to do it is ones personal attitudes towards the new. The approach to the novelty is a basis of some classifications of tourists. Cohen (1974) claims that tourists seek new experiences, but at the same time need to feel the comfort of home or the environmental bubble in order truly to enjoy the destination. Everybody requires different amount of home environment while on holiday and this determines the persons involvement in new experiences. Cohen (1972) has a classification based on the proportion between novelty and familiarity, which the tourist search while on holiday. He distinguishes between: drifter novelty is at its maximum , explorer novelty dominates, individual mass tourist familiarity dominates and organised mass tourist familiarity is at its maximum. Plog (2002) classifies dependables and venturers, following his older classification of psychocentrics and allocentrics, or tourists who prefer the comfort of the familiarity respectively those who are happy to explore the unknown. There are also classifications, based on peoples attitudes towards unfamiliar food. Fischer (1988) makes specific sorting, considering the attitude to new and strange tastes. He speaks about neophobic and neophylic preferences in food, or people afraid of the new respectively people who search for an unique food experience. Cohen and Avieli (2004) point out that of significant importance is the cultural background and the social class of the individuals for forming a special approach towards different food for example Westerners are more experimental in comparison with Asians. Finkelstein (1989) (cited in Au and Law, 2002) offers 3 types of dining behaviour: experiential never try new things second time, experimental try out in order to choose the favourite, existential devoted to try out different things. Consumer behaviour towards gastronomy products while on vacation is unknown and barely researched (Boyne et al, 200, Mitchell and Hall 2003). Mitchel and Hall (2003) make a typology of tourist behaviour related to the interest and involvement in food while on holiday. Their classification segments the tourists into four types, namely gastronomes, indigenous foodies, tourist foodies, familiar foods. The 11

gastronomes would try every kind of food, visit food markets of local producers and could even undertake cooking schools while on holiday. Indigenous foodies would usually eat in local ethnic restaurants. Tourist foodies visit mainstream restaurants at the destination. Familiar foodies normally do not eat out and when on holiday will only visit well known fast food chains. Boyne et al (2003) highlight an omission in the literature that there are no empirical researches about the role of food in tourists decision making process and choice of destination. In order to fill this gap they make a special adapted classification of consumers according to the importance of gastronomy in the decision making process. The first type are people who consider the cuisine as a significant part of their tourism experience and try to inform themselves about the local food heritage prior to their vacation. Gastronomy is important also for the second kind of tourists, but they would not actively search for information about it. The third ones are people who do not assign significance to the cuisine, but their interest could grow as a consequence of an enjoyable food experience. The fourth type of tourists do not have any interest in traditional food the destination offers and their attitude cannot be influenced. Most of the classifications take into consideration that there are not just the extreme cases of people who assign importance on food and people not interested in food at all, but suppose that there are persons, whose interest in food could be influenced. The same is valid for the classifications of persons attitudes towards novelty.

Discussion The literature review of this article makes an outline of the destination marketing and its importance for the success of a destination in the modern tourism market, which is overloaded by supply. The destinations have to promote their unique products in order to be easily recognisable and appealing (Buhalis, 2000, Okumus et al. 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). It can be argued, that the traditional food can successfully be included in the destination marketing, owing to its essence as an unique and competitive product. Porter (1990, p. 19) states that the competitive advantage is created in localised process, proposing that differences in culture, history, values, economy can bring success in terms of competition. All these features have a reflection on the local cuisine. The traditional food is a distinctive product, contributor to the destination 12

authenticity (Okumus, et al., 2011).

It can position the destination against its

competitors (Frochot, 2003). Many authors consider food as pool factor for a destination (Hjalager and Richards, 2002, Boniface, 2003, Cohen and Avieli, 2004, Hall and Sharples, 2003). Moreover, the food contributes to the destination image (Boniface, 2003, Long, 2004, Boyne, Hall and Williams, 2003). Cuisines are often connected with nationality (Italian, French, Chinese, Indian etc.) which is an evidence that it possible to establish a positive connotation between the cuisine and the destination (Okumus et al., 2007). Moreover meaning of food is nowadays changing it is a status and identity symbol (Hall and Sharples, 2003, Frochot, 2003), as well as symbol of active and exciting lifestyle (Frochot, 2003) and therefore it is an influential image for the modern person. Because all the characteristics of the traditional food, it is recognised as a destinations unique product and competitive advantage. However, according to the traditional theories of destination marketing it is important that destinations address people who are potentially interested in their products (Collier, 1999), as there are no universal means for attracting every single person (Kotler and Gertner, 2002). In this line of thought, market segmentation is an important part of the destination marketing process. So it should be examined, if the potential visitors of the particular destination will be appealed by its cuisine. As earlier noted, Buhalis (2000) states that people make their choice of products in relation to their personal characteristics and attitudes. It is necessary to research the market and to estimate the character of the tourists, who are currently or could be potentially interested in the destination, according to their attitudes towards unfamiliar food, or, if it is easier towards novelty in general. It is not of practical importance which academic classification will be used to determine the tourist types, more essential is to get acquainted with their preferences. If the destinations target market consists of individuals, who are neophilic towards taste, gastronomes or foodies, with allocentric behavior, need less of the environmental bubble, then the image of traditional cuisine would be appealing for them and could be used within the destination marketing. Logically, if the actual and potential visitors are with neophobic taste (Fischer, 1988) and psychocentric tourist behaviour (Plog, 2002), they will not be attracted by the traditional food products, as they are most often something unfamiliar to the visitors. However, it does not completely exclude the necessity that local cuisine is promoted to them, which can be argued by the following discussion:

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Strangeness of the local gastronomy can vary in different margins. In the context of food, Long (2004) relates to otherness as consisting of three elements exotic (what is different from ones individually constructed universe), edible (what can be eaten) and palatable (what is savoury and tasty). It is stated that these domains are determined by persons personality, past experience and own perceptions, therefore they are flexible and easily changeable categories (Long, 2004). Consequently, if somebody has a conservative attitude towards food now, it can change in the future. This theory also suggests that even if food is found rather untypical, it could still be considered as edible or even appetizing. In addition, the classifications earlier presented (Boyne et al, 2003, Mitchell and Hall, 2003) suggest that some tourists do not usually consider food as an important part of their holiday, but they would try something traditional at the place. Moreover Boyne et al (2003) believe that for some people a pleasant experience with food could arouse interest in local cuisine. As a conclusion, it can be stated that even if a person is not eager for new experiences, this characteristic can be influenced and changed in the future. Considering this type of people main aim of the marketers in the context of food should be to initiate first tasting, which in turn can pique their interest and liking of traditional cuisine. Important is to mention that in many cases people are not repulsed by the unfamiliar taste of the food at the tourism destination, but may be reluctant to try because of considerations about the risk. Cohen and Avieli (2004) claim that even if eager for new experiences tourists are often anxious about the destinations attributes important for their adaptation, such as climate, accommodation, safety and availability of food when visiting unfamiliar destinations. The authors point out that one of the biggest concerns of the tourists about local meals are the hygiene standards they are produced in and the health risk the tourists could be exposed to. As a result, traditional food could be even a discouraging factor to visit a destination, as it is connected not only with unfamiliarity but sometimes with physical risk (Cohen and Avieli, 2004, Mak et al, 2011). It is another evidence that promoting the food products of the destination is important, but in this case with the main aim to inform people about the food safety and availability. To summarise, it is essential to find the destinations market segment and its

attitude towards novelty. If it is positive, traditional food can be an alluring attraction for the tourists, and so it should be used in the destination marketing. If the target visitors are more conservative, then the role of food promotion should be to inform and provoke interest. Sometimes, the visitors can be just afraid to try the local

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cuisine, because of health concerns. Then the promotion of food should be to notify them about its safety. However, by segmentation of the market a significant difficulty can arise. Even though there are many scholar works, which try to classify tourists in groups with attributed characteristics, Buhalis (2000) state that subdivision of tourists is more complicated nowadays, because the contemporary travellers very often seek different types of experiences during the same vacation. This statement is supported by several other authors, who challenge the applicability of tourists classifications (Maoz and Bekerman , 2010, Larsen et.al. 2011, Collins-Kreiner 2010). So it is appropriate to discuss current trends in tourist behaviour related to traditional food or novelty in general. On the one hand Cohen and Avieli (2004) argue that humans tend to be habitually attached to the cuisine, or in other words to like the food they are used to. The eating habits are considered as an unchangeable personality characteristic (Bradatan, 2003). These notions question the applicability of traditional food to the destination marketing. On the other hand, there is a statement, that tourists have become more adventurous (Renko et al., 2011, Buhalis, 2000). First of all it is due to the economic progress and the general development in the world. Nowadays people have more time and financial funds for holidays and could reach each destination comparatively easily, which results in their desire to explore the unknown (Renko et al., 2011). The new consumers are well-educated and sophisticated, therefore they appreciate the authenticity and search for unique experiences (Buhalis, 2000). Another factor that stimulates the tourists exploratory attitudes towards food is the globalisation (Mak et al, 2011). There is a boom of ethnic restaurants, where people can try cuisines from all over the world without leaving their home towns (Cohen and Aveli, 2004). The average world citizen has an access to great amount of ethnic dishes (Torres, 2002), as well as exotic foodstuffs and information sources as cookbooks (Cohen and Aveli, 2004). Globalisation among the food has the result that individuals get used to wide variety of cuisines, which favours them to try new dishes while on holiday (Mak et al, 2011). The traditional food completely responds to the trend for adventure seeking it is connected with the destinations authenticity and its consumption is per se an extraordinary occasion. Even if people prefer food they are used to, the globalisation familiarises them with cuisines from all over the world. In addition, Long (2004) pays 15

attention that tourists get satisfied not only by the products and services offered to them, but also find pleasure while exploring new things. So even if the discover of their search does not bring delight, the exploring itself can be enjoyable (Long, 2004). Consequently, when tasting unfamiliar cuisine it is possible that people even would not like the food, but the process itself could be exciting (Long, 2004). These findings support the statement that in the modern tourism world traditional food can be a successfully implemented in the destination marketing. Moreover, recently tourists interest in local culture is significantly growing and gastronomy is a way to answer this trend as it is an important foundation of destinations identity (Richards, 2002, Okumus et al., 2007, Mak et al., 2011). Contemporary tourists like learning about the culture by actively involving in it (Richards, 2000). Traditional food is definitely a representation of the culture and lifestyle of the local community, which tourists can feel, engaging all their senses (Kivela and Crottes, 2006, Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Urry, 2002). But gastronomy has an additional characteristic, which contributes to its attractiveness. Although the cuisine is part of the culture heritage of a destination, it is totally different from the destinations tangible heritage, such as monuments or architecture, in terms of its possibilities to change (Richards, 2002). And this is an advantage, because cuisine represents the traditions, but at the same time could be adaptive to peoples tastes (Richards, 2002). Because of all these features, which respond to the modern consumers wants, the traditional food has the potential to be a drawing force to the destination. When discussing tendencies in the modern lifestyle, it is important to mention that nowadays the fashionable, modern body is the thin one, and this trend, popularised by the mass media is significantly growing (Ritchards, 2002). Especially women attempt to follow the fashion tendencies and very often keep strict diets. Sometimes, while on vacation they could be subject of stronger pressure for losing weight, because for example more flesh is shown on the beach (Ritchards, 2002). However, some authors claim that there is a significant distinction between peoples behaviour in the everyday life and within the tourism experience and main characteristic of the holiday attitudes is hedonism, or pleasure seeking (Cohen, 2004, Bowen and Clarke, 2009, Shields 1990). Eating is a memorable experience and a delightful activity, which purvey enjoyment to both body and soul (Long, 2004, Boniface, 2003, Frochot, 2003). As people seek pleasure when on holiday, it is probable that they would indulge eating with no scruples. So even if the modern societies value the thin

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body, it is very possible that people would violate the restrictive food dietaries and truly enjoy food while on holiday. Another main tendency in the tourist consumer behaviour is noticed by King (2002) Gilmour and Pine (2002) and Williams (2006), who claim that the promised experiences grow in significance for attracting customers. People travel in search of emotions and feelings rather than places and goods (King, 2002). Gilmour and Pine (2002) analyse the new economy paradigm and conclude that it is an economy of the experience people do not get satisfied just by the perfect facilities anymore, they pursue memories. Williams (2006) also claims, that tourists seek unforgettable events beyond service and product excellence. Although the aforementioned evidences from the literature, that tourists nowadays look for unfamiliar sensations and assign great importance on the intangible characteristics of the destination, marketers seem not to appreciate this and continue advertising through mass conceptions such as luxury accommodation or comfortable transportation (King, 2002). Williams (2006) state that very important for the tourism industry is to start engaging with experiential marketing, or designing innovative experiences for their customers. Marketing through traditional food has the potential to answer the contemporary tendencies in marketing, as the cuisine can respond to the desire of the modern tourist for a memorable and emotional experience. In summary, the role of food from the perspective of the classic destination marketing concept was discussed. It is important that the destination addresses its potential visitors with the means that will be attractive to them (Collier, 1999, Kotler and Gertner, 2002). Although there are different types of tourists regarding their attitudes towards novelty and unfamiliar food, there are many common tendencies in the tourist consumer behaviour, to which food is strongly related. So when the practitioners make a segmentation of their target market, it is useful to be aware of the contemporary tourists characteristics, which imply more positive perceptions of unknown cuisine. Above and beyond, traditional food is also applicable to the modern concept of destination marketing, as a strategy for destination sustainability and benefits for all stakeholders (Kotler et al., 1993 Buhalis, 2000, Ritchie and Crouch, 2000). Traditional food can have a multilateral effect on the local economy. Boyne et al. (2003) and Richards (2002) claim that the gastronomy heritage not only improves the regions tourism, but in the same time stimulate the local production through the tourist demand for traditional food. Additionally local producers could benefit from 17

growth in the external market, as

some tourists could continue demanding the

specific food production when they are back home (Boyne et all 2003, Richards, 2002). The authors conclude that because of all the benefits that gastronomy could bring to the destinations prosperity, there should be an emphasis on the local food when promoting the destination. In addition the sustainability in the region also have the effect of increased tourism demand, because the idea of being good and responsible while on vacation appeals to many people (Fields, 2002). Moreover, the traditional food has also a considerable business potential and can provide significant financial inflows to the destination, as it constitutes one fourth to one third of the tourists total expenditures (Robinson and Clifford, 2011, Mak et al, 2011, Quan and Wang, 2004). In addition, as an essential life condition, food demand is not dependent on price and tourists are unlikely to cut their spending on food (Au and Law, 2002). Furthermore, one of the result of advertising through gastronomy is that it invites more up-market tourists, interested in culture and experiences and not just in mass attractions (Fields, 2002), which is a profitable situation for all stakeholders at the destination. An important question that emerges is if the food can be a dimension of the marketing of any destination and to what extent. Hjalager, A. (2002) makes a framework for developing gastronomy tourism at destination according to the actual relationship between tourism and food. Although this concept is for food tourism and not for food consumption within the vacation in general, it is a good source of practical advices for improving the correlation between gastronomy and destination. The first type of a relationship between the destination and the food is weak and the author proposes several ideas to enhance it: including culinary in the promotion of the region, launching campaigns for food products, as well as food fairs and food events. The second order of development in gastronomy within the destination, is when there is a particular relationship, but more awareness in the consumers should be incited by adherence to quality standards, certification and branding. The third type of relationship between culinary and destination is when the food is a significant part of the destinations image and many activities and attractions connected with food can be developed, for example museums and cooking classes. The fourth category is when the destination and the food are so connected, that not only tourists, but also professionals and scientists are attracted to the region because of the food, so the destination can sell know-how. A conclusion can be drawn that in the first two cases food will be promoted, but not in order to attract people to the

18

place, but to create revenue and be profitable for its own. In the third and fourth type destinations, food should be an actual dimension of their marketing strategies. However, the relation between food and local cuisine can be changed. If considering the reality, there are many examples showing how the role of the gastronomy within the destination has altered and how the traditional food has influenced the destinations image and the tourism demand. This article suggests a classification of three types of interrelations between local cuisine and destination: enhancing the image, rebranding and differentiation. The first type is when the cuisine has a supportive role in the destination marketing, or in other words the destination is known for something else, but the local cuisine becomes value added to the destination products and enhances its image. Examples are the nature based destinations South Africa (Rand and Heath, 2006) and New Zealand (Hall and Mitchell, 2002) and the urban destination Hong Kong (Okumus et al, 2007). A significant segment that has very successfully implemented the gastronomy in its marketing are the rural destinations. Isle of Arran, Scotland (Boyne et al, 2002), Northern Portugal (Beer et al, 2002), Southwest England (Beer et al, 2002) are just some examples for the boosting the tourism of a destination as a result of promoting local cuisine. Another type of influence that the traditional cuisine can have on the destination is rebranding it. Gastronomy has been successfully implemented in some traditional mass tourism destinations, in order to reshape their image and to attract wider variety of tourists. Examples are Mallorca (Alcock, 1995, cited in Fields, 2002), and mainland Spain (Ravenscroft and Westering, 2002). Third form of affiliation is when traditional food is used to differentiate destinations, which have indistinctive image, such as Wales (Jones and Jenkins, 2002). And last, there are destinations as France and Italy, where traditional food is for long considered as a majors attraction and became a key association when mentioning them (Fields, 2002, Corigliano, 2002). More than logical and obvious is how they took advantage of this situation. The challenge for them is not to change the relation they have with the food, but to keep the expected level of quality and attractiveness. In conclusion, the destinations have different relationships with their traditional cuisine for some of them it is a significant attraction, whether for others the local food is not considered as an important dimension of their essence. DMOs should take this into consideration, when deciding to apply the local cuisine to the destination marketing. However, as the reality shows, this interrelation could be changed. So, it is important, that the marketers determine the aimed interrelation 19

between cuisine and destination and work on it, in order later to use the strengthen relationship for the purposes of the destination marketing. Despite all the advantages that the traditional food offers, there are of course some challenges when using it for marketing a destination. When promoting local cuisine, the demand for it will most probably grow. The destination has to be prepared to answer the new situation with increased quantity of production (Jones and Jenkins, 2002). At the same time this should not be through mass production, because it will badly influence the quality of the food and it is controversial to the essence of local cuisine (Jones and Jenkins, 2002). So the balance between quantity and quality is very important and difficult to manage. Keeping the authenticity of the local cuisine is also a critical issue as it is its main asset, (Hjalager and Ritchards, 2002), which is threaten by the McDonaldisation and global standardisation (Scarpatio, 2002).

Conclusion: This article aimed to explore if the traditional cuisine within the tourism experience can be effectively used for the purposes of destination marketing and what is the practicable scope of this implementation. In the previous literature, there is a limited number of studies, which examine traditional food from the prospective of its marketing and promotional abilities for a destination and the quantity of works does not match the practical potential of this relationship. Therefore an additional article in the field is useful in order to provide a new perspective of preceding findings. All the encountered works on the topic emphasise either on traditional food or on destination marketing, but the present article has a comprehensive discussion and synthesis of both subjects. Some of the scholars comment precisely food tourism (Boniface, 2003, Long, 2004, Hall et al. 2003), whereas this work consider food consumption in its general sense, and not only when it is a major motivation for the holiday. The few publications, where the authors explicitly connect traditional food and destination marketing (Rand et Heath, 2006, Rand et al 2003., Richards, 2002, Okumus et al, 2007, Hassan, 2008) do not comment on the different aspects, which can affect the marketing abilities of the traditional food for a destination. This article argues that the target tourists profile as well as the existing link between destination and its traditional cuisine influence the capacity of local food to be a successful agent for the destination marketing. Several conclusions have been drawn from the study. 20

First, the traditional cuisine relates to both concepts of destination marketing. The classical perspective (Collier, 1999, Kotler and Gertner, 2002) of destination marketing is promoting the unique products in order to be easily recognisable and appealing (Buhalis, 2000, Okumus et al. 2007, Dioko and So, 2012). Owing to its characteristic the traditional food is definitely a destinations unique product. The modern concept of destination marketing as a strategy for local sustainability and benefits for all stakeholders (Kotler et al., 1993 Buhalis, 2000, Ritchie & Crouch, 2000) also relates to the traditional food, which stimulate the local production and so has a multiple effect on the local economy (Boyne et all 2003, Richards, 2002). In addition, apart from increased occupancy, the popularised local cuisine can provide significant financial inflows to the destination, as it can attract more up-market tourists. Second, although traditional food seems an unmistakable dimension of the destination marketing, a logical question is if it is universally applicable. As Buhalis (2000) state people make choices of products according to their personal characteristics. So important is the consideration of the targets market attitudes towards novelty in general and unfamiliar food in particular. If the potential tourists are open to the new, they can be attracted by the local cuisine. If the target visitors attitudes are more conservative, then the role of food promotion should be to inform and provoke interest, rather than to be used as a pull factor to the destination. Other case is when people are afraid to taste local food because of hygiene and health consideration. Then the role of food promotion is to inform and build a confidence in the tourists about the safety of the traditional cuisine. Third, even if it is useful to classify the tourists according to their perceptions towards unfamiliarity, there are several mutual trends in the tourist consumer behaviour interest in local culture and authenticity, seeking of pleasure, adventure and memories, which suggest more positive perceptions of unfamiliar cuisine. This should be taken into consideration by marketers, especially when the target customers are with no clearly manifested preferences of familiarity and it is possible that their attitudes can be influenced by adequate marketing actions. Fourth, traditional food and destination can be linked to different degree (Hjalager, 2002), but the practice shows that this relation can be changed. It is important to examine their present link and then to determine an aimed one, according to which to undertake the adequate actions for promoting the destination by food.

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The practical implications of this work are the following: Food has the possibility to be a significant dimension of the destination marketing. However, it is not practical to use it for each target market and for each destination. The potential customers attitudes towards novelty should be researched. The actions by the two extreme situations are clear: when people are excited by the new, food can be used in the destination marketing, and the contrary case. If peoples attitudes are more neutral, they can be easily influenced by the marketers. Food can be successfully promoted in terms of its authenticity, uniqueness and taste qualities, as these attributes are searched by the modern tourists. Important is also the actual connection between traditional food and the destination when it is not of big significance, the food cannot be effectively used as a marketing tool. However, the DMOs can change that by an appropriate strategy. Important by such major changes is to consider the relation profit-investment. For a successful outcome, when implementing traditional food in the destination marketing strategy, it is important to balance between increased quantities as a result of increased demand and consistency in the quality. Main limitation of the study is that it is not based on a primary research. Another weakness is that the actual tourists perceptions of destinations traditional food has barely been researched by the scholars. For the purposes of this article it was considered that if peoples attitude towards novelty is positive, so will be their approach towards unfamiliar food. However, although logical that is not scientifically proven. More research should be conducted in order to determine how tourists perceive the local cuisine when they are on vacation.

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