Culinary tourism as an effective strategy for a profitable cooperation between agriculture and tourism

Abstract

The relationships between tourism and agriculture have traditionally been studied due to the positive impacts they can potentially have on the development of rural economies. This research puts forward a new interpretation of the cooperation between these two sectors, involving culinary tourism as a key factor. An empirical study was carried out and 720 tourists were interviewed while visiting the city of Caceres, Extremadura, in south-western Spain. Results show that (i) food and traditional gastronomy are the main motivators of modern tourists, (ii) their income level is above average, (iii) tourists who travel with a culinary motivation are more likely to consume, in their daily diet, traditional products from the visited destination, generating positive impacts to the destination over the long term. The paper reaches significant conclusions on the management and marketing of destinations and the development of traditional rural economies.