The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristics and motivations of culinary tourists whose destination is the city of Córdoba (Spain) while attempting to determine whether gastronomy is an important aspect of the trip or if it is perceived simply as a secondary activity. Fieldwork was carried out among a series of restaurant establishments in the city of Córdoba. A demand survey was conducted in 10 particular establishments that were selected among those offering local dishes and which are regularly visited by tourists and the questionnaire was distributed among clients obtaining 206 valid answers. Our results reveal the strengths and weaknesses of Córdoba's restaurant sector. While 10% state that the cuisine is one of the main reasons for visiting the city, 68% believe that the local cuisine is an important but not an essential aspect of their trip and the rest view it as being secondary. These three types of tourists exhibit different kinds of motivation. This suggests that strategies should be designed and developed to promote gastronomy as one of the city's chief tourist attractions. Good tourism management based on initiatives such as the creation of culinary routes could be an alternative for implementing strategies aimed at the social and economic development and promotion of particular areas, for example turning typical food from rural areas in certain regions into a marketable attraction.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is the segmentation of the tourists who visit a gastronomic festival in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, in accordance with their perceptions with respect to gastronomy. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve this objective, the methodology used in this research has been the application of a multivariate technique of grouping items and the realisation of a post hoc single variate ANOVA analysis. Findings: The principal conclusions resulting from this research are focussed on the segmentation of the tourists in three different groups and how the travellers’ interest in gastronomy leads to greater satisfaction with the destination. Practical implications: The main practical implications are centred on better understanding of the key factors of how gastronomy can reinforce a tourist destination and produce greater satisfaction for the traveller. Originality/value: Gastronomy is used as a source of inspiration in tourist destinations. This research reinforces this theme, taking on the study of a gastronomic festival in an important business destination, such as the city of Guayaquil, in a geographic area, Latin America, characterised by a recognised gastronomy but still little studied in the scientific literature.

Purpose: Gastronomy has become one of the key factors in the development and promotion of tourism, and offers the opportunity for certain locations to become specialised in culinary tourism. This paper aims to analyse the kind of tourist whose reason for travelling to a certain destination is to enjoy the local cuisine. In this case, the destination is Córdoba (Spain).Design/methodology/approach: A list of restaurants and eating establishments offering dishes typical of Córdoba was compiled. A questionnaire was designed with the aim of analysing and defining tourists' opinions of Córdoba's cuisine. This questionnaire was filled out by a random sample of tourists in one of ten different restaurants. Of these ten establishments, four were classified as restaurants, three as tabernas, and three as a mixture of both restaurant and taberna. In each restaurant, the questionnaire was distributed randomly among Spanish and foreign tourists in the city on a daily basis. A total of 213 questionnaires was obtained. The fieldwork was carried out in October and November 2009. The tabling and analysis of the data obtained was carried out through the development of an appropriate database. The results were obtained using uni‐variant and bi‐variant analysis techniques (contingency tables, chi‐square contrasts and correlations).Findings: The results of the study reflect the high level of education of the tourists surveyed, the length of their stay, the high percentage of foreign tourists, and the high level of satisfaction with both the local cuisine and with other tourist attractions Córdoba has to offer.Practical implications: The results imply that there is scope for developing food tourism products which would attract such tourists and could be used to promote Córdoba as a centre for culinary tourism.Originality/value: This paper is one of the first studies on culinary tourism to be carried out in an important destination for cultural tourism in Europe, namely the city of Córdoba. This paper also tries to create a profile of the “food tourist”, a tourist whose primary motivation for visiting a given location is to explore the local cuisine.

This article presents a research on the link between gastronomy and tourism, seeking to determine the profile, motivations, and satisfaction of international tourists visiting the city of Córdoba, known for its tangible and intangible heritage of humanity, declared by UNESCO. The main results confirm the presence of highly educated tourists with a high purchasing power, visiting this destination with the motivation to know its cultural heritage (including culinary), and who are satisfied with the overall visit, positively valuing within it various elements of the local gastronomy such as traditional cuisine, the quality of the dishes and hospitality, and the service offered.