Factors Influencing the Sustainability of Food Tourism Destinations: Evidence from the World Heritage Site of Guilin
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe authors have described in detail in a very precise and clear way the factors that influence the sustainability of destinations in the field of gastronomic tourism.
This research represents a strategic approach to the development of tourism in less developed places and less known cities, which could be on the list of interested tourists.
My observations in this manuscript refer to natural resources that were not mentioned in the research. Namely, plants as natural resources represent a very rich source of various bioactive molecules that have a therapeutic effect. In this regard, the proposal to supplement this work is to include the most important plant species that grow in Guilin, which can be used in food production, which would encourage the production of new food products, but also the therapeutic effect of plants, which are increasingly changing the use synthetic drugs.
After this change, I recommend that the paper be accepted.
Author Response
Comment 1: My observations in this manuscript refer to natural resources that were not mentioned in the research. Namely, plants as natural resources represent a very rich source of various bioactive molecules that have a therapeutic effect. In this regard, the proposal to supplement this work is to include the most important plant species that grow in Guilin, which can be used in food production, which would encourage the production of new food products, but also the therapeutic effect of plants, which are increasingly changing the use synthetic drugs.
Response: Thanks for the valuable feedback, we have added some updates to the natural plants in Guilin that can be used for food in the text which is highlighted in yellow color.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsGeneral comments
The paper discusses interesting topics that attract t the reader’s interest. It combines the tourism and food sectors and has relevant implications for destinations. The methodology used fits the purpose of the study and provides helpful insight and inputs to structure relevant decision-making processes. Furthermore, the variables used to process the econometric analysis adequately covet the research areas and conceptualize the purpose of the study.
Introduction
The authors should elaborate more on the purpose of the study in the last paragraph of the Introduction section, adding a few more lines explaining what this research attempts to determine or define. It would be interesting to add a few more references connected to this paper’s purpose of study.
Literature review
The authors provide scientific arguments to support their approach. The literature review reads well. The authors state: ‘While the literature highlights key factors for successful food tourism, it lacks insight 206 into how these factors can work together to drive sustainable development in Asia, particularly in a city like Guilin’. At this point, it would be beneficial to argue a little bit more about the literature gap or contribution to literature so that they will add value to the paper’s content. A few more lines stating how this research will add to relevant literature would be useful. One positive point is that the authors have provided results from the literature review process and offer valuable insights that other research efforts in the field have concluded.
Conclusions and Practical Implications
The discussion section is very informative, but it should also include practical implications. I suggest removing these paper’s practical implications from the Conclusion section and placing them in the Discussion section. Moreover, in the Conclusion section, authors should provide opportunities for future research based on their approach. One additional issue to define is the potential research limitations of this paper. If there are any limitations, the authors should state them in the Conclusion section.
The paper is well-organized and adds to the relevant literature on the interface of food and tourism interactions.
My recommendation is re-submitting based on the above minor revisions.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Comment 1: In the introduction part, the authors should elaborate more on the purpose of the study in the last paragraph of the Introduction section, adding a few more lines explaining what this research attempts to determine or define. It would be interesting to add a few more references connected to this paper’s purpose of study.
Response 1: More contents are added to the introduction section to explain the research aim. Some related references are also added.
Comment 2: In the literature review, it would be beneficial to argue a little bit more about the literature gap or contribution to literature so that they will add value to the paper’s content. A few more lines stating how this research will add to relevant literature would be useful.
Response 2: More critical writing is added in this part about the gap and contributions.
Comment 3: The discussion section is very informative, but it should also include practical implications. I suggest removing these paper’s practical implications from the Conclusion section and placing them in the Discussion section. Moreover, in the Conclusion section, authors should provide opportunities for future research based on their approach. One additional issue to define is the potential research limitations of this paper. If there are any limitations, the authors should state them in the Conclusion section.
Response 3: We have reorganized the conclusion section based on the suggestion and added the limitations and future direction.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors
The comments and suggestions are in atach flie.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Comment 1: Include in the text a simplified map of the location of Guilin.
Response 1: A simplified map is added to explain the location of Guilin.
Comment 2: Can you explain the criterion(s) for choosing 41 out of 210 articles related to food tourism destinations?
Response 2: A systematic review was conducted to examine sustainability factors in food tourism, employing the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes) framework, traditionally used in software engineering, to identify relevant keywords (Kitchenham & Charters, 2007).
Comment 3: In the title of Figure 1, add: factors for the sustainable development of a food tourism destination.
Response 3: Added as suggested.
Comment 4: Rethink whether it makes sense to keep lines 114 to 124 in this part of the paper (Literature Review), as they correspond to research results (case study).
Response 4: Removed lines 114 to 124.
Comment 5: Figures 3 and 4 lack the scale and orientation of the maps.
Response 5: Revised as suggested.
Comment 6: In lines 395 to 403, do not use bold and justify the text (it is aligned to the left).
Response 6: Formatted as suggested.
Comment 7: In the conclusion, clearly mention the limitations of the study, the main contributions of the study to the advancement of knowledge and for the tourist destination management, and also identify lines for future research in the scope of the theme.
Response 7: Reorganized the conclusion part and future directions were added.
