Gastrodiplomacy in the Bairrada wine region (Portugal)

Engaging and charming by the Senses.

Authors

Keywords:

Gastrodiplomacy, Tourism, Bairrada, Food Heritage, Online Strategic marketing

Abstract

Gastronomy in the broad sense, is a major challenge for tourism expansion. Most Portuguese destinations highlight the wine and food in their promotion, even if not all of them have a food heritage brand clearly identified by customers. So, it will be crucial the development of an online communication strategy in order to contribute in a decisive way, to the visibility of Portugal and to boost its notoriety in national and international markets.

The diplomatic dimensions of gastronomy and tourism have been recognized and studied for a long time, giving rise to the term “gastrodiplomacy” which refers to concerted and sustained public relations campaigns and investments by governments, often in collaboration with non-state actors, to increase the value and positioning of the national brand through gastronomy (Rockower, 2020)[1] . Faced with changes in demand, destinations (led by regional entities) must promote the linkage between gastronomy, local food heritage and culture, to meet the expectations of authenticity and quality of customers.

Based on a theoretical context of food heritage boundaries expansion, and in order to empower regional competitiveness, we assembled a starting question “How Bairrada’s municipalities build up their traditional wine and Food heritage identity and notoriety?”. Bairrada (located at the Centre of Portugal) is the under-study territory, where a qualitative data collection technique (websites content analysis) was implemented. Two main goals were defined: 1- To identify the responsible players for promoting regional/local gastronomic brands and the role of these “ambassadors”; 2- To explore their websites content in order to find a food heritage strategic marketing pattern.

Considering a multi-stakeholder point of view of food heritage, the results showed a territory with enormous enogastronomic potential, however requiring some investment in online communication, content, services, interactivity, innovation and efficiency.

 

[1] Rockower, P., (2020). A Guide to Gastrodiplomacy. In Routledge Handbook of Public Diplomacy. Edited By Nancy Snow, Nicholas J. Cull, 2nd Edition, (Chapter 20). eBook ISBN9780429465543

Author Biography

  • Josefina Olívia Salvado, Govcopp e DIAITA

    Josefina Salvado is a professor at the FLUC of the University of Coimbra (Department of Geography and Tourism), holding a PhD in Tourism (UA-University of Aveiro); Master in Tourism Management and Development (UA); MBA in Marketing (IESF - Institute of Higher Financial and Tax Studies); Degree in Auditing (UA-ISCAAv) and Degree in Economics (University of Coimbra – Faculty of Economics). She is attending a PhD on Food Heritage, Cultures and Identities (University of Coimbra – FLUC - Faculdade Letras).

    Integrated researcher at CECH (Centre for Classical Studies and Humanities of the University of Coimbra) in the DIAITA Project and associate researcher at GOVCOPP (Research Unit in Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies - Tourism) linked to the University of Aveiro.

    She is part of the International Project Olive4All-Olive Heritage for Sustainable Development: Raising Community Awareness of Living Heritage (Instituto Politécnico de Leiria). She was a researcher in the projects INNOVINE & WINE (University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro), CREATOUR (CIDEHUS-University Évora) and ”TWINE – Co-creating sustainable Tourism & WINe Experiences in rural areas” (University of Aveiro).

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Published

2024-12-19

Issue

2024

Section

Extended abstract