You're A Celebrity...Get Me There!

The aim of this paper is to analyse whether the demand of tourism can be higher with the presence of a celebrity. It focuses on how a celebrity chef restaurant can be a reason for visiting a place, and explains how an individual's actions are part of the tourist gaze which is affected by society (Urry 2002). Primary research of 30 questionnaires are used to analyse the reasons behind individuals decisions in going to a celebrity chef restaurant.

Postmodern society has an infatuation with celebrities, and anything celebrity related. They have a significant impact on the lifestyles and decisions that the public make (James 2007). The public have built up a pseudo-relationship with celebrities through the media, and form a type of bond, and want to get as close to possible as meeting them (Marshall 1997). The death of distance means society is making it easier to meet celebrities, without theoretically meeting them (Cairnscross 1997). People might not go to a place solely for a celebrity however their motives can be exerted by this influence (Zehrer & Siller 2007). Tourists go to particular places to consume types of attractions that generate pleasurable experiences which are different from their everyday lifestyle (Urry 2002). Restaurants are not necessarily primarily designed to attract tourists to an area, this is instead the objective of central attractions, i.e., events, and festivals, iconic monuments (Swarbrooke 1995; Aramberri & Butler 2005; Quan & Wang 2003). However celebrity chefs have the power to turn a restaurant from a secondary attraction to a primary attraction (Quan & Wang 2003), as they are seen as more important and appealing than ordinary people.

Tourists choose to go to places to gaze upon from the expectation constructed through the TV and other peoples stories (Urry 2002). Celebrity chef TV shows are viewed and conjure up images in the public's mind (Ketchum 2005). The public can't communicate how something tastes through the shows, but get intrigued of the tastes so want to go to fulfil their expectations (Ketchum 2005). Tourism products can't be sampled prior to purchase which means consumers need a type of trust with the service they will be using, this trust it enabled by the professionalism of the chef. By eating at a celebrity chef restaurant it can be said to be giving the persons tongue a holiday (Bell & Valentine 1997). The quality of food should be expected to create the packaged experience individuals desire, even if food quality isn't a main motivator (Pratten 2003), which primary research showed it often isn't. According to Bell & Valentine (1997) 'we are where we eat', which means to eat at a celebrity chef restaurant it produces a feeling of elegance and opulence (Ketchum 1002). The reason behind this is that celebrity restaurants make the public feel important as they are well looked after. Furthermore this status of elegance and opulence can be continued whilst stories and photographs are shared with others (Wagstaff 2008).

The public go to certain restaurants because it is seen as the in thing to do (Bell & Valentine 1997), and tourists often follow trends. To go to particular celebrity chef restaurants 2 months booking in advance is often required due to the substantial waiting list (Dine Online 2007). This signifies how fashionable these restaurants are; it is popular and therefore society want to gaze upon it (Urry 2002). A metaphorical approach to tourism is to be able to talk about the experience after it has been consumed (Perkins & Thorns 2001). It sounds good to speak amongst others about eating at a celebrity chef restaurant. It leaves a lasting memory in an individual's mind, making it valuable for years to come. It is valuable as the public's addiction to celebrities means admirers are able to follow them. It is not possible to interact with the celebrity at a restaurant, however a connection can still be formed by eating the foods they have cooked and being in their environments (Ketchum 2005). Primary research proved that the main reason of going to a celebrity chef restaurant is to be in touch with the celebrity, and consumers main value is that they take away the 'packaged experience to tell friends'.

This packaged experience offered by the celebrity chef can provide success in tourism by pulling in visitation figures. A new Rick Stein fish and chip shop in Padstow, Cornwall is seen as an improvement for the local economy through visitation figures (BBC News 2010). Furthermore in proposal for Spain to increase tourism figures, the world's most famous chef Ferran Adria has been selected to help restore the deprived sector by his restaurant El Bulli in Costa Brava (The Olive Press 2010). This is evidence of their power in society today.

This paper concludes how the demand for tourism can be higher due to a celebrity chef restaurant. People want to visit the restaurant, to gaze upon it as it can be seen as an iconic attraction, which individuals want to possess the memory of to share with others. Primary and secondary research showed that the majority of people are motivated primarily for the celebrity component due to the superiority of the current celebrity culture.


Key References


Ketchum, C (2005) The Essence of Cooking Shows: How the Food Network Constructs Consumer Fantasies, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Vol 29 (3) 217-234

Perkins, C, H., Thorns, C, D (2001) Gazing or Performing: Reflections on Urry's Tourist Gaze in the Context of Contemporary Experience in the Antipodes, International Sociology, Vol 16 (2) 185-204

Urry, J (2002) The Tourist Gaze, 2nd edition, SAGE Publications: London

This paper is very well structured with a clear introduction and conclusion. I chose this conference paper as the title is catchy and stands out, which left me intrigued to understand the topic, and also it relates to my conference paper by using the tourist gaze. This study shows that the author has thoroughly investigated the chosen topic; with both primary and secondary research presented in order to achieve the aim.

Celebrities can have a high influential factor for many individuals, not only for a celebrity chef restaurants but also restaurants where celebrities have visited. The more popular the celebrity, the more intriguing and interesting the restaurant will be. This relates to trends within the society, Vejlgaard (2007) states that the influence of famous people is tremendous on all areas of everyday lifestyle, this is because people want to be just like them; dress like them, act like them and eat like them. These influences are portrayed across the many types of media as stated in this study. Therefore, not only will people visit celebrity chef restaurants, but people may want to dine in the same atmosphere that other celebrities have dined. There is also a negative factor that could occur when mentioning a celebrity chef restaurant, this is that if the celebrity chef is to loose popularity, then people may be uninfluenced and completely put off in visiting the restaurant.

Urry's (2002) tourist gaze has been mentioned throughout this paper, referring to TV shows advertising different images and perceptions. Another part of the tourist gaze that could also be adapted to this topic is the romantic gaze, where people may visit a restaurant for romance or a romantic special occasion, especially if a celebrity couple are known to have also visited that specific location. This could create a sense of prestige for the visitors as they may feel they have had their own celebrity experience.

Dann's (1977) push and pull factor can also be used as the motivational influences for people to visit celebrity chef restaurants. With the push factor being the needs and wants of a visitor and the pull factor being the motive, such as having a celebrity experience within a restaurant.

In conclusion, I found this paper very interesting especially as I had hardly any knowledge towards celebrity restaurant influences; I feel I have been completely informed of the main issues regarding this topic. The aim for this study was achieved through both primary and secondary research and has investigated the important and relevant information. One slight negative point is that I would have liked to have seen some of the statistics from the questionnaires to completely back up your findings. Overall, a very interesting paper and I enjoyed reading the key issues of the impacts that celebrities may have on the consumer decision making process.



References -

Dann, G, M, S. (1977) Anomie, ego - enhancement and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research.

Urry, J. (2002) The Tourist Gaze. 2nd Edition. Sage Publications: London

Vejlgaard, H. (2007) Anatomy of a trend. McGraw-Hill

I have chosen this paper as it looks at the concept of the tourist gaze, which I am particularly interested in, using a very intriguing example. The paper is well written and easy to read especially thanks to the clear structure. A very admirable aspect is that the author carried out her own primary research which not many students can be motivated to do. This makes the makes the paper even more interesting alongside being a valuable source of information.

People have different motivations for travel. For some it is business purpose for others leisure. Anything can trigger the desire to visit a particular place, for example trend setting, as mentioned in the paper. Going to a celebrity chef restaurants is being seem as a thing to do, other people do it, so will I (Lofton, 2006). It motivated by the need of proximity, the necessity to be in the same space as a monument or, in this case, a person (Boden and Molotch, 1994). Therefore the restaurants becomes something that people will flock to see, an attraction in itself, which has been acknowledged by the author of the paper.

The tourist gaze has been evolving together with the changes in tourism and travel. Nowadays attractions are experienced differently than they were 50 years ago (MacCannell, 1999). The concern for me personally is the less than apparent point of diminishing the experience just to see more places. Running from attraction to attraction just to tick of the list of places to see seems pointless. One when wanting to sightsee London might as well participated in the London Marathon which route runs through the centre of the city passing the most popular tourist attractions.Using Google Earth might also be an option.

Similarly, going to a celebrity chef restaurant for the sole reason of it being owned by somebody famous does seem strange but it became part of the tourist gaze and motivation for people to travel (Urry, 2002). Therefore it raises the same question, is it worth it? Waiting in a two-month line, paying for overpriced meals and usually not even being able to see the chef. There many who would and ever more who actually will go such a restaurant following the formed trend. However there are those who rather travel off the beaten track as they believe in the difference between a tourist and a traveller (Kendel, 2006).

In conclusion, this comment should be by no means considered a criticism of the paper but the concept of celebrity chef restaurant travel, or rather its point. The paper is a very good piece of work that shows a very relevant example of the current tourist gaze and allows provides an even greater base for discussion.

MacCannell, D. (1999) The Tourist. London: California Press.

Urry, J. (2002): The Tourist Gaze, 2nd Edition, London: Sage

Boden, D. and Molotch, H. (1994) 'The compulsion to proximity', in R. Friedland and D. Boden (eds.) Now/Here: time, space and modernity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. pp. 257-86.

Lofton, L. (2006) Casino dining options capitalize on celebrity chefs, hot trends [online]. Available at < http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-mississippi/4103377-1.html>

Kendle, A. (2006) 4 Ways to be a traveller, not a tourist [online]. Available at < http://www.vagabondish.com/4-ways-to-be-a-traveler-not-a-tourist/ >