Relational dynamics of high-level gastronomy in tourism

The restaurant industry has undergone a huge boom in the last decade and is considered an important component of the tourism industry (Sánchez-Cañizares & López-Guzmán, 2012). In this context, attracting culinary tourists has become the goal of many destinations since they tend to stay at the destination longer, thereby increasing tourist spending (UNWTO, 2017). Gastronomy has been found to be a fundamental attraction factor of a destination and an element of its image, which is most evenly recognised across different types of destinations (Hjalager & Corigliano, 2000). The reasons travellers choose a particular destination differ, but new tourism trends indicate that quality cuisine is becoming increasingly relevant to the process of choosing a destination and the construction of the destination’s image (Lai, Khoo-Lattimore, & Wang, 2017)