Fonte: Journal of Tourism & Development; v. 2, n. 21/22 (2014); 341-350
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Resumo: The obvious competitiveness that exists between tourist destinations, together with an increasingly diverse and poorly differentiated offer, leads managers to apply new methods to achieve a better market position. Thus, the celebration of gastronomic events can be considered a differentiator factor able to influence the tourists ‘choice of a destination. The main objective of this paper is to deepen into the study of the profile of the culinary tourist, carrying out a quantitative empirical work on the demand. The stage of the research involves two consolidated events held in Extremadura, a Spanish region well-known as a cultural and rural destination. The two selected events are the Cherry Blossom Festival, in the Jerte Valley and the National Cheese Fair, in Trujillo. The results shed lights on several aspects that could be useful for local institutions in order to get a major knowledge of the tourists attending these events. The gastronomic traveller resulted to be middle-aged, urbanite, that stays overnight at the destination and that, apart from gastronomy, has a strong interest in natural resources and landscapes.
