The Sustainability of Gastronomic Heritage and Its Significance for Regional Tourism Development

Abstract

Gastronomy, as a part of cultural heritage, has exceptional potential in tourism, and its key representatives and conservationists/guardians are hospitality facilities that provide food services. Vojvodina (the Republic of Serbia) is a region inhabited by more than 30 ethnic minorities that have nurtured their cultural heritage and have been incorporating it into gastronomy for many years. The subject of this paper is the gastronomy of ethnic groups in Vojvodina and its significance for tourism development from the point of view of hospitality workers as important actors in the sustainability of heritage. One of the motives behind this study is the twelfth UN sustainable development goal (SDGs) defined in 2015, which refers to providing sustainable forms of consumption and production and which emphasizes the development and application of tools for monitoring the impact that sustainable development has on tourism that promotes local culture and products (12b). The aim of this study was to obtain data on the preservation of heritage, that is, on authenticity within the region/area and ethnic groups, and then to perform a valorization of dishes and define steps on how to make gastronomic heritage a more visible tourist attraction, from the perspective of sustainability. Our survey included a sample of 508 respondents, all employees in the hospitality industry. The obtained results were statistically processed. The research showed that the Južnabačka district has the greatest importance in tourism from the aspect of the implementation, preservation, and sustainability of gastronomic heritage in tourism. Among the ethnic groups, the Vojvodina Hungarians place the greatest importance on the preservation of gastronomy, which includes dishes such as goulash and uses ingredients such as river fish. The research led to the conclusion that those in the hospitality industry are of the opinion that gastronomic heritage should be promoted through activities such as tourist exposure, marketing activities, and promoting the diversity of authentic food offers in catering facilities.

An Attempt to Estimate the Social Value Resulting from Making Cultural Heritage Available in the Form of a Tourist Product

“…Such experiences are sometimes observed despite the presence of multiculturalism in the destination community. An example of what can connect different cultures is, for example, a common gastronomic heritage [59]. Thus, there are premises to claim that, despite the development of tourism, both cultural identity and heritage can be preserved.…”

“…In the case of gastronomic tourism heritage, it is important to promote the heritage through activities such as tourist exhibitions, marketing activities, and promotion of the diversity the authentic food offers in catering establishments [59].…”

Factors Affecting the Consumption of Traditional Food in Tourism—Perceptions of the Management Sector of Catering Facilities

“…Socio-cultural factors in TFP use include the preservation of tradition, cultural identity, customs, and folklore, as well as local gastronomy, i.e., gastronomic heritage [ 34 , 35 ]. Activating the production and consumption of these products helps to activate young people, preventing the migration of the local population from rural areas, which helps the local community improve their quality of life, i.e., improve the living standards [ 7 , 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

The influence of gastronomic identity factors on food tourism development in the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…Both regions belong to the developed areas where substantial agricultural activity is present in the vicinity of 100 km as well as consumption in restaurants (10). At the same time, both areas are multicultural, which is extremely valuable for gastronomic identity assessment by all tourism stakeholders (11). The main aim of the study is to identify the factors that stand out in the recognition of the gastronomic identity of the studied areas, from the viewpoint of people working in the catering and tourism industry, and educational institutions, which are considered to be the key creators of this identity.…”