Identifying and Prioritizing of Factors Affecting the Development of Food Tourism in Yazd City
Subject Areas : marketing
1 - M.Sc in Tourism Marketing, Department of Management, Science & Art University, Yazd Branch, Yazd, Iran
Keywords: Tourism Industry, hierarchical analysis, Food Tourism, Yazd city,
Abstract :
The current work is descriptive-survey research according to the characteristics and methods. The data was collected based on the research literature, experts' opinions and the use of questionnaire. In the first step, 16 tourism industry experts were interviwed in order to extract and verification of the factors using Delphi method. After the confirmation of the factors in the second step, a questionnaire was prepared and given to 58 managers of restaurants, hotels, tours and recreational centers in Yazd city. Findings of the research identified the most important factors in the order of weights, which are: preparation of healthy food (weight=0.7264), customs and traditions of local people in welcoming tourists (W=0.0534), observance the health principles (W=0.0445), appropriate and trained manpower (W=0.025), holding food festivals in appropriate seasons (W=0.0233), appropriate advertising and information (W=0.0173), variety of foods (W=0.025), quality and style of food presentation (0.0172), creating a food tour in nature (0.017), making food service memorable (0.0168), chefs' sufficient knowledge and skills (0.0156), customers' perception and emotional and logical interpretation of local foods (0.0144), providing discounts and reasonable prices (0.012), quality and type of food serving place (0.0098) and tourists' tastes and psychological factors (0.0 075). Considering research findings, tourism planners and related industries should focus their efforts on proper organization of the tourism industry, meeting the customers' needs, strengthening the local economy, as well as creating a correct and accurate framework for managing local and regional food resources.
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