Involvement is an important concept in tourism as the decision-making process for tourism requires a high level of involvement. Further, it has been found out that while most ‘products’ score low in all areas of involvement, leisure activities always have involvement. This distinction between products and leisure activities is important for food consumption as the nature of the consumption experience determines how food and the experience of eating is viewed. Eating has a functional component (in that it provides sustenance) and in our day-to-day eating there is a tendency to treat food as a functional product. However, eating is also a very culturally ascribed function, rich in symbolism and meaning. The higher the level of involvement in food and eating (and sometimes cooking), the greater the symbolism and the deeper the meaning. Eating out, for example, in certain circumstances has more symbolic aspects than eating in. It can transform emotions into commodities which are sold back to use, i.e. a romantic dinner for two or a celebratory dinner, while restaurants are a ‘place ballet’ where both the provider and the consumer act in a highly choreographed and symbolic manner. When on vacation the meaning of eating is further intensified as the very nature of the travel experience heightens our sensory awareness and imagination, and the high level of involvement tends to lead to greater symbolic significance. Indeed, the sensory awareness of place is now being used by marketing agencies in a further attempt to build both a relationship with potential customers and differentiate places in a crowded tourism destination marketplace. For example, in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, the provincial tourism marketing authority undertook a series of focus groups with holidaymakers from Gauteng (their major domestic source of visitors) regarding their perceptions of KZN in terms of taste, objects, colour, sound, touch and smell. In terms of taste the items most associated with KZN were meat, pap, beer and fruit (interestingly, no foods were associated with KZN in terms of smell). Indeed, arguably there is now a wide realm of tourism experiences identified by what may be appropriately described as the ‘tourism of taste’.
Cluster Relationships and Development of Food Tourism as an Intangible Capital
