Introducing olive-oil tourism as a special interest tourism

Abstract

Olive-oil tourism is an emerging tourism typology that is especially developing in the Mediterranean basin, though successful cases also exist in other regions of the world. The main motivation underlying olive-oil tourism demand is the desire to learn about and enjoy the world of olives and olive oil. The objective of this article is to characterise this new tourism typology and identify its main activities. Based on a thorough bibliographical review and an expert panel, we show that this tourism typology corresponds to special interest tourism, and derives from three types of general interest tourism (rural, nature and cultural) with connections to other specific types of tourism. Furthermore, we demonstrate its links to an increasingly broad range of activities and services, thus revealing how complex this type of tourism can be, a feature proper to so-called special interest tourism.

Characterization of Olive Oil Tourism as a Type of Special Interest Tourism: An Analysis from the Tourist Experience Perspective

“…The high values obtained for the means reinforce the idea that olive oil tourism can be considered a type of SIT. These results are consistent with those of other studies that-albeit using a different method based on a panel of experts-show that olive oil tourism corresponds to SIT and is derived from three types of general interest tourism: rural, nature, and cultural tourism [1].…”

“…Very few analyses in the literature have considered olive oil tourism as special interest tourism (hereinafter SIT). Nevertheless, in recent years, some studies have started to emerge which link this type of tourism with the characteristics of SIT; they do so on the basis of the different activities included in olive oil tourism, which make it a type of complex tourism with connections to different types of specific tourism [1]. Said studies have attempted to characterize olive oil tourism from a supply-side perspective; that is, by analyzing the activities and services provided.…”

Which diet has the lower water footprint in Mediterranean countries?

“…Also, our assessment shows that from a water perspective, Maghreb countries might want to shift olive oil production and/or consumption to other vegetal oils, but this can from a nutritional, economic or socio-cultural point of view not be the best option. As an example, olive oil production and olive groves have a long historical tradition in the Mediterranean region, are an integral part of the (rural) landscape, are important for agricultural income and employment and have value in agritourism ( Loumou and Giourga, 2003 ; Moreira et al., 2019 ; Pulido-Fernández et al., 2019 ; Salmoral et al., 2011 ; Torres-Miralles et al., 2017 ). Also, the water-efficiency measures we describe for olive oil and fruits, should be implemented in a sustainable manner, respecting biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided by healthy agricultural landscapes ( Moreira et al., 2019 ), which shows the importance of additional environmental indicators on pollution and biodiversity ( Hachem et al., 2020 ).…”

Development Prospect of Agro-Tourism and Positive Effects of Tourism Activities in Rural Regions

“…Possible objects of rural tourism can be: -ethnographic rural settlements that would reproduce the life of the population in past epochs, taking into account the local color, including the production of food products using ancient technologies (olive-oil tourism [9]); -hunting and fishing base on which commercial livestock animals and fish are largely the product of human labour (rearing of poultry on farms, improved natural grassland, feeding wild animals, aquaculture artificial or designated portions of natural water bodies, etc.) [10].…”