The role of food in the festival and destination experience of visitors to Akaroa, New Zealand

Abstract

Food and drink has been central to celebration and festivity throughout the history of humankind, and the quality, range and availability of food and beverages is acknowledged as an important contributor to the satisfaction of festival attendees at a range of events. This paper outlines the food experiences of visitors to a heritage festival in Akaroa, New Zealand, exploring their engagement with food during the festival and while in the destination. Food is shown to have played a relatively significant role in respondents’ experiences at the festival, and during their time in the destination more generally. This is particularly the case for the identified ‘foodies’ in the sample, who were more positive about their food experience and more likely to buy food or drink based on this experience, but the sample as a whole showed a strong interest in food and wine based activities in the destination.