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102
Nikola VuksanovićA, Dragan TešanovićB, Milijanko PortićB, Predrag TošićC
Received: Jun | Accepted: Jun
DOI: 10.18421/TRZ21.02-04
Abstract
e purpose of the study is to examine the influence of attitudes of the local residents on the
consumption of food products. e survey included a sample of 332 respondents who visit-
ed 15 events that take place in the territory of Novi Sad. e findings of this study point to
the importance of attitudes of the local residents as an important component of the develop-
ment of gastronomic tourism. e study included examining the differences between the socio -
demographic characteristics of the local residents in relation to consumption of food products.
e differences were examined using the T-test for independent samples. e results show that
there are differences between gender, age groups and levels of education, but not for monthly
incomes in relation to consumption of food products. is study allows the economic and local
sectors to better understand the importance of attitudes of the local residents and consump-
tion of food products, as part of gastronomic tourism, and how to improve the acceptability
among visitors.
Key words: gastronomic tourisam, consumption of food products, local residents attitudes,
Novi Sad
Introduction
In tourist destinations, the local residents is an important interest group because, the future,
that is, the success of the product itself depends on their acceptance or refusal of tourism
development and the creation of a tourist product. e local residents can have both positive
and negative attitudes towards the development of tourism, which depends mostly on inclu-
sion in tourism, but also on the tradition of tourism destination development.
TURIZAM
Volume 21, Issue 2
102–110 (2017)
ORIGINAL
SCIENTIFIC PAPER The influence of the local residents attitudes on the
consumption of food products in the function of the
development of gastronomic tourism
A Department of Hospitality, Higher education school for management and business communication, Mitropolita
Stratimirovića , Sremski Karlovci, Serbia; corresponding author: vuksanovicnikola@gmail.com
B Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Science, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja
Obradovića , Novi Sad, Serbia
C University of Business Studies, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, Banja Luka, Republika Srpska
TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017) 103
Nikola Vuksanović, Dragan Tešanović,
Milijanko Portić, Predrag Tošić
e main subject of this paper is to examine the attitudes of the local residents at the event.
Can the local residents attitudes and consumption of food products play an important role in
the development of gastronomic tourism? is paper reports on research related to the contri-
bution of local residents attitudes, consumption of food products and events in the function of
developing gastronomic tourism.
e number of food events held worldwide is increasing as a result of the growing inter-
est in food tourism, which has become largely recognized as a form of recreational and tour-
ist attraction. Previous research has identified that regional food manifestations can play an
important role not only in economic development (du Rand, et al., 2003; du Rand, Heath, 2006)
but also in the development of regional tourism, adding value to already existing products
(Quan, Wang, 2004). In addition, food manifestations are used as the promotion of local facil-
ities and differ from manifestations of metropolitan communities (Cela, et al., 2007; Sharples,
2008; Lee, Arcodia, 2011; Kalenjuk, et al., 2012a; Kalenjuk, et al., 2012b).
Literature review
In the subject literature, the group of authors (Cecil, et al., 2010) point out that the local residents
is a very important participant in the development of tourism destinations, and is interested in
its development, because they are aware that using resources and poor management decisions
can result in the destruction of existing values in their environment. e quality of life of the res-
idents in the destination must not be disturbed because its destruction and distortion bring the
loss of local residents, which should be one of the holders of economic development. e content-
ment with life in the destination is higher and it grows during the stage of maturity of tourism
development because the inhabitants feel the consequences of tourism development materially,
but when tourism development begins to decline, the quality of life in the destination decreases.
According to research and counseling agency (Enteleca Research and Consultancy, 2000),
local food and beverages are material goods produced in the local area. In addition, local foods
with a local identity, including locally produced and regionally branded products such as
cheeses, meat, and others, are included in local food and beverages. Boniface (Boniface, 2003)
offers a more complicated definition of local food. He suggested that this term includes food
and beverages that originate from places that are not too far from the place of consumption, or
that it is not necessary to use a refrigerator to keep the food fresh and can be consumed short-
ly after growth or production.
Food as the identity of a destination can attract a wide range of tourists because local cui-
sine can enliven cultural experiences, cultural identity, communication and status (Chang, et
al., 2011). e unique identity of a particular food and food culture offers a recognizable image
of each region, which can be efficiently used to differentiate destinations.
In the subject literature (Furst, et al., 1996; Khan, 1981; Randall, Sanjur, 1981) sociological
and demographic factors are recognized as important variables in explaining variations in
food consumption in different contexts.
e choices of food refer to “a set of conscious and unconscious decisions of a person at the
time of purchase, consumption or any moment between” (Herne, 1995; Kalenjuk, et al., 2015).
In the overall form, food choices create consumer demand for suppliers in the food system who
produce, process and distribute food (Sobal, et al., 1998). e choice of food also plays an impor-
tant role in the symbolic, economic and social aspects of life, as it is a way to express prefer-
ences, identities and cultural meanings (Sobal, et al., 2006). Consumption of food refers to the
104 TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017)
The influence of the local residents attitudes on the consumption of food products
in the function of the development of gastronomic tourism
amount of food actually consumed by an individual (Kissileff, Van Italie, 1982). Researchers in
the field of food consumption agree that these factors can be classified into three broad cate-
gories: food, environment and individual (Gains, 1994; Meiselman, et al., 1999; Randall, Sanjur,
1981; Shepherd, Raats, 1996).
Methodology
e survey was conducted in the territory of Novi Sad in 2016. In the survey, the target popu-
lation is made up of residents of the city of Novi Sad, who live in Novi Sad. e research was
conducted at tourist events that take place in Novi Sad. e events at which the research was
conducted are:
• Days of Brazil (August),
• Young Wine Days - Portugizer (November),
• Enter - Wine Festival (July),
• Kulinijada (July),
• Event -Business Exit (March),
• International Tourism Fair (September),
• International Wine Festival - Winexpo (November),
• International Wine Festival - Interfest (July),
• German “pretzel ball” - Deutscher brezerball (February),
• Novi Sad Autumn (October),
• From Christmas to Christmas (December),
• Competition in cooking fish soup (July),
• Easter Street (April),
• Honey Festival (September),
• Čenej in May (May).
e sampling method is a simple random sample method. e survey was conducted
through trained interviewers, where each visitor who attended the event was a member of a
set of random samples. e task of interviewers was to personally interview visitors. Since the
interview was conducted through the paper and pencil interviewing (PAPI) (Lavrakas, 2008),
the ability of the interviewers to explain the questions in the survey form if required by the
respondents was essential. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed and 332 (63%) useful
questionnaires were received.
For the purposes of this study, and based on previous research (Jalis, et al., 2009), a ques-
tionnaire was used to examine the attitudes of the local residents towards the consumption of
food products. e questionnaire was modified and adapted for this research. An interview was
organized with tourism representatives (academic experts, hotel employees and representatives
of tourist organizations) in which experts gave their comments and suggestions which attributes
should be taken into account when creating a scale for examining the attitudes of the local resi-
dents. Based on qualitative research, it was found that certain questions - items are not appropri-
ate for the purposes of the research. Finally, a total of 14 attributes (questions, items) were identi-
fied, which were further used in the scale for examining the attitudes of the local residents.
e questionnaire consists of three parts. e first part of the questionnaire is the respond-
ent’s consent to fill out the questionnaire. Filling out a questionnaire is anonymous. e sec-
ond part refers to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents:
TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017) 105
Nikola Vuksanović, Dragan Tešanović,
Milijanko Portić, Predrag Tošić
gender, age, level of education and monthly income. e third part of the questionnaire refers
to the examination of attitudes of the local residents towards the consumption of food prod-
ucts (Table 5), which contains 14 items. In the questionnaire, the concept of collecting and pro-
cessing attitudes is defined as the degree to which the perception of the attributes shows the
attitude and consumption of food products at the manifestation. Answers to the questionnaire
were measured based on the Likert scale, 1- strongly disagree, 2 - mostly disagree, 3-neutral, 4
- generally agree, and 5 - absolutely agree.
In order to check the differences between the socio-demographic characteristics of visi-
tors in the consumption of food products, a T-test for independent samples was conducted.
e dependent variable is the consumption of food products and the examined factors are the
socio-demographic characteristics of visitors: gender (2 levels), age (5 levels), education (6 lev-
els) and monthly income (3 levels).
Results
Characteristics of respondents
e study covered 332 respondents in the area of Novi Sad. Of the total number of respondents,
52.5% were male and 47.5% female (Table 1).
Table 1. Gender structure of the sample
Gender Novi Sad
Male 176
Female 158
Table 2 shows the age structure of the sample by cities. Almost half of the respondents con-
sist of younger respondents aged 18 to 30 years. As can be seen, the majority of respondents are
in the category between 18 and 30 years who visited the manifestations. e next category con-
sists of respondents aged 31 to 40 who attended the manifestations while the smallest number
of respondents was in the category between 41 to 50 years of age.
Table 2. Age structure of the sample
Age Novi Sad
18-30 108
31-40 66
41-50 48
51-60 50
Over 60 years 58
Table 3 shows the sample structure by level of education. e largest number of respond-
ents have completed secondary school (N = 80). Approximately the same number of respond-
ents have completed college (N = 75) and faculty /bachelor (N = 70). A slightly lower number of
respondents have completed primary school (N = 48), while slightly lower number of respond-
ents have completed master (N = 40) and the smallest number of respondents have complet-
ed doctoral studies (N = 18).
106 TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017)
The influence of the local residents attitudes on the consumption of food products
in the function of the development of gastronomic tourism
Table 3. Sample structure by level of education
Education Novi Sad
Primary school 48
Secondary school 80
College 75
Faculty-bachelor 70
Faculty- master 40
Doctoral studies 18
Table 4 shows the sample structure in terms of the average monthly income of respond-
ents who visited the manifestations. Most respondents (N = 165) estimated that they had aver-
age household income, while fewer respondents estimated their incomes as above average (N
= 93). e smallest number of respondents estimated that they have that they have below aver-
age household income (N = 69).
Table 4. Sample structure according to monthly household income
Income Novi Sad
Below average 69
Average 165
Above average 93
Descriptive analysis
Answers to questions related to food consumption are shown in Table 5, whereby the response
format to items is designed to encourage respondents to assess the local residents attitude
towards consumption of food products. At the same time, it shows means and standard devia-
tions of the scale items for examining the attitudes of the local residents towards the food con-
sumption. Most respondents agree that most foodstuffs stimulate appetite (M = 4.49, item 1).
It is not surprising that they enjoyed most food products (M = 4.56, item 2) and that they spent
a lot of money visiting the manifestation (M = 4.06, item 3). At the same time, partial disagree-
ment or neutral attitude can be noticed in the assessment of item 4 (M = 2.74). In fact, visitors
did not agree with the view that they just tried food products. What can be concluded based
on the result is that visitors have tried and get interested in most food products during the visit,
regardless of whether they have already tried the product before. is is probably explained by
the high level of disagreement with the item “I only consumed food products that I knew well”
(M = 2.19, item 5). Interestingly, (Table 5) despite having tried most of the food products, visi-
tors were not quite sure about whether the taste, texture and appearance of food products were
uniform, regardless of the place of manifestation (M = 2.44, item 6). is fits well with their
disagreement with the item “I only consumed local food products” (M = 3.41, item 7).
It is noted that visitors mostly assessed their experiences regarding food products posi-
tively (items 8 and 9), that is, they enjoyed the consumption of food products and local gastro-
nomic specialties. Respondents stated that they enjoyed and experienced the traditional way
of preparing food products (M = 4.38, item 10). Most respondents agreed relatively that they
tried some ways of traditional food consumption (M = 3.77, item 11 and M = 3.90, item 12) and
learned about the tradition and the food culture at cultural events during the visit (M = 3.15,
TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017) 107
Nikola Vuksanović, Dragan Tešanović,
Milijanko Portić, Predrag Tošić
item 13). What can be concluded with the above arguments, the respondents expressed certain
agreement that they had learned enough about the food culture (M = 3.83, item 14).
Table 5. Descriptive indicators of the scale for examining the attitudes of the local resident s towards the
consumption of food products
Items Novi Sad
МSD
1. Most food products stimulate appetite 4.49 .752
2. I enjoyed most food products during the event 4.56 .70
3. I spent a lot of money on food products during a visit to the event 4.06 1.04
4. I just tried the food products at the event 2. 74 1.27
5. I consumed exclusively food products that I knew very well 2.19 1.30
6. The taste, texture and appearance of most food products are uniformed, regardless of
the manifestation
2.44 1.1 5
7. I only consumed local food products 3.41 1.31
8. The experience of visiting the event is delighting me 4.14 .98
9. I enjoyed eating food products in large quantities 4.14 1.01
10. I enjoyed eating traditional food products 4.38 .80
11. I experienced several traditional methods of preparing food products 3.77 1. 24
12. During my visit, I tried most of the traditional ways of consuming food products 3.90 1.13
13. I have mostly learned about the tradition and culture of food at cultural events 3.15 1.31
14. During my visit, I have learned enough about the food culture 3.83 1.12
Table 6 shows the descriptive analysis of the applied scale. Based on the values of multivari-
ate skewness and kurtosis, it can be concluded that the answers of the respondents to the scale
of the consumption of food products do not deviate significantly from normal distribution. In
this survey, the reliability coefficients expressed in terms of Kombah alfa are .81 (Table 6).
Table 6. Descriptive analysis of the scale
Scale Min. Max. МSD Skew. Kurt . К-С α
Consumption of
food products 18.00 55.00 39.23 7. 2 8 -.259 -.315 0.268* 0.81
Note. * P <0.1: Min. - mini mum score; Max. - maxi mum score; M - arithmetic m ean; SD - standard deviat ion; Skew. - skewness;
Kurt. - kur tosis; K-S - Kolmogorov-Smir nov test; Α - Reliability of t he scale measured by inter nal consistency
Differences in socio-demographic characteristics of respondents
In order to check the gender differences between respondents in consumption of food prod-
ucts, T test for independent samples was applied with factors: gender (male/female) and con-
sumption of food products. e results show that there is a statistically significant difference
between genders (T-test 1.83; p <0.05). ese results show that men are significantly different
from women when it comes to consumption of food products, in the sense that they have a
more positive attitude towards consumption during a visit to the event.
e T-test results for the independent samples show that there is a statistically significant
difference between age groups. T test value is 3.32, and is statistically significant (p = 0.00).
108 TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017)
The influence of the local residents attitudes on the consumption of food products
in the function of the development of gastronomic tourism
e results show that there is a significant difference between respondents belonging to the
age group between18 and 30 years and respondents belonging to the category between 51 and
60 years (p <0.05). Furthermore, it has been shown that there is a difference between respond-
ents aged 31-40 and visitors aged 41-50 (p <0.02), as well as in relation to visitors who are 51-60
years old (p <0.00).
In order to check the differences in education among respondents in consumption of food prod-
ucts, the T test for independent samples was applied with factors: education (6 levels) and consump-
tion of food products. e results show that there is a statistically significant difference between
the education groups (T-test 2.86; p <0.02). It has been shown that there is a significant difference
between respondents with completed secondary school and faculty- bachelor (p <0.05), respond-
ents with completed secondary school and visitors with faculty - master (p <0.01) and respondents
with completed secondary school and respondents with completed doctoral studies (p <0.00).
e T-test results for independent samples show that there is no statistically significant dif-
ference between groups of monthly incomes in consumption of food products. e T test value
is 0.89, and is not statistically significant (p = 0.25).
Discussion
e obtained results indicate that there are differences between variables: gender, age and
level of education, but not in the variable of monthly income for consumption of food prod-
ucts. Findings indicate that men differ significantly from women when it comes to consump-
tion of food products. Findings show that there is a difference between the age variable in
the consumption of food products. In particular, respondents belonging to the older catego-
ry have a more positive attitude towards the consumption of food products. Possible differ-
ences between visitor groups in the variable of level of education, where visitors with a high-
er level of education have a more positive attitude towards the consumption of food products,
can be explained by the fact that they were more willing to try more products than other
groups of respondents. It can be assumed that respondents with a lower level of education are
less concerned about health than respondents with a higher level of education. Findings point
out, but only the tendency, that visitors with below-average incomes in a somewhat more pro-
nounced degree positively assess the consumption of food products compared to other groups
(above-average and average incomes).
Based on the results and discussion, it is noted that respecting the differences between
groups of respondents based on their socio-demographic characteristics is important for
future research and testing when it comes to the attitudes of the local residents and the con-
sumption of food products at manifestations.
According to the author’s findings, similar studies have not been carried out so far in Novi
Sad (Vuksanović, et al., 2016; Vuksanović, et al., 2017), and this paper gives a new insight into
the importance of attitudes of the local residents and the consumption of food products as part
of gastronomic tourism and how to improve acceptability among visitors.
e obtained results indicate that the local residents mostly positively assessed their expe-
riences regarding food products, that is, they enjoyed the consumption of food products and
local gastronomic specialties.
Attitudes are also influenced by the advantages of tourist development, for example, an
increase in the income of the population (ensuring economic independence and stability of the
region), ensuring the construction of communal infrastructure, encouraging small entrepre-
TURIZAM | Volume 21, Issue 2, 102–110 (2017) 109
Nikola Vuksanović, Dragan Tešanović,
Milijanko Portić, Predrag Tošić
neurship, creating a recognizable tourism offer of a destination, branding autochthonous offer
and encouraging the return of the population, but also the disadvantages that such develop-
ment brings, emigration of the population, overcoming of the accepting potential, destruction
of natural and cultural resources, destruction of autochthonousness, inability of year-round
employment in destinations that seasonally operate.
When planning tourist destination development, destination management must take into
account the wishes, proposals and good initiatives of the local residents, because only in this
way it will be possible a more organize and better quality development of tourism of the des-
tination, and it also will reduce the impact of deficiencies and negative attitudes of the popu-
lation towards tourism.
Conclusion
Achieving the best possible tourist development of destinations, planning must include the
local residents because what is a product to tourists that is offered on the tourist market, this
is a living space for the local residents in which everyday life takes place.
e population will be satisfied with the tourist development if it provides certain advan-
tages such as, for example, possibility of employment, improvement in infrastructure, creation
of conditions for small entrepreneurship, and above all, if the quality of life in the tourist des-
tination is not disturbed.
e development of the tourist destination will be successful if all the factors important for
the improvement of the development are combined, and these are actors of offer, tourists, the
environment and the local residents that is central in this paper. By joint integration, it is pos-
sible to create a competitive tourism destination in a demanding tourism market.
Acknowledgment
is study resulted as a part of project of Provincial Secretariat for Higher Education and Sci-
entific Research, no. -- / - / (Agricultural, food and gastronomic products
in the function of development of Vojvodina tourism directed towards authentic and safe food).
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