Territory, tourism and local products. The extra virgin oil's enhancement and promotion: a benchmarking Italy-Spain

Abstract

Purpose – This paper intends to highlight how local tourism development is strongly oriented towards policy development based on the combination typical product-territory, in particular extra virgin olive oil, which assigns value to identity, social capital and indigenous cultural heritage. Design – The work supports the idea that the development strategies of typical products should be considered as a potential local development tool. Besides the enhancing the knowledge of product itself and of its ties with local history and traditions, this could also help promoting a quality tourism in the awareness that local products contribute to the implementation of a multiplicity of local initiatives (such as tourist paths, markets, educational initiatives, community events) able to encourage and support new social relations. Metodology – At a methodological level, the paper developed a theoretical contextualization of the subject of study in the gastronomic tourism and compared, using the technique of benchmarking, the experiences of extra virgin olive oil enhancement and promotion in Italy and Spain. These two countries were selected for this study since they are the main producers in the world of olive oil with certified quality. Approach – The interpretative approach has characterized the development of this study; theoretical elaboration and empirical research in fact are processed in parallel. Finding – The research work has demonstrated that the enhancement of extra virgin olive oil is a great potential for the development of new tourism practices such as gastronomic tourism. Originality of research – The work represents a first effort to compare the development and promotion strategies of extra virgin olive oil in Italy and Spain and to examine the possible links with local tourism development.

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“…Just like viticulture, which served as a motto for the creation of Wine trails and a strong tourism product -Wine tourism, olive-growing is taking its first steps towards the expansion of Olive Oil Tourism. The growing popularity of Wine Tourism in recent decades demonstrates how activities in the 'rural world' can contribute to the development of tourism in rural locations (Hall et al, 2000;Alonso, 2010;Alonso & Northcote, 2010;De Salvo et al, 2013). Wine and wineries can provide the wine tourist with culinary and educational experiences.…”

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“…Local food tourism can enrich social capital within host communities and affirm the value of local places and traditions (Dougherty, Brown, & Green, 2013;de Salvo et al, 2013;Sims, 2009). Social capital refers to strong social networks and bonds of trust and reciprocity (Putnam, 1993), qualities enhanced through close associations between food producers and consumers and connections between community members and natural environments.…”

Embracing the Future of Hotel Hospitality Digital Marketing

“…Digital Marketing Hospitality had rampant growing trend in the hospitality industry, and while it can be a useful tool to the growth of business and customer engagement, it is important to recognize the unfortunate potential (Adel et al, 2021;de Salvo et al, 2013;Robustin & Hariyana, 2019). The use of digital marketing might lead to a lack of personal interaction with customers, which can lead to a decrease in customer loyalty and satisfaction.…”