The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism - Scholarly Commons ...
The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism - Scholarly Commons ...
The Role of Local Food in Maldives Tourism - Scholarly Commons ...
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<strong>The</strong> description <strong>in</strong>dicates that food is a special feature <strong>of</strong> the establishment. <strong>The</strong> 18<br />
websites that were analysed, only six were found to provide this k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> detailed<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation on food.<br />
Most <strong>of</strong> the market<strong>in</strong>g materials do not place much emphasis on portray<strong>in</strong>g food as an<br />
important part <strong>of</strong> the tourist experience. Moreover, <strong>in</strong> all the market<strong>in</strong>g materials the<br />
scarceness <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation about local food and local food related activities is evident.<br />
This f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g is supported by the results from content analysis which revealed a clear<br />
picture <strong>of</strong> comparison between the extent that local and other foods were used <strong>in</strong> tourism<br />
promotion. <strong>The</strong>re were a total <strong>of</strong> 176 local food images and mentions <strong>in</strong> the text,<br />
whereas for ‘other’ food a total <strong>of</strong> 776 images and text references were recorded.<br />
Websites had less <strong>in</strong>formation on local food than pr<strong>in</strong>ted materials. A total <strong>of</strong> seven<br />
websites mentioned local food, out <strong>of</strong> which only four described local food <strong>in</strong> ways that<br />
suggested local food was an attraction. <strong>Food</strong> events that <strong>in</strong>volved local food were<br />
mentioned twice and local theme restaurants mentioned only once. Information about<br />
local markets is also scarce. More images <strong>of</strong> tourists with non-local foods were<br />
displayed than with local food. <strong>The</strong>re were 19 images <strong>of</strong> tourists with non-local foods<br />
such as pasta and breads, whereas there were only 4 images <strong>of</strong> tourists with local food.<br />
In the textual content, other types <strong>of</strong> food were mentioned 371 times while local food<br />
was mentioned 70 times. <strong>The</strong> types <strong>of</strong> local foods that were featured <strong>in</strong> the market<strong>in</strong>g<br />
materials and the frequency <strong>of</strong> occurrence are illustrated <strong>in</strong> Table 5.4.<br />
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