The Role of Food Tourism in Sustaining Regional Identity: A Case Study of Cornwall, South West England

By Sally Everett, C. Aitchison. 2008

599 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This exploratory paper examines the role of food tourism in developing and sustaining regional identities within the context of rural regeneration, agricultural diversification and the creation of closer relationships between production and consumption in the countryside. It focuses on Cornwall, South West England, an area with rural development issues, increasing tourism impacts and contested issues of regional identity. A literature and policy analysis, and in-depth interviews with 12 restaurateurs, were undertaken in four popular tourist locations. Correlation was found between increased levels of food tourism interest and the retention and development of regional identity, the enhancement of environmental awareness and sustainability, an increase in social and cultural benefits celebrating the production of local food and the conservation of traditional heritage, skills and ways of life. The paper draws attention to three issues: the role of food tourism in increasing tourist spending, the potential role of food tourism in extending the tourist season, and the re-examination of food tourist typologies within a sustainability framework.

Subfields: Food Science, Sociology and Political Science, Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/7dba7466753a801f26a5b628c0bf8285f7980ddf

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Citations in the corpus

Food tourist segmentation: Attitude, behavioral intentions and travel planning behavior based on food involvement and motivation (2019, background): “This is an important figure, as these individuals have been shown to have an exceptionally strong positive economic impact on a destination’s farmers, food producers, and small businesses (Everett & Aitchison, 2008).”
Modeling the psychological antecedents to tourists’ pro-sustainable behaviors: an application of the value-belief-norm model (2018, background): “For example, tourists’ expenditures on locally produced food and crafts can stem the homogenizing effect of globalization through providing a market-based mechanism to support the local over the global (Everett & Aitchison, 2008; Sims, 2009).”
Experiential value in branding food tourism (2017, background): “Simon) Tsai), n)., & Wang, Y.-C. Experienti 1016/j.jdmm.2016.02.003 Recent studies have found that food also can enhance the identity of destinations because it is strongly related to ways of life, local production, cultural celebration, and heritage (Everett & Aitchison, 2008).”
Reputation, subjective well-being, and environmental responsibility: the role of satisfaction and identification (2018, unknown): “…with concern for the environment (Kyle, Graefe, & Manning, 2005; Smith, Siderelis, & Moore, 2010), as well as the impact that place attachment may have on ERB (Alegre & Juaneda, 2006; Budruk, Thomas, & Tyrrell, 2009; Cheng, Wu, & Huang, 2013; Everett & Aitchison, 2008; Randall & Rollins, 2009).”
Food tourism and regional development: A systematic literature review (2019, background): “Already a decade ago, Everett & Aitchison (2008) claimed that there was a scarcity of academic research when it comes to tourists engaging with local food and, hence, its impact in regional development and sustainability in an interdisciplinary approach.”
Food and tourism: an effective partnership? A UK-based review (2013, background): “…institutional goals and theoretical constructs shows the continued need to evaluate development initiatives from a sustainability perspective (Greenwood, 2006), particularly in the context of increasingly popular tourism initiatives such as food tourism (Everett & Aitchison, 2008; Sims, 2009).”
Assessing the sustainability of agritourism in the US: a comparison between agritourism and other farm entrepreneurial ventures (2013, background): “…and preservation of local customs and crafts, as well as agricultural, natural and built heritage as these farms are embedded in local traditions (Everett & Aitchison, 2008; Fleischer & Pizam, 1997; Hegarty & Przezbórska, 2005; McGehee, 2007; Nilsson, 2002; Ollenburg & Buckley, 2007; Sharpley,…”
The Ecosystem Services of Marine Aquaculture: Valuing Benefits to People and Nature (2018, background): “Food tourism is a rising industry that can be important in sustaining and building regional community identity (Everett and Aitchison 2008).”
Food tourism, niche markets and products in rural tourism: combining the intimacy model and the experience economy as a rural development strategy (2015, background): “However, it is particularly evident in the tourism industry where many scholars detect a “back to the roots” tendency (c.f. Charters et al., 2009; Everett & Aitchison, 2008), which is particularly valid for rural tourism (Kastenholz, Carneiro, & Marques, 2012).”
Food and Gastronomy for Sustainable Place Development: A Multidisciplinary Analysis of Different Theoretical Approaches (2017, background): “Food-themed activities such as farmers’ markets and food festivals have been recognized as increasingly important for affirming community identity and values whilst creating relevant tools for regional development [40].”