Search Results (16)

The globalization of tourism poses complex challenges for destination planning and management, requiring the involvement of various stakeholders and strategic decision-making at various scales. Gastronomic tourism, a key factor in tourist satisfaction and loyalty, has been widely studied for its impact on tourism destination image (TDI). Despite advances in methodologies such as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which hierarchies the factors that influence TDI, there are still gaps in the use of sensitivity analysis to improve strategic planning, in particular to leverage TDI as a management tool. Specifically in UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy (UCCG), it is crucial to understand how sensitivity analysis can improve the robustness of AHP models. To address this gap, this study investigates how sensitivity analysis can refine decision-making processes for effective tourism management in Brazil’s UCCG. Using AHP as a decision-making methodology, it integrates sensitivity analysis to assess the reliability of six dimensions in the Analytic Hierarchy Process Image—UNESCO Creative Cities Gastronomy (AHPI-UCCG) model, introducing a dynamic approach to dealing with the complexities of destination planning. The results are valuable for policy-makers and private players in the tourism, creativity, and gastronomy sectors. They offer practical perspectives for improving destination promotion and encouraging coopetition. The study also demonstrates the adaptability of this approach based on sensitivity analysis, suggesting its applicability beyond Brazil to other UCCG networks, contributing to better tourism planning and management at a global level. Full article

Most research on saffron has focused on its composition and beneficial effects, while the culinary perspective to enhance its gastronomic potential remains unexplored. This study aims to define the transfer of the main compounds responsible for color, flavor, and aromatic properties, evaluating three critical variables: temperature (60 °C, 80 °C and 100 °C), infusion time (ranging from 10 to 30 min), and the composition of the medium (water, oil, and water/oil). Samples were analyzed using the LC-QTOF MS/MS and ISO 3632-1:2011 methods. The major compounds were crocins, including trans-crocin and picrocrocin. Among the flavonoids, kaempferol 3-O-sophoroside stands out. Regarding extraction conditions, crocins, glycoside flavonoids, and picrocrocin were enhanced in water, the former in 100% water and at low temperatures, while picrocrocin proved to be the most stable compound with extraction favored at high temperatures. The variable with the greatest incidence of picrocrocin isolation seemed to be the concentration of water since water/oil compositions reported higher concentrations. Safranal and kaempferol were enriched in the oil phase and at lower temperatures. This study provides a chemical interpretation for the appropriate gastronomic use of saffron according to its versatility. Finally, the determination of safranal using the ISO method did not correlate with that obtained using chromatography. Full article

Tourism is multifaceted and primarily encompasses cultural activities, aiming mainly to ensure visitors’ relaxation and rejuvenation. Therefore, activities that involve exploring the culinary richness of a destination, which provide elements of the local culture and history, are important. The purpose of this study is to outline the profile of potential gastronomic tourists in order to identify the motivating factors for tasting local cuisine. Additionally, gastronomic festivals are raising the question of whether they serve as a means to attract potential tourists and what conditions they must meet in order to become an attractive activity. A survey was carried out targeting two nationalities with a deep gastronomic culture: Greeks and Koreans. The findings indicate that despite their common perspectives on food selection motives and that the existence of a gastronomic festival at the travel destination interests both nationalities, they differ in terms of choosing a gastronomic festival as the primary factor in visiting a destination. Overall, it is deemed useful to implement and promote gastronomic festivals with a focus on the particular needs of the respective potential tourists. Full article

Edible insects can diversify diets, improve livelihoods, contribute to food and nutrition security, and have a smaller ecological impact. The European Union has categorized insects as novel food, and recently, in 2021 and 2022, two species, Tenebrio molitor and Acheta domesticus, were authorized for commercialization. The acceptance and perception of food risk derived from insect consumption vary depending on factors impacting insect consumption acceptability, including neophobic tendencies, gender differences, familiarity, and gastronomic perceptions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the perception and acceptance of edible insects by exploring these factors. This study was carried out on higher-education students from universities in Valencia (Spain). The students recognized insects’ high nutritional value, particularly protein content, and had varying levels of knowledge about specific nutritional components. In terms of labeling and marketing, removing health and sustainability benefits from packaging can improve consumer responses. Most respondents prefer clear labeling of insect derivatives, quality certification seals, and complete information about insect content. Students consider marketing and knowledge to be significant influencers of insect consumption. In summary, this text highlights the multifaceted nature of insect consumption acceptability. These insights offer valuable perspectives on insect consumption dynamics. Full article

This article explores sustainable development from a gastronomic perspective. Humanistic perspectives on food offered by gastronomy are explored as an asset in cultivating self-awareness capacities needed for sustainable transformations of society. The purpose is to explore how gastronomes can cultivate understandings and explanations of sustainability to be conveyed to individuals via meals. In semi-annually recurring dialogic interviews, four university-educated gastronomes cultivated their understandings and explanations of sustainability, and modeled how these could be communicated to other individuals. The dialogues gradually brought the ideas of the researcher and the participants toward a common explanation of the potential ways gastronomic competency could advance sustainable development. The results highlight two ways of understanding gastronomic sustainability: functionally as practical communication, and formally as a cultural issue. Based on H.G. Gadamer’s idea of bildung as hermeneutic interpretation, we argue that self-awareness is a process which is rooted in how knowledge is interpreted, understood, and explained by the individual. Practical participation in culturally influenced meals makes gastronomy a bridge between individual and societal issues, whereby gastronomic competencies can cultivate sustainable commitment, judgment, and community. In this way, gastronomic sustainability represents an approach to sustainable development that, significantly, also involves the cultivation of sustainable meaning. Full article

The topic of this study is the factors that influence the consumption of traditional food products (TFPs) in tourism, as seen from the perspective of management-sector employees in food and beverage catering facilities. The paper aims to analyse the economic, environmental, social, and touristic factors that highly influence the consumption patterns of catering facilities which are significant providers of traditional gastronomic experiences in tourism, by using the specially designed TFPct scale. The study was conducted on a sample of 300 catering facilities in AP Vojvodina (the Republic of Serbia). An explanatory factor analysis was used to confirm the key factors that influence the consumption of traditional products used to prepare the meals that are a part of what catering facilities offer. Subsequently, a binary logistics regression model was used to establish which of the indicated factors has a statistically significant effect on the management’s decision to purchase these products for their catering facility. The study showed that the TFPct scale is appropriate for this type of research, and that economic factors are key factors in the consumption of traditional products. Moreover, compared with other types of catering facilities, interest in the consumption of these products is clearly expressed by a la carte restaurants. Full article

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. Full article

The tomato is one of the most important vegetables in the world. The demand for tomatoes is high in virtually any country, owing to their gastronomic versatility and nutritional and aromatic value. Drought, salinity, and inadequate temperature can be major factors in diminishing yield, affecting physiological and biochemical processes and altering various metabolic pathways, from the aggregation of low molecular–weight substances to the transcription of specific genes. Various biotechnological tools can be used to alter the tomato genes so that this species can more rapidly or better adapt to abiotic stress. These approaches range from the introgression of genes coding for specific enzymes for mitigating a prevailing stress to genetic modifications that alter specific metabolic pathways to help tomato perceive environmental cues and/or withstand adverse conditions. In recent years, environmental and social concerns and the high complexity of the plant response may increase the attention of applied plant biotechnology toward biomimetic strategies, generally defined as all the approaches that seek to develop more sustainable and acceptable strategies by imitating nature’s time-tested solutions. In this review, we provide an overview of some of the genetic sequences and molecules that were the objects of biotechnological intervention in tomato as examples of approaches to achieve tolerance to abiotic factors, improving existing nature-based mechanisms and solutions (biomimetic biotechnological approaches (BBA)). Finally, we discuss implications and perspectives within the GMO debate, proposing that crops modified with BBA should receive less stringent regulation. Full article

Over the last two decades, scholars and organizations across the world have carried out research projects and promoted dissemination tools aimed at promoting food and food-related elements embedded in local and traditional foodways. In this regard, the documentation of food and biocultural heritage has been seen as the starting point of processes directed toward their safeguarding and promotion. Drawing from this premise, the paper presents an original methodological approach, designed within the framework of the Ark of Taste project, to map, inventory, and document food and food-related resources to produce a comprehensive dissemination tool for the promotion of local food and biocultural heritage. To this end, the paper discusses the case study of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste in Tanzania, looking at the approach used, and the challenges faced, in undertaking field and desk activities aimed at inventorying Tanzanian food products and in the creating of the gastronomic atlas of this country. Drawing from this experience, the paper highlights the potentially crucial role that food and gastronomic inventories may have in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals from a grassroots perspective. Acknowledging the limitations and possible unintended effects of these initiatives on the protection of food and biocultural resources, the authors recognize the promising role that these tools could have in fostering the achievement of environmental (SDGs 13, 14, 15) and social sustainability (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 10) objectives. Full article

The species Pleurotus ostreatus is a commercially, gastronomically, and biotechnologically important fungus. Its strain variability has been little researched. The study provides an evaluation of 59 oyster mushroom production strains in terms of the ability to accumulate selected metals in the cap and stipe. The fruiting bodies were grown under identical model conditions on straw substrate. Metal concentrations (ET-AAS) in dry fruiting bodies ranged in values 1.7–22.4 mg kg⁻¹ for Al, 2.6–9.7 mg kg⁻¹ Ba, 199–4560 mg kg⁻¹ Ca, 1.7–12.0 mg kg⁻¹ Cu, 12–120 mg kg⁻¹ Fe, 16,000–49,500 mg kg⁻¹ K, 876–2400 mg kg⁻¹ Mg, 0.39–11.0 mg kg⁻¹ Mn, 46–920 mg kg⁻¹ Na and 11–920 mg kg⁻¹ for Zn. More Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Zn accumulated in the cap, while in the stipe Ba was amassed. No significant difference was found between Al, Ca and Na between the accumulation in the cap and the stipe. Furthermore, the dependence of metal uptake from the substrate depending on the fortification of the substrate was confirmed. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) synergistic relationships were shown in pairs Al and Ba, Al and Fe, Ba and Na, Ba and Ca, Ca and Na, Cu and Fe, Fe and Mn, Fe and Zn, K and Mg, K and Mn, K and Zn, Mg and Mn, Mg and Na, Mg and Zn and Mn and Zn in the substrate without the addition of sodium selenate to the substrate. Altered relationships were observed after the application of sodium selenate to the substrate, synergism of Se and Ni, Se and Co and Se and Hg, Cu and Mn, Cu and Fe, Zn and Co, Zn and Ni, Zn and Hg, Mn and Fe, Mn and Cr, Co and Ni, Co and Hg, Ni and Hg, Pb and Cd. The findings of the study may help in the selection of production strains with hypercumulative properties for a particular metal and subsequent use in the addition of fortified fruiting bodies (e.g., with Zn). Based on the study the strains less sensitive to the accumulation of hazardous metals is possible to select for large-scale production, which is important from the perspective of food safety. Full article

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a plant worldwide cultivated mainly for essential oils, extracts, and as a spice. Up-to-date results showed diversity in composition of the essential oils, which may influence their quality, biological activity, and thermal properties. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition, antimicrobial activity, and thermal properties of the rosemary essential oils originating from Serbia and Russia. Additionally, oils were added to the sunflower oils in order to investigate possible antioxidant activity during the frying. Investigation of the chemical profile marked α-pinene, eucalyptol, and camphor as the most abundant compounds in both oils. However, overall composition influenced in such manner that Russian oil showed significantly higher antimicrobial activity, while Serbian oil proved to be better antioxidant agent in case of frying of sunflower oil. This would significantly influence possible application of the oils, which could be used as an antioxidant agent for extension of the food shelf life, or antimicrobial agent for protection against different microbial strains. Full article

The certification of Malaga and Ronda wine route, within the model of certified wine routes in Spain, has given a new boost to wine tourism in Malaga. The study focuses on La Axarquía, located on the Eastern Costa del Sol in Southern Spain, which has been a reference point in the wine business since ancient times and has its own identity. This research aims at elaborating a diagnosis of the territory related to the possibilities offered by the area, from the perspective of the heritage resources and services provided by the winemakers outlining two efficient enotourism itineraries that enhance the value of the territory’s resources. The methodology used starts with the study of the territory in order to profile the existing resources, a task that was complemented by the analysis of the documentary sources required in order to understand the peculiarities of the territory. From there, a process of interviews was carried out between April and November 2019 with 100% of the winemakers and around 70% of the territory’s agents. The results of the research are specified in a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, which has allowed evaluating the possibilities of the enotourist development in La Axarquía, which is complemented with a proposal of two possible itineraries that will promote such development of the rural territory. The conclusions convey the possibilities of the territory of a tourist segment which puts its resources to good use and moves forward the deseasonalization and destructuring of tourism in Malaga, especially on the Eastern Costa del Sol, according to criteria of efficiency and profitability with wine as a reference, although it could be applied to other gastronomic and cultural resources linked to the tourist sector in other geographical areas. Full article

It is a worldwide well-known fact that gastronomic tourism does not always contribute to the cultural, social, economic, and territorial development of the host community. Therefore, its study requires a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to explore and interpret this phenomenon. From this perspective, the paper analyses the consumption of food products by tourists in Santiago de Compostela in Spain (2013–2014). Personal interviews (2081) with visitors and food industry establishment representatives were done. Compared with the normal food consumption of the Galician population, the food production capacity established by the corresponding Santiago foodshed calculation, and with the gastronomy official advertising (tourism web pages analysed by multimodal analysis), the gastronomic tourist experience is standardized and poor, limited to practically two products: rice with lobster, and octopus. This standardization supposes a high reduction in the diversity of the product that can be offered and produced in terms of proximity, and its territorial differentiation, comparing to the usual consumption of the Galician population, to the potential agricultural production by associated foodshed, and to the gastronomic advertising through official web pages. Thus, in this case, gastronomic tourism is not contributing to the social, economic, and territorial development of the host community or, ultimately, to the sustainability of tourism. Full article

Gastronomic tours have become a prevalent form of travel in many destinations and have boosted the development of destinations’ tourism economy. However, unsustainable food consumption, especially the wastage of food by tourists, is severe and has yet to receive sufficient academic attention. Thus, this study aimed to examine this kind of unsustainable behavior from tourists’ perspective to help the academia and practitioners to better understand the causes and solutions pertaining to the issue. Participants’ demographic information and content data were collected and analyzed. Content analysis was adopted to summarize the major themes emerging from the data. Results indicated that tourists, the industry, and government should be responsible for the issue. The reasons related to each stakeholder are shown together with the countermeasures. This study is among the first to examine the issue, which can lay the foundation for further studies in the same research area and help to address unsustainable food consumption. Full article

A “cultural turn” from those early management focused studies to more wholesome and exploratory socio-cultural analysis of food with sociological approaches has emerged in more recent food tourism studies. In the Chinese tourism context, however, extant studies are mainly conducted with marketing approaches linked to management to analyze the role of (heritage) foods in tourist perception and experience, and destination marketing. This study thus seeks to understand the mechanism of food heritagization and its effect in Yuanjia Village, a renowned rural tourism destination featuring traditional delicacies in China’s Shaanxi Province. Data were collected via interviews and participant observations. The findings show that, led by local elites and monitored by a bottom-up regulatory system, locals use raw materials associated with being “local”, “traditional”, and “organic”, make food with traditional crafts, and present food in a nostalgic atmosphere for consumption. Traditional foods are reinvented/reproduced as edible exemplars of the culture and heritage of the Guanzhong area (central Shaanxi Plain), and as carriers of nostalgia for a rural past that satisfies the imaginations and needs of surrounding urbanite visitors. This, in turn, contributes to the sustainability of the village as a rural tourism destination, featuring industry convergence that fosters economic sustainability, as well as governance embedded in rurality to deal with tourism benefit distribution (i.e., cooperatives) and social problems (i.e., peasant school) that promotes social sustainability. This research contributes to the understanding of food heritagization from a bottom-up perspective as well as rural destination sustainability from a gastronomical perspective in China. Full article