Marketing To The Culinary Tourist

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examines food experiences at festivals as a unique form of culinary tourism. Festival marketing materials were explored through content analysis. As tangible attributes, food experiences contribute to the cognitive component of a destination image. Food experiences also invoke emotions, thus contributing to the affective component. These two characteristics align with the existing principles of how a destination image is formed. Food experiences are often depicted through words and images in marketing materials. These words and images are essentially gastronomic cues that can be strategically incorporated into marketing materials to effectively attract culinary tourists. Four dimensions were identified. Sub-dimensions were also delineated by cultural symbolism spanning a continuum from no cultural significance to high cultural significance. Keywords: Culinary tourismfood tourismfestivalsdestination imagegastronomic cuesfood experiencesmarketing