An investigation of food tourism in Chongqing

美食游调查分析

An Investigation of Food Tourism in Chongqing

Qian ChenPlymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom

Abstract

Food has been playing an important role in tourism. It is suggested that food is regarded as one of the most important factors in deciding a destination and adding extra value to the image of destination. This paper aims to investigate the role of food in motivating tourists to visit Chongqing and explore the importance of food tourism to Chongqing. A questionnaire survey was carried out, resulting in a total of 565 respondents contributing their opinions. The result indicates that in the pre-stage of travel, food do have an in?uence in motivating tourists to visit Chongqing. However, the role of food is still not highly rated by the tourists, which needs a better promotion to let tourists know about the Chongqing food.

Key Words: Food tourism, Chongqing, China

Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that food is one of the basic needs for people (Selwood, 2003; Holloway, 1998 cited in Tikkanen, 2007). Food has pleasant memories for the tourists, providing enjoyment and opportunities. Tourism is a context full of novelty, offering tourists new opportunities in food consumption rather than for merely maintaining their food habits and routines (Quan & Wang, 2004; Henderson, 2009). Consequently, it is claimed that gastronomic experience could become one of major motivations for travel (Du rand et al., 2003). As Hall and Mitchell (2001) suggest that now there exists an increasing recognition that food is an indispensable factor of the tourism market as well as an indispensable part of the travel experience. There is a growing interest of studies and research on food tourism(Everett & Aitchison, 2008；Hijalager & Richards, 2002). Many researchers (e.g. (Hjalager& Corigliano, 2000; Boniface, 2003; Quan & Wang, 2004; Everett & Aitchison, 2008) argue that food tourism is of great signi?cance in many different aspects including economy, marketing, culture, enhancing place identity and achieving sustainable development. This research chooses Chongqing, a signi?cant city in the south west of China who is well known for its spicy food, as a case study. The aim of this research is to explore the importance of food tourism to Chongqing. This paper critically reviews the existing literature related to food tourism and focuses on exploring in the pre-travel stage, how food affects the motivation of the tourists to visit Chongqing.Literature Review

With growing interests and information on food tourism, it has become one of the most popular topics in tourism industry (Quan & Wang, 2004; Kim et al., 2011). When it comes to the de?nition of food tourism, there are some arguments among the literature sources. Based on the analysis of de?nitions of food tourism from different literature sources, it could be concluded that food tourism refers to a term, which involves the tourists taking tasting or experiencing a particular type of food and the speci?c production region

learning local culture and food features as their primary motivation (Hall & Sharples, 2003; 110

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Hall & Mitchell, 2005; Wang, et al., 2007;Tikkannen, 2007;Everett& & Aitchison, 2008; Kim, et al., 2009). It is argued that not any trip to a restaurant is food tourism, this kind of travel must take the desire to experience a particular type of food or the produce of a speci?c region or even to taste the dishes of a particular chef as the major motivation (Hall & Sharples; 2003). As the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences, food tourism provides a way of linking local food systems with the tourist experience (Green & Gougherty, 2008).

It is widely acknowledged that food is one of the basic needs for people (Selwood, 2003; Holloway, 1998 cited in Tikkanen, 2007). As a physical necessity, food is an in?uential eye-catcher and it strongly represents the quality of life (Hialager & Corigliano, 2000; Hall & Sharples, 2003; Frochot, 2003). It is acknowledged that there is a positive link between food and the destination (Sims, 2009; Okumus, et al., 2007). Similarly, it is put that food and the travel destination are mutually bene?cial for the reason that the destination could make food a perfect product for tourist consumption (Fields, 2002). It is then accepted that food is regarded as a fundamental and essential element of the tourist product (Reynolds, 1994cited in Hjalager & Corigliano, 2000). Likewise, there exists an increasing recognition that food is an indispensable factor of the tourism market as well as an indispensable part of the travel experience (Hall & Mitchell, 2001; Hjalager & Richard, 2002).

However, the reality is the importance of food has often been ignored (Hall & Sharples, 2003; Rand et al., 2003). Tourism is reported to be the world’s largest industry after the Second World War with food consumption takes up nearly one-third of all tourists spending (Torres 2000 cited in Torres, 2002;Mowforth & Munt, 1998 cited in Torres, 2002；Hashimoto &Telfer,2006；Wu,2010; Wu & Tang,2010). It is indicated that food is a primary trip motivator in the touristic experience (Quan & Wang, 2004). As Kim, et al (2011) claim, food tourism should be paid special attention to for its important values and contributions to the destination in various aspects. Precisely, it is of great signi?cance in many aspects including politics, economy, culture, technology and environment and all of them come together when we consume (Beer, 2008).

As Handszuh (2002); Green and Dougherty (2009) suggest that local food could contribute to the local economy, making the destination authentic. The economic impact of food tourism was emphasized in the earlier research (Handszuh, 2000 cited in Lee & Arcoia, 2011). It is suggested that the different expressions of food tourism could create lots of economic opportunities, which would bene?t a range of tourism and tourism-related businesses (Meler & Cerovic, 2003; Henderson, 2009; Wu, 2010). It is not only a good way to increase tourist spending but also a means of extending the tourist season and assisting marketing (Everett & Aitchison, 2008). What’s more, food consumption could generate revenues as well as generate jobs and incomes for the destination (Elmont, 1995cited in Rand, et al., 2003; Dittermer, 2001cited in Quan & Wang, 2004). As a result, it is suggested that food tourism has an important role in generating economy (Jones & Jenkins, 2002; Okumus et al., 2007; Kivela & Crotts, 2006).

Moreover, food tourism is of great importance in the destination marketing. Gastronomy is suggested to have already become the focus of tourism policies (Du Rand et al., 2003). It is indicated that local food could act as a necessity, an innovation or a pull factor in regional tourism marketing strategy (Hjalager & Richards, 2002; Sharples, 2003; Boniface, 2003). As well as the marketing of food by tourism businesses, the appeal of food to tourists has been recognised by destination marketers at a national, regional and

local 111

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level (Frochot, 2003; Okumus et al., 2006; Henderson, 2009). As Du Rand et al.(2003); Boyne and Hall (2004); Tellstrom et al (2006) put that food tourism is becoming a useful marketing tool in destination branding and promoting.

Mason and Paggiaro (2009) suggest that a large number of tourists want to get themselves involved in the culture of the place they are visiting by having appealing experiences with people, cuisine and other cultural activities. It is explained that tourists are now beginning to take food as a key component of their travel experience and as a necessity to understand the local culture (Macdonalds, 2001 cited in Telfer & Hashimoto, 2003;Boyne & Hall, 2003). As a result, it is asserted that food could act as an affecting reminder of the cultural identity and traditions (Westering, 1999; Frochot, 2003; Tellstrom et al., 2006). It is helpful in identifying a destination as well as enhancing the identity of the destination (Boniface, 2003; Long, 2004; Okumusa, et al., 2004; Quan & Wang, 2004). It is widely acknowledged that as the growing importance and popularity of food tourism, there is an increasing number of studies and research on food tourism (Everett & Aitchison, 2008；Hijalager & Richards). However, there are still many limitations in the existing research. Speci?cally, most of the food tourism researches are examined from the suppliers’ perspective instead of the visitors’ perspective (Wang & Zhong, 2007; Henderson, 2009; Gao & Yang, 2011). It does not actually examine the food experience of tourists and their perspectives. Moreover, it is hard to ?nd a combined research that analyses the de?nition, forms and the importance of food tourism and also works out the promoting strategies for the DMOs.

Methodology

In order to achieve the purpose of this study, both secondary and primary sources of information were used. Based on the review of relevant literature, it is apparent that there has already existed a lot of research in food tourism, which could provide a substantial source of data to the study. Secondary research involved an analysis of materials like books, journals; information posted on the Internet websites; and some databases. However, it has been realized that the secondary data might have some mistakes which could be dif?cult to recognise, the sources might contain some old information and there might have limitations in the research design and data analysis, which might not be ideal for the current project (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 1996; Bailey, 1987; Veal, 2006). As the special context of this paper is to investigate the food tourism in Chongqing, therefore, the research still has to rely on the primary data. Speci?cally, it is clearly illustrated that after a detailed review of relevant literature sources, a questionnaire survey with a series of structured questions was designed. To design the questionnaire, a range of secondary sources both in the English context and Chinese context were consulted (Boniface, 2003; Okumusa, et al., 2004; Lee & Arcoia, 2011; Song & Zhang, 2010; Xu, 2011). Questionnaire survey could result in large sample sizes, which could provide enough information, and the information could be easily summarized and analysed using computers (Brunt, 1997; Bryman, 2008; Cooper & Emory, 2011).

The sample for this study could be de?ned as people who are now travelling in Chongqing or who have ever travelled to Chongqing before. The research mainly involves two different ways to collect data. One is to use the on-site survey in Chongqing, which is conducted on the street by the interviewers. The interviewers choose the respondent from every two people passing by. It is recognized

that every tourist who is now visiting 112

美食游调查分析

Chongqing has the same chance of being selected. This survey is also open to the tourists who have been to Chongqing in the past, who are widely scattered geographically. Consequently, it is suggested that the on-site survey might be impossibly expensive and achievable; therefore, the respondent-completed way should also be included (Frankfort- Nachmias & Nachmias, 1996; Veal, 2006; Bryman, 2008). Precisely, the questionnaire is put on the Internet and the people who have been to Chongqing for travelling could get access to answer it. The sample for this study could be de?ned as people who are now travelling in Chongqing or who have ever travelled to Chongqing before. 565 usable questionnaires were collected during the data collection stage.As Brunt (1997) put that data analysis is a crucial part in the travel and tourism research. It is recognized that using software to analyse data is practical and effective (Brunt, 1997; Zikmund, 2003; Bryman & Bell, 2011). In this research, one of the most commonly used and effective software applications SPSS is used to analyse the quantitative data (David & Sutton, 2004; Bryman & Teevan, 2005).

Results and Discussions

The pro?le of the respondent is presented in Table 1 below. The majority of the respondents (70%) were in the age group 18-30,takeing up around three times than that of the middle-aged group (31—40). Gender groups were distributed almost evenly, with 47.8% was male and 52.2% was female.

Table 1 Pro?le of Respondents

Variable

Education

Junior School Or BelowSenior SchoolBachelor

Master or Doctor AgeBelow 1818-3031-4041-50??Above 51GenderMaleFemale

270295

47.852.2

5389130356

0.968.823.06.21.1

33347950

0.55.884.88.8

Frequency

Percent

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美食游调查分析

Reviewing the basic information of the respondents, it is suggested that the respondents were characterized by high educational level, shown in Table 1 Pro?le of Respondents, with around 93.6% having bachelor degree or above. The ?ndings above appear to have some similarities with the demographic pro?le of the tourists in the previous researches about food tourism that the tourists were younger and have a high education level (Mckercher et al, 2008; Kim et al, 2011).When it comes to the ?rst question in the questionnaire, reviewing the statistics shown in Figure 1 ‘Visiting Times of Tourists to Chongqing’ that of all the respondents, around half of them have visited Chongqing more than one time and all of them have at least visited Chongqing for once.

Figure 1. Visiting Times of Tourists to Chongqing

Regarding the factors that describe tourists’ interest to visit Chongqing, each of them was scored using a 7-point Likert scale (1-least interest, 7-most interest). It is shown in Table 2 ‘Interests to Visit’ that the highest average rating (5.46) of the interest to visit Chongqing is visiting for sightseeing. Visiting for food was in the second place, which has an average rating of 5.13. As for the other two interests like visiting for work or study and visiting for friends or families, the rating is below 4.

It could be seen that traditional tourism form of sightseeing is still people’s biggest interest. Chongqing has picturesque landscapes. Its landform is uneven and the buildings there distribute in an intriguing way. There are many famous tourist attractions include People's Liberation Monument, Three Gorges, Dazu Rock Carvings and Ci Qi Kou village that motivate tourists to come. However, it is also quite surprising that food also got a very high rating of 5.13, indicating that visitors to Chongqing do have very high interests in the food. It is widely acknowledged in China that Chongqing cuisine is very spicy and is known for its creative new dishes with various materials. It is a branch of Sichuan cuisine which is the leader of the four major cuisines of China. The representative dishes include Chongqing hotpot, boiled ?sh, boiled ?sh with pickled vegetable, old duck soup, hot and sour rice noodles, spicy chicken, Quanshui chicken, etc, among which hotpot is most famous. In addition, it is suggested that the city center of Chongqing is ?lled with restaurants and food stalls where people could easily pick up the exciting spicy delicacies. Reviewed from the statistics, it is indicated that the various Chongqing food

do have the potential to appeal to the tourists.

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