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The Role of the Internet in Enabling Linkages Between Tourism and Local Food in Vanuatu

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The Role of the Internet in Enabling Linkages Between Tourism and Local Food in Vanuatu The Role of the Internet in Enabling Linkages between Tourism and Local Food in Vanuatu Marta Garcia Gonzalez A thesis submitted to: Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Hospitality Management (MIHM) 2013 School of Hospitality and Tourism and New Zealand Tourism Research Institute Primary supervisor: Dr. Evangeline Singh Secondary Supervisor: Prof. Simon Milne , one more step in our amazing journey Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... v Attestation of authorship ................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... viii Acronyms and abbreviations ........................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1 : INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the study .......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aims and objectives of the research........................................................................ 4 1.3 Structure of the thesis ............................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 8 2.1 Local food in tourism: Trends, authenticity and sense of place .............................. 8 2.2 The role of the Internet in linking local food to the tourism industry ................... 16 2.3 Challenges in utilising the potential of the Internet to link local food to tourism 21 2.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3 : RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .................................. 27 3.1 Methodological approach ...................................................................................... 27 3.2 The case of Vanuatu .............................................................................................. 29 3.3 Research methods and analysis ............................................................................. 34 3.3.1 Content analysis .............................................................................................. 34 3.3.2 Discourse analysis........................................................................................... 36 3.4 Data collection methods ........................................................................................ 37 3.5 Data analysis ......................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 4 : THE USE OF THE INTERNET TO PROMOTE LOCAL FOOD FOR TOURISM IN VANUATU ........................................................................................... 52 4.1 Overview of tourism websites in Vanuatu .......................................................... 52 4.2 Online promotion of local food in Vanuatu......................................................... 61 4.2.1 Initiatives of destination websites to promote local food.......................... 62 4.2.2 Initiatives of tourism businesses to promote local food ............................ 74 i 4.3 Online linkages between the tourism industry and local food producers in Vanuatu ................................................................................................................ 88 4.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 94 Chapter 5 : THE POTENTIAL OF THE INTERNET TO LINK LOCAL FOOD TO TOURISM IN VANUATU .................................................................................... 95 5.1 Tourists’ feedback on food-related experiences in Vanuatu ................................. 95 5.2 The participation of the local economy in the tourism industry ......................... 102 5.2.1 Local tours and activities promoted by tour operators ................................. 102 5.2.2 Local tours and activities promoted by accommodation .............................. 111 5.2.3 Local events and festivals ............................................................................. 123 5.2.4 Community initiatives................................................................................... 128 5.3 Summary ............................................................................................................. 133 Chapter 6 : CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................... 135 6.1 Recapitulation ..................................................................................................... 135 6.2 Summary of the research findings ....................................................................... 136 6.3 Contributions of this research ............................................................................. 139 6.4 Implications for further research ......................................................................... 143 References .................................................................................................................... 146 Appendix 1 – Accommodation businesses' websites audited ...................................... 161 Appendix 2 – Cafes' and Restaurants' websites audited .............................................. 164 Appendix 3 – Tour operator businesses' websites audited ........................................... 165 Appendix 4 – Accommodation businesses without website promoted on destination sites .......................................................................................................................... 167 Appendix 5 – Cafes and restaurants without website promoted on destination sites ... 174 Appendix 6 – Tour operators without website promoted on destination sites ............. 176 ii List of Figures Figure 1.1: Map of Vanuatu .............................................................................................. 3 Figure 1.2: The framework used in this research to explore the links between local food and tourism on the Internet............................................................................. 6 Figure 2.1: Effects of tourism: Direct, indirect and induced........................................... 10 Figure 2.2: The evolving drivers of tourism ................................................................... 15 Figure 2.3: Hyperlinks on a Catalan tourism website indicate where to taste and buy local food ...................................................................................................... 20 Figure 2.4: Percentage of local residents using the Internet ........................................... 22 Figure 2.5: Using the Internet to promote local food-related experiences ...................... 25 Figure 3.1: Vanuatu population size by province and census year ................................. 30 Figure 3.2: Employed population by urban or rural residence and industry, 2009 ......... 31 Figure 3.3: International visitor arrivals by air and by cruise ship ................................. 32 Figure 3.4: Organisations responsible for the development of tourism in Vanuatu ....... 40 Figure 3.5: Stages in the research process ...................................................................... 46 Figure 4.1: Food information under the “Travel Information” hyperlink ....................... 54 Figure 4.2:Regional website with a hyperlink to promote restaurants............................ 55 Figure 4.3: Internal hyperlinks to restaurants in the VTO website ................................. 56 Figure 4.4: An image in the website of the Vanuatu Chefs Association ........................ 64 Figure 4.5: The Vanuatu Tourism Office home page ..................................................... 65 Figure 4.6: Description of local food on a home page .................................................... 66 Figure 4.7: Videos showing local food and cuisine supplied to tourists from cruise ships ...................................................................................................................... 69 Figure 4.8: Internal hyperlinks to describe the Pacific culture ....................................... 71 Figure 4.9: Local food information provided in a destination website ........................... 72 Figure 4.10: A local preparing a typical Vanuatu dish, nalot ......................................... 73 Figure 4.11: An image on an accommodation business’s website promoting sushi ....... 76 Figure 4.12: Small food and food-related pictures on an accommodation business’s website .......................................................................................................... 77 Figure 4.13: Food-related pictures in a local business’s website .................................... 77 Figure 4.14: Promotion of local cuisine in a local business’s website............................ 79 Figure 4.15: Menu on an accommodation business’s website .......................................
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