Who killed food tourism? Unaware cannibalism in online conversations about traveling in Italy

What is it about?

A food tourism destination can fully exploit its competitiveness if food-related attributes are consistently highlighted both in its promotion and in user-generated content and spontaneous conversations among travellers. However, in the context of food tourism research, a possible image incongruence has not yet been studied. Tourism destination image incongruence occurs when different travel information sources, such as destination management organizations and travel-related blogs and forums, reflect inconsistent representations of a destination’s attributes. This study addresses this gap, focusing on Italy, for which official destination promotion materials, tourist guides and web influencers indicate food and wine as crucial drivers to attract visitors. However, it is not clear whether travellers really consider food-related attributes as key factors when they enquire or report about their journey to Italy. This study examines whether food-related attributes are present in such conversations and are perceived differently by people with and without knowledge about the destination. Analysis suggests that hype may exist in food tourism promotion related to destination image incongruence. Contrary to expectations, food-related themes were almost completely absent in the conversations analysed, with only a few exceptions in Italian question sections. This situation depicts a sort of “cannibalism”, in the sense that the centrality of food-related attributes is engulfed by other, less sensorial, enjoyable and memorable aspects of the travel experience.

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