Gastronomy as a Sign of the Identity and Cultural Heritage of Tourist Destinations: A Bibliometric Analysis 2001–2020

Abstract

Gastronomy represents a significant part of the cultural heritage and identity of tourist destinations; however, related scientific literature is scarce. Considering these aspects within the field of tourism and hospitality, and selecting the articles written in English indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus from 2001 to 2020, the objective of this research is twofold: (1) to present a bibliometric analysis of the literature on gastronomic heritage (71 articles); and (2) to analyze some aspects (main topics, frequency of key terms, methods, and data sources) of the research on case studies in Asia and Europe (46 articles), as they are the most prominent regions on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity (UNESCO). The study shows the temporal evolution of the literature on gastronomic heritage in parallel with UNESCO’s actions on cultural heritage. The results reveal that most articles relate gastronomic heritage to the sustainability of tourist destinations, and that European case studies address sustainability more than Asian studies do. Regarding the methodology to analyze Asian and European case studies, qualitative research predominates. Within quantitative studies, the use of online content generated by consumers and marketers as a data source is rare.

Gastronomy Tourism and Well-Being: Evidence from Taiwan and Catalonia Michelin-Starred Restaurants

“…According to Chang and Mak [ 58 ], the gastronomic image from the perspective of tourists can be defined as “tourists” holistic impression about a destination’s gastronomic products and food culture” (p. 91). Despite the abundance of literature on destination image [ 59 , 60 ] and the growing interest of destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in promoting local gastronomic heritage [ 5 , 61 ], there is a paucity of research regarding the importance and implications of gastronomy tourism on destination image formation [ 62 ].…”

“…For example, experiences in farmers markets, wine cellars, cooking courses, and dining in restaurants. This data source was used in the hospitality industry, especially to study lodging-related topics [ 79 , 80 ], but its use in gastronomic heritage research was rare [ 5 ]. It is worth highlighting its use in previous works to measure the gastronomic image online [ 20 ], analyze dietary needs [ 81 ], analyze diners’ sentiments [ 9 ], and compare gastronomic activities other than dining in restaurants [ 21 ].…”

“…Increasingly, more destinations are emphasizing that type of cultural tourism [ 2 ] because food largely impacts not only the health of tourists, but also their overall well-being [ 3 ]. Faced with this growing interest in gastronomic tourism, many famous chefs from high-end restaurants focus their creative cuisine on the combination of cuisine, territory, landscape, and culture [ 4 ], thus recognizing the value of the local gastronomic heritage [ 5 ].…”

“…Traditionally, most researchers obtain data through questionnaire surveys and interviews in order to obtain information on the satisfaction of restaurant customers [ 5 , 16 ]. These methods can not only highlight important themes and enable the testing of specific hypotheses but also provide richer insight data.…”

Marketing of luxurious gastronomic experiences on social media: The visual storytelling of luxury hotels

“…However, in gastronomy, there is paucity of studies investigating online content generated by consumers and marketers as a source of data (Lin et al, 2021). This study adds texture to this conversation by investigating the food image attributes (Lai et al, 2018) of the gastronomic experiences provided by luxury hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through visual narratives displayed through their social media marketing strategies.…”