Análisis del perfil, la motivación y la satisfacción de los turistas en la Costa del Sol (Málaga) en relación con la gastronomía

Abstract

The tourism sector is currently an important part of the Spanish economy and, above all, in coastal areas where "sun and beach" tourism is deeply rooted both national and international. This is particularly relevant in the area of the Costa del Sol (Malaga), located in the south of Spain, in Andalusia, being one of the genuine coastal areas due to its high recognition as an international tourist destination. For a long time now, increasing its frequency, tourists' satisfaction and motivations have been responding to new sensations and searching for alternative, unique and memorable experiences. In this scenario, local gastronomy has made it possible to a type of culinary tourism that transcends traditional holiday or leisure tourism. In fact, it has an impact on the planning and final choice of one destination over another. The gastronomic tourist perceives a complete sensory experience. In this context, gastronomy allows the development of proactive behaviours of discovery, participation and learning, as well as being a privileged way of approaching the cultural heritage of the place visited. Thus, knowing the profile, motivations and preferences of tourists and being able to segment them accordingly can determine the success of local policies on the sector and the improvement of competitiveness in a destination such as the Costa del Sol (Malaga). It generates one of the largest flows of national and international visitors (more than 13 million tourists arriving in the province of Malaga according to the latest available 2019 Tourism Balance prepared by Tourism and Planning Costa del Sol institution). The need for this research is therefore justified because it aims to understand the perceptions and attributes of gastronomic tourism that contribute to a higher level of satisfaction in order to get tourist loyalty. Thus, this Doctoral Thesis aims to contribute to similar lines of research in the field of gastronomic tourism in an area: 1) whose cuisine is based on the Mediterranean Diet. This aspect is a significant tourist attraction associated with a healthy lifestyle (culinary recipes are based on olive oil and the fresh products). 2) whose main reference for the maintenance of the cultural and culinary heritage is perpetuated in the typical establishments known as "chiringuitos". In fact, they are the place chosen to develop the survey process of this research. 3) whose most laureate typical food, the "espeto", could be soon recognised as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It would generate a positive repercussion because it strengthens the destination as a gastronomic tourism. In addition, this would be decisive for holding culinary events and gastronomic festivals that would allow for greater competitiveness. In this sense, part of the content of this Doctoral Thesis begins with an interest in learning more about tourism and, specifically, about gastronomic tourism in its cultural context. Thus, it inevitably leads to research into the culinary habits, attitudes and preferences of both those who demand to satisfy their tourism needs as visitors to a destination, and those who must offer such services. In this research, only the analysis of the demand side, i.e. the tourist or visitor, is studied on the basis of a certain positioning of what is offered and available in a determined place and time. Based on this premise, various main objectives are set out: - The analysis of the characteristics of gastronomic tourism from the demand side, as well as its influence on the overall satisfaction of the trip made. Likewise, as an important part of this general satisfaction, a specific analysis of the influence of the culinary experience during the stay on this satisfaction is also intended. - The determination of the socio-demographic profile of the tourist who visits the Costa del Sol (Malaga) and whose one of their motivations (main or secondary) is to discover the traditional and typical gastronomy of this area. In this sense, variables such as sex, age, level of education, occupation or income level are identified by a survey method and statistically processed to obtain the defining features of the visitor. - The analysis of the motivations that a tourist may have to enjoy the gastronomy of the area of the chosen destination from the perspective of five different motivational dimensions: a) related to the cultural experience; b) referring to sensory appeal; c) expectation; d) concern for health and e) concerning the promotion of interpersonal relationships. In this sense, the aim is to specifically study whether local gastronomy represents a fundamental motivation in the process of choosing one tourist destination over another. - The study of tourist satisfaction levels in relation to gastronomy. Apart from the overall satisfaction with the trip, the aim is to study the tourist's assessment in relation to items such as i) the gastronomic offer; ii) the professionalism of the service; iii) the location of the culinary establishment and iv) the quality of the service received. Previous studies consider similar factors to measure satisfaction and thus, to contribute to a better or worse gastronomic experience. - The study of the correlation between cultural and gastronomic heritage, to let us verify how gastronomy, the traditional heritage of culinary recipes and typical foods are an essential component of cultural tourism. Beyond these primary objectives, the research also focuses on the achievement of secondary objectives: - The analysis of gastronomy as one of the key elements for the promotion of a tourist destination. In this study, considering that the Costa del Sol (Malaga) is a "sun and beach" destination, it is even considered as one of the tools available to solve the problem of seasonality. - The determination of gastronomy as a valid justification for tourist loyalty to the chosen destination. Thus, it has been analysed: i) the tourist's intention to repeat the experience and return to the place in the future; ii) the willingness to recommend the destination to family and friends who might ask for advice or suggestions related. Considering all these points, the work is structured in three main parts, on which, up to six fundamental chapters are developed, apart from an introductory section and the bibliography used in the research. The first part includes chapters 1 and 2 and delves into a literatura review from a double perspective: a) documenting the concept of gastronomic tourism over time, its different forms of expression and its evolution in relation to other categories and subcategories of tourism; b) from the point of view of considering the culinary aspect as a variable to be able to group and segment tourists. A second part would expressly coincide with the content of chapter 3, so it proceeds to contextualise tourism in the study area: Costa del Sol (Malaga). This describes the geographical area where the fieldwork was carried out, while documenting the evolution of the main tourism indicators and the challenge of overcoming and adapting to the post- COVID'19 period, which has meant so much deterioration for the world tourism sector. It also looks at the problems posed for this type of destination by the challenge of seasonality, the concentration of tourists at a concrete time and the quality of the services provided. Within this same chapter, the gastronomic heritage of the Costa del Sol (Malaga), the culinary heritage and the influence of the Mediterranean Diet have also been extensively described, with special attention to the typical tasting establishments, the well-known "chiringuitos", and the principal food during the summer season: the "espeto" (sardine skewer). It is also important to highlight the importance of gastronomic events as a socio-cultural resource for publicising the gastronomy of a place, reinforced, in addition, by the existence of designation of origin for certain products or areas. Finally, the third part includes chapters 4, 5 and Conclusions, which correspond, respectively, to the methodology used in the research, the results obtained and the main conclusions, recommendations and future lines of action. Specifically, considering the methodological factor, this research is based on a significant fieldwork to obtain information. It was carried out during the months of June to September 2017. Face to face meetings, around 600 surveys were collected from tourists who were enjoying lunch or dinner in one of the "chiringuitos" (beach bars) which took part in the study. In order to refine the survey, the opinion of the professionals in the sector was considered. A pre-test was validated beforehand, which led to the final drafting of the questionnaire. In order to obtain a sufficiently representative sample, the survey was distributed among the "chiringuitos" specifically chosen to cover a large part of the coastline of the Costa del Sol (Malaga), and was carried out in both languages English and Spanish. In any case, the structure of the questionnaire is based on various previous research studies and it is divided into five main blocks: i) characteristics of the trip; ii) motivations for travelling and consuming food from the gastronomy of the Costa del Sol (Malaga); iii) perception of gastronomic identity; iv) culinary and global satisfaction; and v) sociodemographic profile of the tourist. The database constituted allows the application of different multivariate statistical techniques (cluster analysis, Cronbach's alpha, discriminant analysis, measures of association, non-parametric analysis, ANOVA and exploratory factor analysis), among others, to segment tourists into three distinct groups based on their greater or lesser interest in local gastronomy: "disinterested", "indifferent" and "motivated". In addition, most of the original hypotheses were validated, all of them focused mainly on the relationship between the predisposition and behaviour of tourists with respect to certain factors or study variables. Due to having fulfilled the objectives set and analysing the results obtained, it is possible to deduce some conclusions from this research, such as those detailed below. Referred to the socio-demographic profile of the gastronomic tourist who visits the Costa del Sol (Malaga), it is mainly an adult, male/female parity, with a university level, employed in the private/public sector and with a high income declared, who comes mainly from the United Kingdom. Referred to the characteristics of the trip, tourists tend to travel as a family and for leisure or recreational reasons, staying around 8 days on average, lodging mainly at flats or holiday homes. In total, there are up to 30 different nationalities and more than 200 cities of origin among those surveyed. More than 100 different expressions were identified to define the experience on the Costa del Sol (good, pleasant, healthy, fresh, tasty, rich, ...) and more than 80 foods were considered as typical, with curiosities, for example, such as considering "paella" as the main typical food (in contrast, it is not even native to the Province of Malaga or the Autonomous Community of Andalusia). Furthermore, this research empirically demonstrates different attitudes on the part of tourists towards gastronomy, having been able to segment, on the basis of the interest shown, three well-differentiated groups, as detailed in the previous section. Being a validated and useful gastronomic grouping, it is concluded that the segment with the greatest interest in the knowledge and enjoyment of local gastronomy is the socalled "motivated" segment. It also validates how gastronomic tourism allows, after the experience of a unique and memorable culinary experience (measured with different satisfaction indicators) to understand a large part of the idiosyncrasy of the local culture and to generate sufficient predisposition to repeat and return to the Costa del Sol (Malaga) and even, recommend it as a tourist destination to family and friends, based fundamentally on the culinary aspect. On a practical level, this research allows public/private managers to use the different metrics obtained to design appropriate policies and a better adaptation of the tourism offer, creating products and services to satisfy the needs expressed by each group of tourists. In fact, as a future line of research, it would be interesting not only to extend the period of observation and the culinary establishment beyond the beach bars or beachfront restaurants, but also to analyse gastronomic tourism from the supply side.