Travel agencies’ role in gastronomy tourism development and a gastronomy tour example

Year 2022, , 9 - 9, 31.12.2022

Feray Yentür , Cengiz Demir

https://doi.org/10.48119/toleho.1175826

Abstract

Gastronomy tourism embraces a wide range of gastronomic opportunities for tourists while contributing to sustainability, rural development and the protection of culinary heritage. It diversifies and revitalizes tourism as one of the industry's essential element and emerging segments. However, there is a scarcity of research on the issue related to travel agencies. The purpose of this research is to determine whether travel agencies in İzmir use culinary elements and gastronomic sources as themes in their tour packages to highlight the gastronomy tourism potential of the city, and explore ways of developing this approach. Thus, the contribution of this study is threefold. First, travel agencies in downtown İzmir were surveyed in terms of their actual gastronomy tourism product offers and future plans to create one. The survey results revealed that gastronomy was not promoted as a principal theme due to a lack of awareness of potential local and regional culinary resources. Second, experts in the gastronomy and tourism industries were contacted using purposive sampling. Their opinions were sought regarding places, products and activities that could be included in a gastronomy tour package. Finally, an example tour program was created based on expert opinions along with the author’s contribution.

Keywords

Gastronomy Tourism, Travel Agency, Tour Development, Tourism Product Differentiation

References

• Allied Market Research (2020). Culinary Tourism Market Report. Retrieved from: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/culinary-tourism-market-A06326
• Barna, M., & Semak, B. (2020). Main Trends Of Marketing Innovations Development of International Tour Operating. Baltic Journal of Economic Studies, 6(5), 33-41.
• Boniface, P. (2003). Tasting tourism: Traveling for food and drink. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.
• Bucak, T., & Aracı, Ü. E. (2013). Türkiye’de Gastronomi Turizmi Üzerine Genel Bir Değerlendirme. Balıkesir Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 16(30): 203-216.
• Campbell S, Greenwood M, Prior S, et al. (2020). Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing. 25(8): 652-661. doi:10.1177/1744987120927206
• Cavlek, N. (2002). Tour operators and destination safety. Annals of tourism research, 29(2), 478-496.
• Clerides, S., Nearchou, P., & Pashardes, P. (2008). Intermediaries as quality assessors: Tour operators in the travel industry. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 26(1), 372-392.
• Da Silva, M. A., Costa, R. A., & Moreira, A. C. (2018). The influence of travel agents and tour operators' perspectives on a tourism destination. The case of Portuguese intermediaries on Brazil's image. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 34, 93-104.
• De Albuquerque Meneguel, C. R., Mundet, L., & Aulet, S. (2019). The role of a high-quality restaurant in stimulating the creation and development of gastronomy tourism. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 83, 220-228.
• del Bosque, I. A. R., San Martín, H., & Collado, J. (2006). The role of expectations in the consumer satisfaction formation process: Empirical evidence in the travel agency sector. Tourism Management, 27(3), 410-419.
• Dixit, S. K., (2019). Gastronomic tourism: A theoretical construct, in: Dixit, S. K. (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of gastronomic tourism, Routledge, pp. 13–23.
• Du Rand, G. E., & Heath, E. (2006). Towards a Framework for Food Tourism as an Element of Destination Marketing. Current Issues in Tourism. 9(3): 206-234.
• Etikan, I., Alkassim, R., & Abubakar, S. (2016). Comparision of snowball sampling and sequential sampling technique. Biometrics and Biostatistics International Journal, 3(1), 55.
• Folgado-Fernández, J. A., Hernández-Mogollón, J. M., & Duarte, P. (2017). Destination image and loyalty development: The impact of tourists’ food experiences at gastronomic events. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism: Food and Tourism Synergies: Consumption and Production Perspectives, 17(1), 92–110.
• Getz, D., Andersson, T., Robinson, R., Vujicic, S. (2014). Foodies and Food Tourism. Goodfellow Publishers, Oxford.
• Henderson, J. C. (2004). Food as a Tourism Resource: A View from Singapore, Tourism Recreation Research, 29(3): 69-74.
• Hjalager, A., & Richards, G. (2002). Tourism and gastronomy. Routledge.
• Işık, C., Sirakaya-Turk, E., & Ongan, S. (2020). Testing the efficacy of the economic policy uncertainty index on tourism demand in USMCA: Theory and evidence. Tourism Economics, 26(8), 1344-1357.
• İzmir Kültür ve Turizm Dergisi (n.d.). “İzmir gastronomi turizminin neresinde?” https://izmirdergisi.com/tr/izmirmutfagi/755-izmir-gastronomi-turizminin-neresinde (accessed 11 August 2021).
• İzmir İl Kültür Turizm Müdürlüğü (n.d.) Kent Hakkında. https://izmir.ktb.gov.tr/TR418 77341/kent-hakkinda.html (accessed 10 August 2021)
• Kivela, J., & Crotts, J. C. (2006). Tourism and gastronomy: Gastronomy's influence on how tourists experience a destination. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 30(3), 354-377.
• Klenosky, D. B., & Gitelson, R. E. (1998). Travel agents’ destination recommendations. Annals of Tourism Research, 25(3), 661-674.
• Le, C. B., (2017). What Food Tells Us About Culture. Retrieved from: https://freelymagazine.com/2017/01/07/what-food-tells-us-about-culture/
• Long, L. M. (2013). Culinary Tourism Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics”. Netherlands: Springer.
• Lubbe, B. (2000). Tourism distribution: managing the travel intermediary. Juta and Company Ltd.
• Mısırlı, İ. (2010). Seyahat Acentacılığı ve Tur Operatörlüğü, Detay Yayıncılık,, Ankara
• Ministry of Culture and Tourism, (2022). Türkiye ve İzmir’deki Seyahat Acenteleri Sınıflandırması. Retrieved from: http://yatirimisletmeleruygulama.kultur.gov.tr/Acente.Web.Sorgu/Sorgu/acentesorgu
• Novelli, M. (2018). Niche tourism: past, present and future. The SAGE Handbook of Tourism Management, London: SAGE Publications, 344-359.
• Page, S. J., (2009). Tourism management: Managing for Change. Elsevier Ltd.
• Reimer, G. D. (1990). Packaging dreams: Canadian tour operators at work. Annals of Tourism Research, 17(4), 501-512.
• Richards, G. (2014). The Role of Gastronomy in Tourism Development. 4. International Congress on Noble Houses: A Heritage for the Future, Arcos de Valdevez, 27-29 November, pp:1151-1160.
• Sio, K. P., Fraser, B., & Fredline, L. (2021). A contemporary systematic literature review of gastronomy tourism and destination image. Tourism Recreation Research, 1-17.
• Su, D. N., Johnson, L. W., & O’Mahony, B. (2020). Will foodies travel for food? Incorporating food travel motivation and destination foodscape into the theory of planned behavior. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 25(9), 1012-1028.
• Tsai, C. T. S., & Wang, Y. C. (2017). Experiential value in branding food tourism. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 6(1), 56-65.