Discovering gastronomic tourists’ profiles through artificial neural networks: analysis, opinions and attitudes

ABSTRACT

As the importance given by tourists to the different aspects of gastronomic tourism depends on their profiles, this research aims to determine the relationship between the social characteristics of these culinary tourists (such as gender, age, income, and educational level) and the relevance attributed by them to several opinions and attitudes related to gastronomic tourism. This research is based on field work through surveys filled in by culinary tourists with questions about perceptions and thoughts regarding gastronomic tourism both in general and in the particular case of Córdoba, a World Heritage Site in Southern Spain. Using artificial intelligence techniques as the Multilayer Perceptron, an artificial neural network is developed to estimate a ‘tourist profile’ based on inputs which are the pre-determined replies to the questionnaire. This technique is rarely used in surveys, especially in tourism sector. The model developed can assess the variations produced along the item valuation in every characteristic of the tourist profile. Thus, an increase in age implies more appreciation for dishes variety, its tasting at destination and willingness to return. Findings presented can be useful for professionals and entrepreneurs dedicated to culinary experiences and for public institutions which aim to promote gastronomic tourism at destination.

KEYWORDS:

• Food tourism
• culinary tourism
• gastronomy tourism
• tourists’ profiles
• artificial neural networks
• multilayer perceptron

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Salvador Moral-Cuadra

Salvador Moral-Cuadra is a PhD and lecturer at the Department of Financial Economics at the University of Granada. He has authored or co-authored more than 20 articles in different academic journals related to tourism such as the Heritage & Society, Journal of Borderlands Studies or International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. He has worked at different universities in the Dominican Republic. His main lines of research focus on tourism and cultural heritage.

Miguel Á. Solano-Sánchez

Miguel Ángel Solano-Sánchez is PhD Professor in the Faculty of Law and Business in the University of Cordoba. Having Master Degree in Foreign Trade by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul and the University of Cordoba, he has authored several articles in scientific journals. He is a speaker at conferences and congresses in the field of econometrics, tourism, and international trade.

Antonio Menor-Campos

Antonio Menor-Campos holds a PhD and is lecturer at the Department of Agrarian Economics, Finance and Accounting at the University of Cordoba, Spain. His main areas of interest are the economics of tourism and environmental economics, and he has successfully published several articles in this field.

Tomás López-Guzmán

Tomás López-Guzmán holds a PhD in Economics and Business Studies and is Full Professor in Applied Economics at the University of Cordoba, Spain. He has undertaken various exchanges with universities in Europe, Latin America and Africa. His main areas of interest are the economics of tourism and environmental economics, and he has successfully published several articles in this field.