The Role of Food Tourism in Creating and Sustaining Employment

Interest in, as well as demand for, food tourism is a growing market, with many associated advantages being broadly applied to environmental, social and economic dimensions (Henderson, 2009). It is proposed that the use of... [ view full abstract ]

Interest in, as well as demand for, food tourism is a growing market, with many associated advantages being broadly applied to environmental, social and economic dimensions (Henderson, 2009). It is proposed that the use of local food helps to support small and local producers, together with offering an economic opportunity to sustain and rejuvenate economically marginal regions (Olsen et al., 2014; O’Neill, 2014; Montanari and Staniscia, 2009). This study was undertaken in the context of the Irish food tourism industry, concentrating on the south and southwest of Ireland. This paper focuses on the role of food tourism in creating and sustaining employment in three locations, namely, Dingle, Kinsale and Cork’s English Market. In-depth interviews were carried out with food tourism representatives from the three locations. Interviewees included those on the ‘front-line’ of food tourism such as restaurateurs, food festival organisers, farmers’ market members, artisan producers, food trade guides and food stall owners. The data generated by the in-depth interviews was analysed through the grounded theory method. The variety of interviewees, as well as the diverse case study locations, led to the generation of rich, in-depth information which offers new insights into the processes through which food tourism, firstly, creates and secondly, sustains employment in Kinsale, the English Market and Dingle. The results outline the manner in which food tourism in the three locations is contributing to the establishment and maintenance of employment. The findings highlight a number of correlations across the three locations, as well as identifying key differences. Chief among these correlations is the influence of those in various authorities, for example, local councils, and the role they can play in helping or hindering the establishment and success of food tourism businesses. It also emerged that there was a shared view among the respondents that food tourism was an industry with a relatively low barrier to entry, and this was facilitating growth in the industry. While this opinion resonated across the three locations, it was most strongly evident in the case of Dingle. As the most recent adoptee of food tourism, the Dingle interviewees referred to new food tourism initiatives being developed presently. Kinsale, while not detailing growth to the same degree, still credited food tourism businesses for sustaining employment in the area. In contrast, the English Market was seen as being more stagnant with regards growth. This was mainly attributed to a lack of adequate local support, a situation opined to be caused by a lack of access to the English Market, as well as competition from giant food retailers. It was also acknowledged in the three locations that the comparatively few barriers to setting up a food tourism business brought with it the risk of saturation. Throughout the study, the consensus was that if sub-standard businesses were to get established then their destination’s whole status would be collectively damaged.
In another vein, respondents across the three locations shared the opinion that because they were utilising as much local produce as possible, their business and, therefore, the food tourism industry in their area was more sustainable in the long run. This is evidence of the importance of access to local producers to ensure supplies. In addition, a spin-off effect was highlighted with reference to how traditional industries, indirectly involved in food tourism, such as fishing, were given a lift. This can be witnessed, for example, in Kinsale and Dingle, where the restaurant owners outline how they buy directly from the fishing boats, or team up with local fishing charter businesses to bring tourists fishing. Similarly, it arose that old local traditions were being revived and rejuvenated to create and sustain employment. This was particularly evident in Dingle, where, although not having a specific food tourism history like the English Market and Kinsale, a self-sufficient food tradition by way of fishing and agriculture was always present. This study’s findings indicate that it is the revival of these old food traditions, such as the use of seaweed as a product, together with the reserve of local knowledge that are being harnessed to create food tourism businesses. The combination of these old traditions and local knowledge base and skills represents an example of one of the ways in which employment is being created. This situation indicates that there is a greater level of business control at local level and is embedded in the local community, and, therefore, is likely to be more maintainable in the future. Further to this, it also emerged that food tourism was ensuring generations of families are being kept in employment, a situation especially apparent in the English Market. This indicates that the veracity and authenticity of cultural traditions upon which the food business is based will be maintained as know-how and skill are handed down through the generations. The findings of this study suggest that such family businesses act as custodians of skills and local knowledge and such capabilities are being preserved and are being harnessed to create employment.
In another vein, throughout the study the importance of adopting a sense of fairness and community among the food tourism businesses was evident, together with the presence of many long-term business relationships, particularly in Kinsale and the English Market. These social connections among the locations’ businesses were clearly palpable and were being utilised to reciprocate business. This is particularly apparent throughout the locations with the interviewees’ referencing trying to share business around and recommending fellow businesses to customers. There was also evidence of an exception to this, however, when conflict between certain farmers’ markets and restaurants was discovered. The findings from this study indicate that social connections and local culture are playing a key role in the success and viability of local food tourism businesses in the three locations. It is evident from the findings of this study that this sense of mutuality and awareness of the advantages of working together is encouraging local businesses to carry out their own business locally. This situation appears to be contributing to the sustainability of employment.
The findings also reveal, however, that there were concerns over the year-long viability of food tourism as reference was made, particularly in Dingle, and to a lesser degree, Kinsale, in relation to the lack of a customer base to support them in the off-season. If, as this study’s findings indicate, that food tourism is incapable of supporting year-round employment for those in the industry, then it is not a sufficient sole means by which to make a full-time living or maintain a year-round population. In Dingle’s case, its remote location was found to be the main cause of this. The Dingle respondents were of the view that it was crucial for more industries besides tourism to become established in the area if the issue of seasonality was to be tackled. In contrast to this, the English Market indicated no such issues with seasonality. This implies that this may be as a result of its setting, that is, it is situated in a large urban location, and surrounded by a large permanent population base.
It further emerged that despite the interviewees classifying themselves as ‘food tourism’ businesses, it is often the support of locals that is critical for survival, that is, those who represent the local population. This indicates that the food tourism businesses need to sell themselves and what they stand for to the local community first if they are to survive. Contributing greatly to the situation, it was discovered that there is a developing trend towards shopping locally and supporting local producers and this was contributing positively to the local food tourism businesses. This trend was deemed crucial for the sustainability of the local businesses. The need to continue building awareness of the benefits and spin-off effects of shopping locally was also deemed to be critical. Finally, the need for local support exposed differences across the three locations. It is evident from the findings that local support is of crucial importance in the English Market year-round, as locals make up the majority of its customer base. In Dingle and Kinsale, it is in the off-season that local support is most needed to ensure the businesses’ viability.

References
Henderson, J.C. (2009) ‘Food tourism reviewed’, British Food Journal, 111, (4), 317-326.
Montanari, A. and Staniscia, B. (2009) ‘Culinary Tourism as a Tool for Regional Re-equilibrium’, European Planning Studies, 17, (10), 1463-1483.
Olsen, J.; Clay, P.M. and Pinto da Silva, P. (2014) ‘Putting the seafood in sustainable food systems’, Marine Policy, 43, 104-111.

O’Neill, K.J. (2014) Situating the ‘alternative’ within the ‘conventional’ - local food
experiences from the East Riding of Yorkshire, UK, Journal of Rural Studies, 35, 112-122.

food tourism employment sustainability expertise skills [ view full abstract ]

food
tourism
employment
sustainability
expertise
skills