Analysis of the demand for gastronomic tourism in Andalusia (Spain)

Abstract

In recent years, gastronomy has become a fundamental motivation to travel. Learning how to prepare gastronomic dishes and about the raw materials that compose them has attracted increasing numbers of tourists. In Andalusia (region of southern Spain), there are many quality products endorsed by Protected Designations of Origin, around which gastronomic routes have been created, some visited often (e.g., wine) and others remaining unknown (e.g., ham and oil). This study analyses the profile of gastronomic tourists in Andalusia to understand their motivations and estimates the demand for gastronomic tourism using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) models. The results obtained indicate that the gastronomic tourist in Andalusia is very satisfied with the places he/she visits and the gastronomy he/she savours. However, the demand for this tourist sector is very low and heterogeneous; while wine tourism is well established, tourism focusing on certain products, such as olive oil or ham, is practically non-existent. To obtain a homogeneous demand, synergies or pairings should be created between food products, e.g., wine-ham, oil-ham, etc., to attract a greater number of tourists and distinguish Andalusia as a gastronomic holiday destination.

The role of traditional restaurants in tourist destination loyalty

“…In conclusion, academic studies point towards a direct relationship between food and loyalty. However, other authors point out that this relationship is conditioned by the tourist’s interest in gastronomy [ 13 , 88 ].…”

“…Thus, the literature shows how traditional restaurants play an important role in the creation and dissemination of the gastronomic offer of a place. Traditional gastronomy reflects a culture along with the lifestyle, food, and different cultural practices of the inhabitants of a region [ 11 – 13 ]. In turn, tradition is derived from the culture of the place, the food, art, rituals and experiences of a people.…”

The Impact of Gastronomic Tourism on Thailand Economy: Under the Situation of COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Both down and upper streams of gastronomic industries could gain benefits. Moreover, this refers to significant development, particularly gastronomic tourism, as an important sector in the development of the tourism industry worldwide (Berbel-Pineda et al, 2019;Dancausa Milla´n, 2021;Herna´ndez-Rojas et al, 2021;Herna´ndez-Rojas & Huete Alcocer, 2021). For Thailand, gastronomic tourism is very challenging to understand.…”

“…It is very substantial for stimulating the tourism industry and can be found in much tourism research. For example, Dancausa Millán et al. (2021) studied the demand for gastronomic tourism in Andalusia (Spain).…”

Understanding the youth tourists' motivation to attend rural gastronomic festivals in the Republic of Serbia

“…Some authors even perceive gastronomy as a manifestation of the culture of one place (Pavlidis & Markantonatou, 2020). Such power that food has led to it becoming a tourism resource (Dancausa Millán et al, 2021), whose role is to promote and differentiate a tourism destination (Dixit, 2021). Numerous terms have been coined in the literature to explain the role of food in tourism, such as "food tourism" , "culinary tourism" (Henderson, 2009), "tasting tourism" (Boniface, 2003).…”