Gastronomy, as a part of cultural heritage, has exceptional potential in tourism, and its key representatives and conservationists/guardians are hospitality facilities that provide food services. Vojvodina (the Republic of Serbia) is a region inhabited by more than 30 ethnic minorities that have nurtured their cultural heritage and have been incorporating it into gastronomy for many years. The subject of this paper is the gastronomy of ethnic groups in Vojvodina and its significance for tourism development from the point of view of hospitality workers as important actors in the sustainability of heritage. One of the motives behind this study is the twelfth UN sustainable development goal (SDGs) defined in 2015, which refers to providing sustainable forms of consumption and production and which emphasizes the development and application of tools for monitoring the impact that sustainable development has on tourism that promotes local culture and products (12b). The aim of this study was to obtain data on the preservation of heritage, that is, on authenticity within the region/area and ethnic groups, and then to perform a valorization of dishes and define steps on how to make gastronomic heritage a more visible tourist attraction, from the perspective of sustainability. Our survey included a sample of 508 respondents, all employees in the hospitality industry. The obtained results were statistically processed. The research showed that the Južnabačka district has the greatest importance in tourism from the aspect of the implementation, preservation, and sustainability of gastronomic heritage in tourism. Among the ethnic groups, the Vojvodina Hungarians place the greatest importance on the preservation of gastronomy, which includes dishes such as goulash and uses ingredients such as river fish. The research led to the conclusion that those in the hospitality industry are of the opinion that gastronomic heritage should be promoted through activities such as tourist exposure, marketing activities, and promoting the diversity of authentic food offers in catering facilities.

The subject of this paper is the tourist potential of the gastronomic heritage of ethnic minorities inhabiting Vojvodina (Northern Serbia). The task of the paper is to examine the state of authenticity and potential for placement in the tourism market. The goal of the research was to obtain data about the authenticity and representation of authentic and traditional dishes in homes and hospitality facilities and their positioning in tourism. The research was conducted from October 2020 to May 2021 among residents of the region belonging to minority groups (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Roma). The survey was conducted electronically through cultural, art, and educational institutions that maintain the culture and tradition of the studied ethnic groups. The number of respondents who participated in the research was 619. The obtained data were statistically processed using descriptive statistics, as well as by using t-tests and ANOVA (LSD post hoc), and the reliability of the psychometric scales was assessed by the use of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Research has shown that Vojvodina, with its ethnic structure and gastronomic heritage, has the potential to attract tourists motivated by authentic food. Tourism potential of gastronomic heritage are proportionate to the share of ethnic groups; hence, the representation and preservation of the Hungarian, Slovakian, and Croatian cuisines are predominant. The respondents have shown awareness of the activities that would contribute to a better positioning of gastronomic heritage in tourism through implementation in different tourism manifestations and extra marketing activities.

Gastronomic identity is a crucial segment of sustainable gastronomy and its successful positioning in the tourism market. As such, it calls for the creation of a suitable SusGastroIdentity scale that would identify influential factors. The research investigated the opinions of the employees in catering establishments in two tourist destinations in the Balkans: Fruška Gora Mountain, a tourist area in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in Serbia, and Jahorina Mountain, a tourist area in the Republic of Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study involved 606 participants, 66% of whom work in à la carte restaurants. Of these participants, 68% hold operational roles in hospitality establishments, and 58.3% have over 5 years of experience in the hospitality industry. After conducting a survey using a questionnaire and performing appropriate statistical analysis of the responses, four factors of gastronomic identity and sustainable gastronomy were defined: geographic and cultural characteristics of gastronomy, gastro-tourism events, economic aspects of business operations, and commercial aspects of business operations. The present research has shown that employees in hospitality and tourism perceive geographic and cultural characteristics and the economic aspects of business as the significant factors of gastronomic identity that affect both the sustainability of gastronomy in tourism and the tourist destination itself.

The topic of this study is the factors that influence the consumption of traditional food products (TFPs) in tourism, as seen from the perspective of management-sector employees in food and beverage catering facilities. The paper aims to analyse the economic, environmental, social, and touristic factors that highly influence the consumption patterns of catering facilities which are significant providers of traditional gastronomic experiences in tourism, by using the specially designed TFPct scale. The study was conducted on a sample of 300 catering facilities in AP Vojvodina (the Republic of Serbia). An explanatory factor analysis was used to confirm the key factors that influence the consumption of traditional products used to prepare the meals that are a part of what catering facilities offer. Subsequently, a binary logistics regression model was used to establish which of the indicated factors has a statistically significant effect on the management’s decision to purchase these products for their catering facility. The study showed that the TFPct scale is appropriate for this type of research, and that economic factors are key factors in the consumption of traditional products. Moreover, compared with other types of catering facilities, interest in the consumption of these products is clearly expressed by a la carte restaurants.

Agritourism as a special type of tourist migration is a very important link in the diversification of rural areas, connecting the geography, culture, tradition, and gastronomy of the local population, and placing products and services through the hospitality and tourism market. Thanks to this form of tourism, underdeveloped places are gaining in importance and attracting the attention of visitors who are oriented towards natural things, which in turn contributes to a better economic situation of the locality and the population. This paper aims to examine the attitudes of farm owners in the Republic of Serbia toward the impact of agritourism on the economy, living environment, social life, and culture. The data were collected by surveying the owners of agricultural holdings in the territory of the Republic of Serbia and statistically processed using factor analysis, descriptive statistics, and linear regression. Based on the obtained results, it has been established that the owners of agricultural farms are interested in the development of agritourism, and that their positive perception of the impact that agritourism has on the living environment and economy greatly contributes to that. To a lesser extent, a positive attitude was noted toward the importance of agrotourism for the local community and locals, where the positive aspects of agritourism were the education of visitors on agriculture, promotion of the local culture, agricultural and gastronomic products, and sustainable development and investment in infrastructure.

One can observe the sustainability of traditional food products (TFPs) consumption in terms of their market, production, and technical characteristics. These characteristics must be acknowledged by the management section of a catering facility responsible for purchasing and consuming these products. Consequently, this research was conducted among the management of catering facilities (chefs, managers, and owners) in Vojvodina (northern region of Serbia) from 300 different facilities. The research was conducted using a questionnaire. The data acquired were statistically processed using the non-parametric Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests and presented in this paper. Special attention was given to differences in perceiving the characteristics of TFP of Vojvodina (TASQ) as seen from the socio-demographic aspects of the respondents and the characteristics of catering facilities. The research deduced that the sensory quality of a product, menu diversity, freshness, local production, price, and seasonality are the prominent characteristics that affect the TFP’s choice of purchase and consumption. The least essential characteristics are organic production and brand. The differences in perception of the characteristics were based on the respondent’s age, education level, and working position, as well as catering offer (domestic, national, international, and combined) and the location of a catering facility (urban/rural).