Tourist interaction with the food in China

Tourist interaction with the food in China

Abstract
The paper discusses the tourist interaction with the food in China. According to the types of food tourism in China, the advantage and disadvantages of the interaction will be discussed.

key words: tourist, food tourism, interaction, China

Discuss paper:
In today's postmodern society, gastronomy is increasingly crucial to our identity formation (Ignation and Smith, 2006, in Povey, G., 2011). Hall et al. (2002) stated that tourists spend almost 40% of their budget on food when travelling. Hall (2003) further defined food tourism stating that the activities, behaviours and even destination selection are influenced by an interest in food. The visitation to primary and secondary food producers, food festivals, restaurants and specific locations for which food tasting and/or experiencing the attributes of specialist food production region are the primary motivating factors for travel (Hall and Mitchell, 2001: 308). It is relevant therefore to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the interaction between tourist and destination. This paper focuses on the interaction of food tourism in China.

While studies into food tourism have highlighted the benefits to the destination, particularly economical, Quan and Wang (2004) stated that gastronomy could help destinations to develop the rural economy and boost the agricultural economy. Additionally, Shahrim (2006) in Povey 2010 stated food consumption also contributes to the economy of a destination. For example, the traditional food tourism in China in the rural area, tourists consume the food that is of benefit to the food seller and then it is good for the economy. Secondarily, it can be easy to use to develop trails, food festivals and gastronomic tourism destination image. Hjalager & Richards (2002) have recognised food as an effective promotional and positioning tool of a destination. The brand of the local food in China is the destination image (e.g. Shaoxing has a long agricultural history, with 'an abundant place' and it is famous in the whole nation). Thirdly, foods can be included as a part of another attraction such as mega event and become a part of the tourism offer in this manner. In addition, food festivals and celebrations add greatly to a community's prestige and self-value, and can enhance local life (Hall, 2006).

On the contrary, there are also some negative impacts from the tourists who come to the destination. The most important is that the traditional cuisine may be lost. Different people have different tastes and the local cuisines in order to satisfy the needs from the consumer, they have had to change the original taste to cater. The negative aspects included, some producers may not be able to afford to diversify into tourism while for others their location or the seasonal nature of tourism and food production may not provide sufficient visitor opportunities (Mitchell & Hall, 2003). Most importantly, China is a country where it is legal for people to eat dogs or cats. Within the developing of food tourism, that would cause the retailers to kill more dogs or cats in order to get more money. That might cause environmental problems, and may disturb the eco-balance.

Long (2004) emphasised that savouring the food of others is the way which one can really experience and accept different culture without reluctance. Firstly, tourists can get a deep understanding of the local culture through the food. For example, the Longjing Tea Garden in Hangzhou shows the process of the tea production and the history dated back to Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Additionally, tourists have a good communication with the local people though the food. Through a meal in China, many of the table manners can help the tourist know more about locals. Thirdly, food tourism is good for the health. The medical cuisine tourism has become connected to the traditional Chinese medicine along with the food that is becoming the new and special tourism for health. Finally, Keynote report (2007) outlined a trend in the 'good life' is reconnection with the countryside and an understanding of nature. Thus, tourists would be enjoying themselves by do in the farm work in the rural tour.

However, tourism has the potential to introduce undesirable pests and diseases (Hall, 2003). If the tourist eats the diseased food then that would be dangerous. Most importantly, tourism needs to be seen as just one component of an overall development strategy for firms and places rather than an end in itself. No policies and administration to the restaurant abuse the brand that affects quality of the consuming. Especially, the palace cuisine in China, it is very expensive. Tourists will not be happy if they had a spurious palace cuisine. About the authenticity, some of the restaurants put their 'kitchen outside' and let the cooking be a performance show, however, a lot of restaurants do not do this. Tourists do not know what they eat.

Overall, tourists and the destination in food tourism benefit each other and affect each other. The different types of food tourism in China provide the evidence to support their interaction.

Reference
HALL C. M. (2003) food tourism around the world: development, management and markets Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann pp 25-80

Robinson P., Heitmann S., Dieke P., (2010) research themes for tourism CABI Publishing pp.233-248

Quan, S. and Wang, N. (2004) towards a structural model of the tourist experience: an illustration from food experience in tourism. Tourism management 25, pp297-305

In the introduction of the paper author is briefly but clearly identifying the link between food and tourism. Indeed, tourists' interest towards authentic food at destinations has increased during last couple of decades. Authors such as Hjalager and Corigliano (2000), du Rand and Heath (2006), Lin et al (2009), Sims (2009), Karim and Chi (2010) highlight the connection between food and tourism identifying it as a "unique" and "niche" form of tourism. These peaces of work could be helpful for this paper. Author then provides information about the content of the paper - tourist interaction with the food in China as well as advantages and disadvantages of the food tourism development in this country. This could be, however, rephrased and presented as a clear aim to be achieved in the paper. No justification on choosing Strand 5 for this paper is provided however it is clear that Strand 5 is the most appropriate as the paper highlights tourist interactions in destinations, in this case - in China.

In the main body the advantages and disadvantages of the food tourism in China are discussed. Positive impacts of food tourism include benefits to the economy, promotion of the destination and tourists' better understanding of the local culture. Examples such as Longjing Tea Garden in Hangzhou, Shaoxing city with a rich agricultural history, medical cuisine tourism show variety of food attractions in China. Author then provides some negative aspects of food tourism development particularly the possible loss of traditional cuisine caused by changing tastes of different tourists. Some examples of the negative impacts on local cuisine could be further provided. There are also no examples of the increase of animal killing or about cases when tourists were poisoned by diseased foods. These factors were named as negative consequences of food tourism but no justification was provided.

The conclusion is very brief. First, if a clear aim for the paper would be presented, it would then be appropriate to mention in the conclusion whether it was achieved or not. Second, there could be some suggestions provided on what should be done in order to minimize negative impacts of food tourism development in China. In her work, Sims (2009) highlights the link between food and sustainable tourism pointing out that it is possible to develop a range of goods and services that would not be harmful to environment or society. Author could also provide examples of government's actions towards reducing negative impacts of food tourism.
Overall, the paper is well-structured and easy to read, and most of the references are up to date. However, it is sometimes lacking the right sentence structure and grammar. Despite this, it gives a clear understanding of food and tourism connection and the range of food activities in China. More examples of tourist interaction with food could be provided in order to make the paper more interesting and excitable to read.

Reference list

du Rand, G.E. and Heath, E. (2006) Towards a Framework for Food Tourism as an Element of Destination Marketing. Current Issues in Tourism, Vol. 9, Issue 3, pp. 206-234

Hjalager, A. and Corigliano, M. (2000) Food for Tourists - Determinants of an Image. International Journal of Tourism Research, Vol. 2, Issue 4, pp. 281-293

Karim, S.A. and Chi, C.G.Q. (2010) Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction: an Empirical Examination of Destinations' Food Image. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, Vol. 19, pp. 531-555

Lin,Y.C. et al (2009) Food as a form of destination identity: A tourism destination brand perspective. Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 11, Issue 1, pp. 30-48

Sims, R. (2009) Food, Place and Authenticity: Local Food and the Sustainable Tourism Experience. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 17, Issue 3, 321-336

The paper fits well into the strand and it is clearly identifying the interaction with food tourism in China and discussing both positive and negative impact brought by food tourism between tourist and tourist destinations. There are many interesting points within this discussion paper and the paper shows that food tourism is becoming popular in China, food also plays an important role in tourism industry, which is the major reason why tourist choose a tourist destination.

As it to me, one major interesting of the paper is that food could be a part of the tourist attraction. For example, food festivals are attractive to visitors as the celebrations and cooking ways. HaiNan province, the southern part of China, is famous for its seafood, coconut and chicken. Every year there are a large number of visitors because of its food festival. During the festival, visitors enjoy their traditional local food in Hainan and also learn how to choose cooking material and cooking ways of Hainan's traditional food. It brings economic benefits in local community by making more job opportunities, developing tourism industry, increasing popularity of the city, promoting tourism income, enhancing social facilities, improving local life of local residents.

Food tourism brings in a lot of advantages and also there are some drawbacks at the same time in society, economy promotion of the destination and community. I strongly agree with the following point which the traditional food culture of china might disappear in a short run. In order to satisfied tourists from different area, some of the traditional food in China might change the traditional flavor and cooking way, that may not be the oriental intention of the tourist. For example, some traditional snacks of Beijing has been lost in recent years because of the growth of tourism industry. Local residents feel pity but they can hardly take action to solve this problem.

In my opinion, slow food could be mentioned as it is a increasing rapidly in recent year. The purpose of slow food is to against the growing popularity of fast food. (Carlo Petrini, 2007) It advocates the maintenance of the food culture of a single ecological area, using fruits and vegetables as the main material, promoting local farming and agricultural industry. So far, slow food has been developed to 122 countries around the world, with more than 83,000 members. Slow food has brings impact in Taiwan as the slowing food festival set up.

To sum up, there are interaction between tourists and destination of food tourism in both positive and negative impact. I believe this is really a interesting topic and the paper is well-structured.



Reference:

watt,J.(2010)Chinese legal experts call for ban on easting cat and dogs. 【online】the Guradian,26 January [Accessed in 16th May 2012]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/26/dog-meat-china

Deve，M., Laguna,M. and Palacios,A.(2010)The role of motivation in visitor satisfaction: empirical envidence in rural tourism . tourism management 31, 547-552
HALL C. M.（2006）culinary tourism and regional development: From slow food to slow tourism? [Online]. [Accessed 2 April 2012] Available at:
http://canterbury-nz.academia.edu/CMichaelHall/Papers/10142/Culinary_tourism_and_regional_development_From_slow_food_to_slow_tourism

Petrini,C 2007. "Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair".