Savouring place: cheese as a food tourism destination landmark

Purpose Cheeses convey the identity of a region. The origin of milk, the pastures, the land, the cheesemakers and the traditional recipes transmit the ways a cheese is produced and consumed. This background links to food tourism practices, particularly to cheese-oriented tourism. In this sense, people can buy cheese at a range of selling points, and markets are being one of the most appreciated social, leisure and experience spaces. From a tourist and marketing perspective, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between cheese consumption and place identity, drawing from a study into the cheeses sold in a medium-sized European city. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on 17 semi-structured interviews with cheese vendors in markets and specialist food shops, the provenances of cheeses sold in the city of Reus - south-eastern Catalonia, northeastern Spain - were studied. Findings Local, national and international cheeses were analysed. Results show the type of identity that derives from cheese offer and its opportunities for food tourism planning and development. Practical implications - Outcomes of this paper may lead cheese producers to explore new arenas of cheesemaking and cheese distribution. Also, the results inform food tourism stakeholders of what consumers - both locals and tourists - gather when they buy cheese in amedium-sized European city. Originality/value This research offers an innovative approach to the study of the links between food and place. Based on the understanding of the origin of products, this paper leads to further comprehension of specialist food tourisms from the offer perspective, which may also drive to the development of a more robust destination gastronomic identity - in this case, through the particular provision of cheeses.