Promoting Food Tourism Through Digital Media With Special Reference To Sri Lanka As A Tourist Destination

Many travellers recognize food experiences as a must-do activity at travel destinations as much as the interest shown by them, Destination Management Organizations around the world have identified food as a part of special interest tourism and an experience that helps differentiate a destination’s offerings against competitors. The current study set out to explore whether travellers perceive food as a travel attraction that motivates them to travel to a destination and whether food can provide a memorable experience to such travellers and how well destination management organizations promote food tourism through digital media in a setting where many travellers search for information online. The study included a preliminary study in which the opinions of travellers were identified through a content analysis of experiences shared on online travel review sites and social media. Thestudy conducted a qualitative research approach where interviews were conducted to gain further insights into travellers’ food experiences. Further, the effectiveness of promoting food tourism through digital media by destination management organizations was analyzed through a content analysis of textual and visual content on websites. The findings of the study indicate that travellers consider food as a major motive to travel, as an experience booster, a novel and exciting experience, an experience beyond just eating, an aid to learning about locals’ lifestyle, an experience worth recreating and an experience that results in a change in lifestyle becoming a peak touristic experience. It was apparent that Local Destination Management Organizations do not effectively communicate these factors about food experiences through their digital platforms. This study is significant in a theoretical aspect as it presents seven characteristics of food experiences concerning the conceptual model of tourist experience and for applying this model to the digital context taking the destination management organization’s point of view. It is also significant in a practical aspect as it shows the potential of food to be a main attraction for Sri Lanka Tourism and portrays space for improvement in marketing such experiences,especially in digital media.