Tourist awareness and interest of organic food: the case of Istria

Transcription

1 28th International Conference on Organizational Science Development New technologies, new challenges March 25th 27th, 2009, Portorož, Slovenia Tourist awareness and interest of organic food: the case of Istria Desimir Bošković Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Croatia Ana Težak Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Croatia Darko Saftić Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Croatia Abstract Due to the consumers concern for their health and the rise of their ecological consciousness demand for organic food is increasing. According to this trend there is an increase in the amount of total agricultural land surface used for organic farming - it is estimated to be about 10% of the total agricultural land surface. Rural area in Istria, due to certain conditions posed by organic farming, is relatively suitable for the development of organic farming. The market for organic products in Croatia, as well as in Istria, is growing. The main purpose of this paper is to examine tourists awareness and perception of organic food. The data on tourists interest in purchasing/consuming organic food during their stay in Istria were collected as a part of a Research conducted in 2007 among the tourists visiting the Istrian coast and the results showed there is certain interest in organic food shown by tourists, so this year a research was conducted to widen the mentioned data. It was based on the hypotheses that most of the tourists visiting Istria are ecologically conscious and informed about the specific features of organic food. This survey was conducted as a part of the research called Market development possibilities for organic farming in Istria. The methods used in this paper are questionnaire, interview and compilation. Keywords: organic food, ecological awareness, tourists perception, Istria 1 INTRODUCTION Organic food is a recent trend in tourism and can be considered as a new segment of gastronomic offer. Due to certain specific features of organic farming, the price of organic food is higher than the price of conventional food. There are a certain number of tourists interested in this gastronomic segment and are willing to accept higher price for a guarantee 181

2 that the food they are consuming is produced by an ecologically acceptable method (Bošković, D, 2007). In Croatia organic farming is developing and this is also true of the Istrian County. Some research has been done in this field from the agronomic and tourism aspects. It tried to explore the possibility of placing organic vegetables on tourism market (Ban, D, Šerović Lončar, S, Oplanić M., 2004), but most of the papers focus on the agronomic aspect. Last year, The Institute of Agriculture and Tourism conducted a survey among tourists staying in Istria in which, among other questions, there was a question about the tourists willingness to consume organic food. The results showed that about 49% of the respondents said that they were interested in consumption of organic food. The main purpose of this paper is to present the results of the survey into tourists awareness and perception of organic food and to explore the possibilities for offering it to tourists. 2 Data source and methodology Based on the above mentioned research results, this year, in order to examine development possibility for market of organic food, a research on Market development possibilities of organic farming in Istria was conducted. It was divided into two parts. In the first part current state of organic farming was identified using secondary data obtained form different sources. Results of this part were used as a basis for the second part: in forming an appropriate organic food price scale and in determining on what segment of tourists research is to be conducted. The second part of this research was split into three segments: tourists, local population and distribution so that adequate questionnaires for each segment could be created. In this paper tourists awareness of specific features and their perception of organic food are presented. In the survey, 1,300 questionnaires were collected from tourists visiting Istria in August and September Sample selection was carried out in several phases. Because it was established in the first phase of research that organic food is, in principle, more costly than conventionally produced food, the tourists selected for the survey were mostly those staying in higher category facilities. The pattern of facilities is as follows: two-star hotels, 0.46%; three-star hotels, 34%; four-star hotels, 63.54%; and high category villas, 2%. The reasoning behind the above pattern was the assumption that tourists staying in higher category accommodation facilities possess the purchasing power required to buy organic food. Four-star hotels in Istria were identified and visited on dates agreed with the hotel management. Tourists were given a questionnaire containing 16 questions, divided into a number of groups. The first group of questions related to demography: country of origin, age, sex, profession, and income. The second group of questions sought to obtain answers referring to the purchase of organic food by tourists in their home country: how satisfied tourists are with the foodstuffs they buy daily, how many tourists buy organic food at home, where do they buy organic food, how much do they pay for these products, and how well informed are tourists, in general, about organic farming and organic food. The third group of questions focused on the stay of tourists in Istria. Tourists were asked whether they were interested in buying and 182

3 consuming organic food during their stay in Istria and how much higher a price they would be willing to pay. They were also asked to name the type of facility in which they would like to consume organic food and to state whether they would be interested in spending their vacation in rural Istria. This paper aims to explore the existence of a significant difference between the interest of tourists in organic food and how well informed they are about organic food with regard to whether they already are organic food buyers in their home country or not. The assumption is that a difference exists between how well informed tourists are and their interests in organic food with regard to whether they already are organic food buyers in their home country. The following table shows the number of tourist responses by individual variable. Independent Variable Frequency % Purchase of organic food in the home country ,15 Dependent Tourists awareness about the legal conditions of organic farming ,00 Tourists awareness about places to buy organic food ,08 Tourists awareness about the production cost of organic food ,85 Tourists awareness about selling price of organic food ,77 Tourists interest in buying organic food while staying in Istria ,15 Table 1: Tourist sample selection The majority of tourists replied to questions of whether they are already organic food buyers and whether they would be interested in buying organic food. The least number of responses was obtained to the question of how well informed they are about the production cost of organic food. Of the total number of responses to the question on previous purchases of organic food in the home country, 34.1% of respondents stated that they do not purchase organic food at home, while 65.9% stated that they do. The question of whether the tourists are already buyers of organic food was provided with two alternative answers: I buy organic food and I do not buy organic food. To assess their level of information regarding the specific attributes of organic food, tourists were asked to assess how well informed they are regarding the legal conditions of organic production, places to buy organic food, the production cost and the selling prices of organic food by selecting one of three options: I am not informed, I am partially informed, and I am fully informed. Data were presented graphically and processed using statistical methods. The χ 2 test was applied to establish whether a significant difference exists between groups. 183

4 3 Results In demonstrating how well informed tourists are about the specific attributes of organic food, the criterion of whether or not tourists are organic food buyers in their home country was taken into consideration. The following chart illustrates how well informed tourists are about the legal conditions of organic farming with regard to whether or not they are already buyers of organic food in their home country % % 13.10% 11.78% 3.62% 17.63% Non-buyers Not informed Partially informed Fully informed Response rate 93.38% Chart 1: Tourists awareness about the legal conditions of organic farming Most of the tourists, who stated that they do buy organic food, also assessed that they are partially informed, whereas the number of tourists who assessed that they are poorly informed or fully informed is almost identical. The level of awareness in the group of tourists who do not buy organic food in their home country is visibly lower, and the option I am not informed heavily prevails, while the option fully informed is exceptionally low. This is not surprising as, generally, people do not gather information about things they have no interest in. The following chart shows how well informed tourists are about places to buy organic food with regard to whether or not they are already buyers of organic food in their home country % % % 6.49% 10.48% 10.73% Non-buyers Not informed Partially informed Fully informed Response rate 92.46% Chart 2: Tourists awareness about places to buy organic food 184

5 Most of the tourists who stated that they do buy organic food in their home countries (more than half of the respondents) also stated that they are fully informed of places to buy organic food; a little more than one-third, that they are partially informed; and about one-tenth, that they are not informed. The question arises as to why tourists, who do buy organic food, have stated that they are poorly informed. The likely reason for this is the way in which they have understood the posed question: most probably this group consumes organic food that someone else buys for them, or if they do buy it themselves, they most likely buy at a limited number of points of sale. Another reason may be the fact that they were asked to self-assess their own level of information. The following chart demonstrates how well tourists are informed about the production costs of organic food with regard to whether or not they are already organic food buyers in their home country % % 24.72% % % 10.14% Non-buyers Not informed Partially informed Fully informed Response rate 90.23% Chart 3: Tourists awareness about the production cost of organic food There is an exceptionally low number of tourists have stated that they are fully informed about the production costs of organic food. A considerable number of tourists who already are organic food buyers have stated that they are partially informed; a slightly lower number, that they are not informed, and only one-seventh of respondents stated that they were fully informed. Most of the tourists who do not buy organic food have stated that they are not informed on its production cost; a slightly smaller share, that they are partially informed; and one-tenth, that they are fully informed, a result that is quite similar to that regarding the level of information regarding legal conditions. The next chart illustrates how well informed tourists are about the selling price of organic food with regard to whether or not they already are organic food buyers in their home country. 185

6 % % % 9.87% 13.16% Non-buyers 5.91% Not informed Partially informed Fully informed Response rate 91.15% Chart 4: Tourists awareness about selling price of organic food Most of the tourists who do buy organic food have assessed that they are partially informed about its selling prices, one-third have stated that they are fully informed, while slightly higher than one-seventh have stated that they are not informed. The extent to which tourists, who do not buy organic food, are informed shows a downward trend as the information level increases. Namely, most of them stated that they were not informed; a smaller share, that they were partially informed; and only slightly more than one-sixth, that they were fully informed. The following chart shows the interest of tourists in buying organic food during their stay in Istria with regard to whether or not they already are buyers of organic food in their home country % % 12.18% 15.61% Non-buyers Not interested Interested Response rate 98.54% Chart 5: Tourists interest in buying organic food while staying in Istria The majority of tourists surveyed, who already are organic food buyers, are interested in buying it during their vacation in Istria, whereas slightly less than one-fifth have stated that they are not interested. More than half of the tourists, who do not buy organic food; have stated that they also have no interest in buying it while visiting Istria. However, 46% of respondents in this group have stated that they would be interested in buying organic food while staying in Istria. 186

7 The χ 2 test was used to verify whether a significant difference exists between dependent and independent variables. Results are displayed in the table below. Variable χ 2 df p Φ sig. Tourists awareness about the legal conditions of organic farming 149, ,000 0,351 0,000 Tourists awareness about places to buy organic food 127, ,000 0,326 0,000 Tourists awareness about the production cost of organic food Tourists awareness about selling price of organic food Tourists interest in buying organic food while staying in Istria 58, ,000 0,222 0, , ,000 0,314 0, , ,000 0,368 0,000 Table 2: X 2 test Statistical analysis was used to establish that a statistically significant difference does exist between the observed variable, meaning that previous purchase of organic food has an influence on the level of information that tourists possess and on their interest in buying organic food during the stay in Istria. 4 CONCLUSION The main purpose of this paper was to explore the existence of a significant difference between the interest of tourists in organic food and how well informed they are about organic food relative to whether they already are organic food buyers in their home country or not. The hypothesis formulated states that a difference exists between the four aspects used to establish tourists awareness about organic food and their interest in buying organic food in Istria with regard to whether they are already organic food buyers in their home country. The prevailing number of tourists considers that they are partially informed on both the legal conditions for organic farming and the selling price of organic food, fully informed about the places to buy organic food, but not informed when it comes to the production cost of organic food. Tourists, who are not organic food buyers in the own country, have mostly stated that they are not informed about the specific attributes of organic food and that they are mostly not interested in consuming organic food during their stay in Istria. However, half of these tourists did respond that they would be interested in buying organic food in Istria, indicating an interest in new experiences in the gastronomic offering of Istria as a tourist destination. Those tourists who are organic food buyers have mostly stated that they are partially informed about the specific attributes of organic food, with the exception of places where to buy, of which most of them are fully informed. Almost 70% of entire sample of tourists have stated that they are interested in buying organic food during their stay in Istria, and this confirms the interest of tourists in the organic food offering in Istria. Although interest is displayed on the part of tourists for the gastronomic offering to be expanded to include the organic food sector, all variables have not been taken 187

8 into consideration, such as, the purchasing power of the tourists surveyed, their willingness to pay higher prices, and Istria s organic food offering. Previous purchase of organic food by tourists in their home country impacts on how well informed they are about the specific features of organic farming and organic food and on their interest in buying organic food during their stay in Istria. As the prevailing number of tourists have stated that they are partially informed about organic agriculture and organic food and if the gastronomic offering is to be expanded to include this segment as well, it would be advantageous, in promoting Istria as a destination, to provide tourists with more information regarding these specific issues. References Ban, D., Šerović Lončar, S., Oplanić, M., (2004): Ekološka proizvodnja povrća u funkciji obogaćenja turističke ponude, 2nd Head Conference with international participation Management in Agribusiness, Proceedings, Stubičke Toplice, , Croation Society of Agricultural Economists and Faculty of Agricutlure, University of Zagreb, Zagreb Bošković, D., Vukčević, M., (2008), Marketing u turizmu, ekologija i menadžment održivim razvojem, Tipomat, Zagreb Brkić, K., (2004), Ekopoljoprivreda u Hrvatskoj, Meridijan, Vol. 11, No. 9, pp Cifrić, I., (2003): Značaj iskustva seljačke poljoprivrede za ekološku poljoprivredu, Sociologija sela, Vol. 41, No ½, pp Greene, C., (2008): Dana Track the Expansion of International and U.S. Organic farming, [Accessed the 9th October 2008, 10:03] Kušen, E., (2002): Međusobna ovisnost ekološke poljoprivrede i turizma, Turizam, Vol 50, No. 1, pp Kušen, E., (2003): Hrvatski ruralni prostor i ekološka poljoprivreda, Sociologija sela, Vol. 41, No. 1/2, pp Leko Šimić, M., (2002): Marketing hrane, Ekonomski fakultet, Osijek Matasović, D., (1992): Hrana i prehrana i zdravlje/činjenice i mišljenja, FOVIS, Zagreb Radoičić, V., Antolović, M., (2007): Ekološka poljoprivreda u Istarskoj županiji, Odjela za poljoprivredu i šumarstvo Istarske županije, Poreč Štoković, I., Bošković, D., Amidžić, D., (2007): Demand and eco-production of food in Istria as a new segment of supply in the field of rural tourism, 3rd Biennial International Congress Hotelplan 2007 Congress Proceedings, Beograd, 11/2007., The College of Hotel Management, Beograd Todorović, K., (2000): Smjernice za strategiju razvitka ekološke poljoprivrede u Hrvatskoj, Zbornik radova znanstvenog skupa Izazovi hrvatske poljoprivrede na pragu 21. stoljeća, Poreč, studeni 2000., HAED, Poreč Tolušić, Z., Zmaić, K., Deže, J., (2002): Marketing-mix in the function of the organic food of eastern croatia, Ekonomski pregled, Vol. 53, No. 7-8, pp Wright, S., McCrea, D., (2005): Handbook of Organic Food Processing and Production, CRC Press, New York 188