Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114

Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

Role of Local and Regional Food in Destination Marketing

VaibhavVerma*
Research Scholar MMICT&BM (Hotel Management)
MMDU Mullana, Ambala
+91 9809409009
vaibhav22verma@gmail.com

Mr. Ankit Shukla**

Research Scholar MMICT&BM (Hotel Management)
MMDU Mullana, Ambala
+91 9817281888
shukla.ankit690@gmail.com

Abstract

The positive feedback of the visitors after the visit to a place forms the basis of evaluation of the overall
attractiveness of that particular destination. The attractiveness of a destination is evaluated on multiple
factors that include the natural landscapes, recreational activities, events, unique food and quality of services
provided throughout the stay. In order to develop tourism, a demand exists that the cultural paradigm should
be extended and focus should be given on new traditions to shape the new boundaries. One of the factor that
is emerging as a key driver in destination marketing is the regional or local food that is specific to a
particular destination. It has been found that there is a lack of extensive research on this factor in India and
this forms the basis of this research. Through this paper a qualitative analysis using the secondary data
analysis has been done to identify the importance as well as the role of local or regional food in destination
marketing. Through the research it has been found that local food plays an extensively important part in
destination marketing due to its capability in enhancing destination image, enhancing overall quality of visit,
enhancing probability of destination revisit and acting as a key ingredient in marketing the destination.

Key Words: Food tourism, destination marketing, local & regional food, service quality.

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

Introduction

As we all know that India is full of diversified people and people of different regions have their own
traditional cuisines, food plays an integral part of tourism in India. Each and every state in India has a
different cuisine and tradition, right from using of spices in the food and the way of presenting it to the
guests. This is directly or indirectly helping various destinations to develop itself as a brand in terms of
tourism marketing. One aspect is that the people are very fond of travelling to various destinations and gain
and experience the regional food of the area. It is also observed that many destinations are serving their
local dishes as their speciality which is giving them an upper edge (Ergul, Johnson, Cetinkaya & Robertson,
2011). Large numbers of foreign tourists are visiting India annually and this provides for an opportunity to
showcase the cuisine diversity that India has. Thus, there is a requirement of understanding the importance
as well as the role of local food in destination marketing at the global level so that its benefits can be applied
to marketing the destinations in India.

Literature Review:

Local Food

The local food or the regional food can be termed as the food that has been originated from the local
ingredients and through the cultural heritage of the people of a particular destination. The touch of locality
infuses the uniqueness in the taste, type as well as the presentation style of a dish. This uniqueness can
provide a satisfying experience for the travellers and can lead to inculcation of desire to revisit the
destination (Bjork & Kauppinen-Raisanen, 2016). There has been a rapid increase in tourists throughout the
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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

world due to the decrease in travelling expenses as well as better availability of modes of transportation.
This has led to a high competition among various destinations locally as well as globally in attracting the
travellers. Multiple factors play a significant role in attracting these potential tourists and the local cuisines
are one of them (Alderighi, Bianchi & Lorenzini, 2016).

Destination Marketing

Destination Marketing is an emerging trend in the tourism industry due to high competition among
the destinations for attracting more tourists and travellers. The concept of destination marketing is now
moving towards local and more specific destinations rather than a country wide marketing campaign (Ergul,
Johnson, Cetinkaya & Robertson, 2011). Various states and localities are now focusing on attracting visitors
to generate revenue and showcasing themselves as a brand of cultural heritage and authenticity. Various
Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) have been setup throughout the world by various countries
and states for enhancing the public image of the destinations and to increase the number of tourists visiting
them.

Importance of Local Food in Destination Marketing

Various researchers have found a strong link between the local foods and their importance in
destination marketing. As food is the reflection of a culture on the local scale, it determines the uniqueness
of the destination and separates it from the competitors (Rand, Heath & Alberts, 2003). There are various
destinations in the world that are known for their foods, Italian Pasta and Pizza are among such famous
cuisines from Italy. Most of the travellers visit places to experience their rich culture and their high quality
food preparations that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. As per the study conducted by (Bjork &
Kauppinen-Raisanen, 2016) all the travellers can be categorized into three major categories on the basis of
their behaviour regarding food choices during travel. These categories include survivors, enjoyers and
experiencers. Survivors being least interested in food and experiencers being the most interested.

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

Destination Image

The image of a destination is the measure of its probability to attract more tourists in a given time.
The image of a particular destination is based on several factors ranging from the natural landscapes at the
destination, recreational activities, major events and even local cuisines (Lin, Pearson & Cai, 2010). The
tourists always tend to research on the local cuisines before travelling to ensure that their travel is more
fruitful. Many studies have shown that local foods and cuisines can add to the image of a destination and
make it a better candidate for visiting and revisiting than its competitors (Zahari, Hanafiah & Zain, 2018).

Methodology of Research:

A qualitative research methodology has been used for this research as the quantitative analysis at the
global level was not possible. The data has been collected from the secondary sources including online
journals and reports on the topic of research. It has been ensured that peer reviewed journals are selected for
gathering data to ensure their appropriateness. All the data gathered was qualitatively reviewed and
analysed. The conclusion based on the review of these reports and journals has been presented here.
Through the research, firstly the importance of local or regional food in destination marketing at global level
has been identified and then its roles have been determined.

Data Analysis and Results:

For the analysis of the role of regional or local food in the destination marketing, we first need to
analyse the importance of the local food or cuisines in the tourism industry across the world. For the
purpose of analysis, the tourists or travellers have been categorized into three categories on the basis of
importance they give to food while travelling. As per the study conducted by (Bjork & Kauppinen-
Raisanen, 2016), tourists that think that local cuisines are extremely important and shapes their choice of
destination selection falls under the category of “experiencers”. Whereas, tourists that feel that local food is
important and somewhat shapes their choices of destination selection falls under the “enjoyers” category.
The tourists that thinks that local food is not important and does not forms the part of their destination

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

selection criterion falls under “survivors” category. Taking this as a scale for measurement various
researches conducted throughout the world were reviewed and the following results were obtained:

The study conducted by (Bjork & Kauppinen-Raisanen, 2016) in Finland at MATKA Fair involved
distributing questionnaire to tourists attending the fair to rate the importance of local food in shaping
travelling decisions on a scale of 1 to 4 where 4 being the most important. 158 tourists responded
appropriately to the questions and it was found that 37.30% respondents feel that the local food is an
extremely important factor for selecting destinations for travelling. These travellers were categorized into
experiencers (feels local food to be most important for destination selection), enjoyers (41.80% feels local
food to be important for destination selection) and survivors (20.90% does not feels local food to be the
most important factor for destination selection).

In another study conducted by (Rand, Heath & Alberts, 2003) on the role of local food in destination
marketing in South Africa, it was found that 71.41% of the respondents are of the opinion that local food
plays an important role in shaping the decision of the travellers towards a particular destination. This high
percentage of respondents depicts that local food is an important ingredient for positioning the destination
higher in the eyes of the travellers.

According to the study conducted by (Amira, 2009), on the importance of food in destination
marketing in Maldives, 33.33% of the respondents find that local food plays an important role in destination
marketing whereas 41.66% feels that it is somewhat important but not the only factor. A comparison of all
these studies has been conducted and the respondents are categorized into the three categories as shown
below:

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

80.00%
72.41%
70.00%

60.00%

50.00%
41.80% 41.66% Survivors
40.00% 37.30%
33.33% Enjoyers
30.00% Experiencers
25%
20.90%
20.00% 15.92%
11.67%
10.00%

0.00%
Finland South Africa Maldives

Figure 1 Percentage of Travelers stating importance of Local Food in Destination Selection.

From the above analysis it can be claimed that most of the travellers falls in the “Experiencers” and
“Enjoyers” category, thus highlighting the importance of local food in shaping the destination choices.

The study conducted in Italy by (Alderighi, Bianchi & Lorenzini, 2016) regarding the impact of
local food on visiting and revisiting decision of a traveller to a destination has also been reviewed. Three
mountain destinations namely Valtellina, Valle d'Aosta and Trentino were selected for sampling and
tourists were provided with questionnaires regarding the impact of the local food in shaping their revisiting
decisions. It was found that for all the three destinations tourists ranging from 60.45% to 66.82% thinks that
the local food cuisines will make them visit these destinations again as the food quality at these places
enhanced their overall experience of the stay. The following chart shows the comparison:

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

Percentage Revisitors
68.00%
66.82%

66.00%

64.00%

62.00% 61.27%
Percentage Revisitors
60.45%
60.00%

58.00%

56.00%
Valtellina Valle d'Aosta Trentino

Figure 2 Percentage of Travelers who think Local food at the given destination will shape their decision for revisit.

The researches have shown that there are multiple factors that play an important role in destination
marketing. These factors include nature, recreational activities, culture, events and local food. Out of these
and many other factors, it has been found that 32.7% people find local food and cuisines as a key factor in
shaping destination marketing campaign whereas another 39.7% people are supportive of the claim (Rand,
Heath & Alberts, 2003).

Discussion:

From the above analysis, it can be claimed that the importance of local or regional food is on the rise
as far as destination marketing is concerned. On the basis of research on secondary data, the following roles
of the local food in destination marketing have been identified:

Role as an Image Enhancer

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

As unique and good quality food is liked by all, the tourists tend to mouth advertise these cuisines of
a destination after visiting creating a chain of tourists flowing into the destination. Famous food items
enhance the image of a destination leading to increased probability of tourists visiting that destination (Choe
& Kim, 2018).

As a Boost to Overall Quality of Visit

The quality of visit to a destination can be rated on various factors including the transportation
facility, accommodation and the quality of food available. The local cuisines tend to intensify the overall
experience of the travellers leading to creating a positive image of the destination and in increasing the
overall rating of that destination (Choe & Kim, 2018).

Key Factor for Destination Revisit:

Some local dishes leave prolonged effects on the tourists which inculcates the desire to visit the
destination again. This desire can only be fulfilled by revisiting the place thus increasing the chances of
revisit. Therefore, advertising the local dish while destination marketing can reignite the taste, and can
attract the tourist to revisit the destination (Alderighi, Bianchi & Lorenzini, 2016).

As a Key Marketing Factor:

Various factors including natural landscapes, recreational activities, culture, events and local food
are the key factors in destination marketing. Local food being one of the factors forms the integral part of
destination marketing for attracting more number of tourists to a particular destination and thus must be
utilized efficiently to increase the effects of marketing.

Future Prospects of the Research:

As a very few researchers have conducted research on the importance and role of local food in
destination marketing in India, this research can be taken as the basis for more elaborate study on the topic

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

to enhance the effects of the marketing campaigns for various tourist destinations in the country. This will
help in attracting more tourists to the country and generate healthy revenue for the country.

References:

[1] Alderighi, M., Bianchi, C., & Lorenzini, E. (2016). The impact of local food specialities on the decision
to (re)visit a tourist destination: Market-expanding or business-stealing? Tourism Management, 57,
323-333. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2016.06.016

[2] Amira, F. (2009). The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism: A Focus on Promotion and Economic
Development. Auckland University Of Technology. Retrieved from
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56361515.pdf

[3] Bjork, P., & Kauppinen-Raisanen, H. (2016). Local food: a source for destination
attraction. International Journal Of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(1), 177-194. doi:
10.1108/ijchm-05-2014-0214

[4] Choe, J., & Kim, S. (2018). Effects of tourists’ local food consumption value on attitude, food
destination image, and behavioral intention. International Journal Of Hospitality Management, 71, 1-
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[5] Ergul, M., Johnson, C., Cetinkaya, A., & Robertson, J. (2011). An Exploratory Study Linking Turkish
Regional Food with Cultural Destinations. Academica Turistica, 2. Retrieved from
http://www.hippocampus.si/ISSN/2335-4194/4_2_101-109.pdf

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Studies in Indian Place Names ISSN: 2394-3114
Vol-40-Issue-56-March -2020
(UGC Care Journal)

[6] Lin, Y., Pearson, T., & Cai, L. (2010). Food as a form of destination identity: A tourism destination
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[7] Millionmetrics.com. (2017). The Rise of Food Tourism: How food tourism can boost the hospitality &
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[8] Rand, G., Heath, E., & Alberts, N. (2003). The Role of Local and Regional Food in Destination
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[9] Reza, A. (2014). THE ROLE OF LOCAL FOOD IN THE TOURISTIC EXPERIENCE: A focus on
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[10] Zahari, M., Hanafiah, M., & Zain, N. (2018). Food and Tourism Destination Image: Moderating Effect
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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323906160_Food_and_Tourism_Destination_Image_Moderat
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