Previous image

Next Image

Food | 02/11/2022

Food tourism and its influence on the choice of destination

FOOD IS ONE OF L’HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT’S MAIN RESOURCES WITH REGARD TO TOURISM

Food is one of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat’s main resources with regard to tourism. The culinary approach of the city’s restaurants and food service businesses has made it a veritable tourist attraction, with more than 1,200 restaurants, cafés and bars that offer a highly diverse range of dining options. Local products, cuisine from Extremadura, Galicia, Andalusia, Peru, Mexico, etc. are a living testament to a city that offers an endless variety of food from all across Spain and around the world. Food is a factor that draws tourists to many destinations: the pull-factor of food is becoming increasingly more important and is being studied in increasingly greater depth.

Reports such as the III Study of Food Tourism Demand (despite its use of 2019 data) are highly revealing and underline the influence of food on tourism. According to this study, 67.3% of respondents said that food had quite a big influence on their choice of destination, while 22.6% said that it had a very big influence and was a deciding factor in their choice. It also revealed that 82% of respondents had taken a trip or short break specifically in order to enjoy a particular cuisine.
Additionally, the study showed that travellers were willing to spend (per person) around €12.07 for breakfast, €21.55 for a daily set menu and almost €40 for lunch à la carte.

Another example of food tourism’s potential can be found in the report presented in June by Círculo Fortuny, which includes the main luxury brands. It is a Europe-wide study that highlights the fact (among others) that Spain is a major power in this tourism segment and, more specifically, the leading exemplar of the value that food can bring to the tourist industry, in view of the fact that Spain is well above the European average for expenditure in this area while at the same time it is well below the European average in areas such as culture and leisure. In other words, the study shows that food is in fact one of the country’s main tourist attractions.

Recommendations for attracting food tourism

Food tourism has its own points of reference. There are guides that operate at the international level, such as the Michelin and Repsol guides. Evidently, inclusion in these guides does not depend directly on the restaurants, so it does not have a bearing on us. However, any opportunity to be included in the various versions of these guides should, of course, be taken into consideration.

Frequently, tourists also use online platforms as a reference. For example, TripAdvisor is the platform that is most commonly used, especially by foreigners. Therefore, it is worth paying the necessary time and attention to these platforms, and if necessary to provide content in different languages in order to facilitate their use. In general, Spanish consumers tend to use networks and resources such as Instagram and Google, especially Google Maps. The great advantage of Google is that you can set up pay-per-click campaigns aimed at a specific tourist segment. As a result, we can target a marketing campaign at people whose mobile phones are set to a particular language (e.g. German) and are visiting L’Hospitalet. This would make it possible to send out a very specific message and attract this clientele.

Of course, many tourists use local restaurant guides to find out about an area’s culinary options. L’Hospitalet de Llobregat has a website and a search engine that provides all of the information visitors need on the wide range of food and restaurant options in the city. It is also important to be included in this resource.

The importance of service training

Food tourism has become a major tourist attraction and continues to grow in importance. Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, founder of the Mugaritz restaurant and winner of two Michelin stars, has explained on various occasions that in order to become a tool for attracting tourists, restaurants and food service establishments must be sufficiently prepared. Those who work in the sector must have the necessary training to be able to provide adequate levels of service, and they must strive to achieve excellence. “At Mugaritz we know that if we want to serve kings, we must act like princes.

You cannot sell luxury without knowing what luxury is. You have to experience luxury and understand it in order to be able to provide this type of service. As far as possible, we try to enable the Mugaritz team to visit good hotels and good restaurants, and to travel. Experience is what humans understand best”, he affirmed. Beyond what Mugaritz may do to train its employees, it is important to bear in mind that a team must be capable of meeting customers’ expectations. This is something that can only be achieved through training. To this end, L’Hospitalet has a Training Centre where training is provided to future hospitality professionals, such as bar staff, food service workers, cooks, etc. Further details can be found in the Council’s course guide.