The Local Gastronomic Experience of Domestic Visitors in Their Expenditure for Sustainable Development in Santa Elena-Ecuador

Abstract

The visitor's expenditure on local gastronomy can contribute to sustainable development and significantly reactivate tourist destinations affected by the covid-19 pandemic. This study analyzes the incidence of local gastronomic experience towards the expenditure of domestic visitors for sustainable development of tourist destinations. An online survey of 237 residents of the province in Santa Elena-Ecuador is used. In the methodology, a previous questionnaire is applied to identify the characteristics of local gastronomy. Subsequently, the gastronomic experience is analyzed in two phases of consumption: before and during. In the gastronomic experience during consumption, three aspects that influence the economic expenditure of the visitor are considered: a. tangible (the type of establishment and the number of dishes consumed), b. social (the number of people accompanying the visitor) and c. economic (the monthly economic income of the visitor). In this phase of tourist consumption, the quantitative study of the multiple linear regression model is applied. The results explain that tangible, social and economic aspects during the visitor's gastronomic experience affect their expenditure. Furthermore, it is explained that local gastronomy has positive benefits for sustainable development of the destination. This study suggests that social interaction between visitors and their companion through gastronomic experience is a relevant issue for co-creation and marketing strategies of food and beverage establishments. Future studies may implicate identifying domestic visitors’ social ties through gastronomic experience, also, if this local gastronomy could be traditional to create a niche tourism market and analyze the relation of visitor’s expenditure with sustainable development of the destination.