Tourist food preferences and the SDGs - Linkages and opportunities: A Fiji Case Study

1. Tourist food preferences and the SDGs - Linkages and opportunities: A Fiji Case Study Dawn Gibson, Senior Lecturer School of Tourism & Hospitality Management, USP April, 2019 Email: gibson_d@usp.ac.fj Phone: (679) 323 2814 Research undertaken in collaboration with: Tracy Berno, Associate Professor, Culinary Arts Auckland University of Technology Email: Tracy.berno.ac.nz Phone: +649 921 9999 #5289

2. Introduction • Food and beverage can represent 30-40% of tourist expenditure (Boyne et al., 2002; Choe & Kin, 2019). • International tourists – 75 billion meals per year @ 3 meals per day (Gössling, & Peeters, 2015). • 2017 - 843,000 International Visitors (IFC, 2018) • 2017 Fiji – 3 meals a day, minimum stay 8.5 days (MOT, 2018) – 21,496,500 meals a year, 2,529,000 meals a day • Tourist food choices can contribute to sustainability through more responsible production and consumption (SDG12) • In tourism, tourists directly influence impacts through food choices, yet little known about what drives and influences these choices

3. Foodies • Mainly educated, more affluent, like communal shared experiences, actively participate in food blogs and related online food websites, watch TV food shows e.g. Masterchef, My Kitchen Rules, Great British Bake-off, Hell’s Kitchen, Taste of Paradise (Lance Seeto), Real Pasifik (Robert Oliver) • Motivated by unique experiences e.g. destination’s cultural elements e.g. food/entertainment • Participate in a range of food-related experiences including cooking classes, dining out, visiting farmers markets, gourmet food shopping, and attending food festivals (Robinson & Getz, 2016). (Flavours of Fiji, 2018)

4. NEOPHILE NEOPHOBE Types of food tourists • Neophiles– openness to difference, curiosity, risk, adventure and sophistication • Likely to try local food, loyal, returnees (Kim et al., 2013) • Neophobes dislike the unfamiliar e.g. unknown food (Mkono, 2011) Emma Sykes, 2017 Tourism Concern, 2015

5. What is local food? • Food prepared using traditional methods of an area if not with local ingredients (Chang et al., 2010) • Can have a significant influence in a tourism community (Berno, 2011, 2015; Kim et al., 2016; Mkono et al., 2013) • Substantial economic effects for a destination – agricultural, restaurants and food processing (Berno, 2014; Kim et al., 2018, Correia et al., 2008) • Empirical studies of food tourism from a tourist’s perspective are rare (Choe & Kim, 2019)

6. Preliminary data analysis • Research assessed food preferences and motivations for local food consumption in Fiji • Participants - International tourists to Fiji – Nadi, Mamanucas, Coral Coast • Research in progress • Survey – 290 International Visitors (c.170more to be analysed) • 400 more surveys to be disseminated in April 2019 • Focus interviews – 20 (more to be analysed) • Participant observation – Beachcomber, Treasure, Malamala, The Beach House, Smugglers, The Warwick, The Fiji Orchid, Flavours of Fiji, First Landing, Shangri-La Fijian • Review of relevant literature • Analysed using SPSS

7. SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production SDG12 suggest there needs to be significant focus on supply chain operations involving everyone from producer to consumer What is the goal here? • To ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns e.g. buy local vs import substitution BUT - Is local always a sustainable solution?

8. Where did they come from? Share of Visitor Arrivals by Country of Origin 2016, Fiji Bureau of Statistics (Source: MOT Fiji, 2018)

11. Mock menu • Survey used mock menu comprising items from actual local hotel menus • Balance between Fijian, European and Asian items • Kokoda top response followed by familiar food items e.g. fries, fruit, curry, big breakfast, Caesar salad, fish and chips, meat/chicken pies, burgers, fish, steak, prawns etc. • Despite respondents indicating that they would like to try local dishes/experiences e.g. lovo, these were not their items of choice. Kokoda – iconic dish Lovo -Tanoa Hotel, Nadi

12. Findings – local food and food experiences Inconsistencies between behaviour intentions and actual food behaviour, but... • Some interested in authenticity and interpretation i.e. the stories – traditional Fijian vs modern day • Others emphasis on food being tasty and appetising rather than authentic. • Preferred food experience is suited to their tastes, using familiar ingredients, Fijian cultural ambiance is also important, as is relationship with staff • Relationship with Fijian staff was as/or more important than authenticity of food • Don't come here for the food, it's about the people!

13. Findings • Will eat local food as a cultural/adventure tourism product – small portions, shots, as part of a game • Tourist food choices were conservative with majority opting for familiar foods • Interested in food, but in an adventurous ‘foodie’ way • Luxury and backpacker markets more likely to try local food (Neophile)– adventurous or greater interest in food – Eating – social, cultural, status • Mass market –Neophobic – food is not an attraction - eat almost as a physical need to satisfy hunger and sustenance (Sengel et al., 2015) • Large quantities can pose challenges for more sustainable production and consumption supply chains e.g. 1,000kg fish a week – Coral Coast Resort

14. Findings – Neophobe – Mass market Avoid the unfamiliar – 40%

15. Findings - Neophobe • Majority of respondents showed neophobic tendencies • Food did not rate highly as an activity on its own • Cautious when trying foods they had not eaten before • Reluctant to try if did not know what it was • More likely to try as part of cultural experience/ performance South Seas Cruises (2018)

16. Findings • Food can be a highlight to attract more visitors. • The majority of tourists said there's a need for availability and promotion of Fijian foods in restaurants, and resorts in popular locations e.g. Denarau, Coral Coast, Mamanucas • More experiences for tourists to learn more about Fijian foods e.g. Flavours of Fiji, Fiji Orchid • Fijians should keep traditional ways of cooking/ presenting/ dining as part of the cultural experience • Negative comments raised the question of food safety & hygiene (Flavours of Fiji, 2019)

17. Opportunities Opportunities exist for: • Food tourism - the new adventure tourism • Luxury, backpacker & VFR/Diaspora markets (Neophiles/ Adventure) • Local cuisine as a cultural product • More locally based food activities e.g. Flavours of Fiji Cooking School, Tukuni, Nadina, The Fiji Orchid etc. • Local farmers & land owning communities (agritourism)– but limited supply (Source: Flavours of Fiji, 2018)

18. Is going local sustainable? Must consider: • Scale/Demand– Luxury/Boutique resorts and SMEs vs mass tourism • Markets – Luxury, Mass, Backpacker, VFR/Diaspora, and Business • Produce e.g. Fresh fruit vs Fish and Seafood, Chicken, Beef and Lamb, Vegetables and Salads • Affect on local communities – even small scale backpacker resorts using local fisherman have major impacts on local resources • Villagers supply fish, seafood e.g. crabs and lobsters to resorts and eat tinned fish/corned beef and ramen/noodles

19. How sustainable is local supply? • For hotels/resorts – issues of quantity, quality and consistency • Fair pricing and value for money • For local communities and villagers – food security • What is the compromise? • Our recent studies of Farmers showed they are wary of being dependent on tourism e.g. Supply Hotels and resort, local markets, roadside stands, supermarkets and export etc. Food for thought… How do we solve this?

20. How can USP contribute? • We offer entrepreneurship courses where students focus on Agritourism/Food tourism/Cultural tourism/Ecotourism products and Experiences/Interpretation & Storytelling etc. • On demand - conduct research into sustainable purchasing, carbon miles, waste management of hotels and resorts • Short courses available on demand e.g. Agribusiness, Agritourism, Menu planning/Interpretation/Experiences • Opportunities for collaborative research between USP and all stakeholders • Research in progress • Tourist preferences for food on holiday • Farmer’s conceptions of Agritourism • Integrated Organic Pest Management in Hotels/Resorts (Potential for cottage industries to develop organic pesticides e.g. Lemon grass (cobui), Marigold, Citrus Oils, Salt/Garlic sprays etc.) Restricted by funding

21. Conclusion • Preliminary results are indicative of demand (Tourist preferences) and can contribute to future strategies for using food in tourism to support SDGs • Small scale resorts/restaurants/clubs/activities more likely to use local produce and provide authentic local food experiences e.g. Fiji Orchid, Nukubati, Malamala Beach Club, Uprising, Tukuni, Nadina, Flavours of Fiji • Food tourism/agritourism potential to be a cultural/adventure tourism product – resort/hotel farms • Continued linkages to landowning subsistence farmers e.g. Shangri La Fijian Resort and Spa, Outrigger, Intercontinental, Uprising, Nanuku etc. • Opportunities for new businesses/products e.g. for luxury or backpacker market, food processing and added value • Increased import substitution and enhanced agricultural linkages for Mass Tourism Markets e.g. Denarau, Coral Coast and Mamanucas

22. Vinaka Vakalevu! Questions, comments, thoughts welcome! Cooking Classes – Nukubati, 2019

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