Gastronomic satisfaction of the tourist: empirical study in the Creative City of Popay\xe1n, Colombia

Pablo Rodríguez-Gutiérrez,Tomás López-Guzmán,Luz Stella Pemberthy Gallo,Francisco González Santa Cruz

doi:10.1186/s42779-019-0044-0

Pablo Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, Tomás López-Guzmán + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-019-0044-0

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Abstract

Currently, gastronomy is a fundamental element for tourists to discover the culture and traditions of a destination. The transcendence granted to a culinary experience in a specific place can become a fundamental motivation for the visit and determine the level of satisfaction reached. In this research, the relationship between tourism and gastronomy is analysed in the city of Popayán, Colombia, a city that has received recognition from UNESCO as a Creative City of Gastronomy. To do this, we examine the influence of different dimensions of culinary motivation in the satisfaction with gastronomy that is experienced during the visit. In addition, we analyse the role of tourist attitude towards culinary experience in gastronomy satisfaction. The methodology used in this research is based on partial least squares structural equation modelling. The main results indicate that the importance of the culinary experience of the tourist in the choice of the destination mediates the effect that culinary motivations exercise on the satisfaction with the gastronomy.

Highlights

Research area and goals With the aim of promoting a network of cities that cooperate in specific areas, UNESCO created the Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in 2004
In accordance with the literature review, we propose the following hypothesis: hypothesis 1 (H1): Motivations of tourists towards the gastronomy of a destination have a positive effect on the level of satisfaction achieved by the traveller
Sample and data collection This research builds on the results obtained from fieldwork based on the completion of surveys given to a representative sample of tourists who visited the city of Popayán during the celebration of the Holy Week processions in 2018, which is registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) by UNESCO

Summary

Introduction

Research area and goals With the aim of promoting a network of cities that cooperate in specific areas, UNESCO created the Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in 2004. One year after the creation of the UCCN, the city of Popayán was the first city that was registered as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy (UCC of Gastronomy) This recognition gives the gastronomy of the city a mark of quality, which allows it to promote gastronomic tourism by means of the revitalisation of its culinary tradition [2]. Since the year that this recognition was granted, an intense study process has been carried out to rescue, make visible and revitalise elements of traditional cuisine based on ancestral recipes, preparations and culinary tricks All of this has made the local cuisine become a reference point in gastronomic learning, given its symbiotic combination between traditional and pioneering cuisine. These processes of economic and cultural revitalisation have not been the subject of attention in the scientific literature, with there being just a few studies regarding the gastronomic uniqueness of Popayán [3]

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