Picture it: The Use of Food-Related Images in Tourism Visitor's Guides

Abstract

Culinary tourism has become an important means of attracting quality visitors for many destinations. As tourism destination marketers develop the brands and associated promotional material through which to communicate with potential visitors, the need to identify ways to differentiation their place brand vis-à-vis the place brand of other tourism destinations becomes paramount. One way to engage potential visitors via tourism promotional material is through the use of images. By examining the food-related imagery used by specific Canadian tourism destinations, the increased focus on culinary tourism and the evolution of the use of imagery can be seen more clearly. This study offers a contribution to tourism research by examining the evolution of culinary tourism promotion in three geographically-linked regions through the use of food-related imagery in their tourism visitor's guides. The findings of this study can also offer valuable information to tourism industry stakeholders who have identified culinary tourism as a priority and want to further develop their positioning, differentiation, and marketing strategies using food-related imagery.