FOODING ACTION Development of a CRM (Customer relationship management P5 Chamber of commerce of Bari):

Transcription

1 FOODING ACTION Development of a CRM (Customer relationship management P5 Chamber of commerce of Bari): CONSUMER EXPERIENCE OF TOURIST IN APULIA. The Chamber of Commerce of Bari has commissioned, as part of the FOODING project, a field research in order to investigate the quality aspects (attitudes, behaviours, evaluations, desires, and expectations) of tourists toward the typical agricultural food products of Apulia, and the quantitative aspects that give an indication of magnitude and impact of these phenomena. The research consisted in administering questionnaires to 500 tourists on holiday in Apulia and staying or passing by B&B, restaurants, cafes and shops of local products. Questionnaires have been distributed homogeneously on structures operating in the six administrative districts of Apulia. The sampling was carried out trying to maintain gender uniformity of interviewed people (half of them men and half of them women) and ages, although still emerges a prevalent presence of tourists between 36 and 50 years old. The data-collection method is direct,in other words it has been asked to interviewed subjects the filling out and immediate delivery of the questionnaire to a special desk set up in each structure identified. Below is a summary of the results. The average interviewed tourist is an employee or a freelancer,with higher education: the 37% acquired a university degree, 41% a high school diploma.

2 Crossing the education level data with the main employment one, we can see how freelancers mostly have a higher degree and are mainly doctors, lawyers, and accountants. The most part of the sample consists of tourists from abroad (41%), but also from the North Italy for about 30%;

3 The majority of interviewed was in Apulia for an holiday lasting more thana week, and so, by the collected data, it results that they are visiting more than one district of Apulia. Permanenza media non risponde 3 oltre i PERMANENZA MEDIA What we must consider: the designated company avoids to administer questionnaires to tourists who stop just one day in Bari during their cruises, because it has been considered more appropriate to collect data amongst tourists which, by a prolonged stay (1-2 weeks), have matured a whole and reliable image of the area and the typical local food products, having effectively more chances to taste them than a simple excursionist (which, by definition, is the one who doesn t spend the night in the visiting place).

4 It s interesting, from our point of view, how emerges the fact, which to the given question Is it your first time in Apulia? the interviewed answer as showed in the chart below. Almost half of the interviewed has already been in Apulia at least once, and returns there. Puglia Prima volta Già visitata Non risponde 2% 44% 54% Regarding the most visited places, or rather the areas of stay, more than half of the interviewed remains more than a week in Apulia, and so plans to visit and spend time in at least two regional districts. The most visited areas are Bari and Lecce, counting, mostly in the first case, both the tourists from cruises and the several direct flight from Europeans capitals.

5 After specifying the tourist profile in Apulia and the characteristics of stay, we shall examine which ones by the survey are the most used local products, and which ones the most appreciated. In the questionnaire has been insert a list of 8 principal traditional local products, which havebeen examined by the project FOODING in the field of local products of Apulia. Amongst the selected products, it has been given the possibility of multiple choice to the interviewed person. Over a list of 8 local products, the most consumed over all are: extra virgin olive oil, bread, mozzarella (a fresh kind of Italian cheese), and fresh pasta. Below a diagram showing which are the most appreciated products. The successive question is different: it asks the tourist, between the ones consumed, which products are the most appreciated. It is interesting to compare the data from Chart 8 with the

6 data of the following one. The rank of most consumed products is further confirmed by the one of appreciated products, established that turnip leafs and legumes are not among the main ingredients of usually offered dishes in menus of local restaurants. In the entry Altro are counted wine and fish courses. Those products are consumed mostly in bars and restaurants, given that it is about products and ingredients hardly considered for the typical served breakfast in hosting structures. A significant percentage (19%) declares that has appreciatedlocal products during some tasting, activity practiced by tourists that care about territory and in search not only for an enjoyable staying, but also for real experiences, linked to the local tradition; In the entry Altro are counted festivals and local events. The products rise as leading element of local culture, in fact by the survey results a 90% positive answer about the employees knowledge and preparation of wine and food. Sign of the trend in restaurants to present and explain the course and his uniqueness, and not only the will to serve it.

7 A 65% affirms that they have bought the product tasted on site to give it as a present or eat it right away.

8 A clarification about the purchasing place of products is necessary. The choice of peddlers is predominant, mostly because of their broad presence in tourist places during summer season. The choice of a factory outlet (only 5%) corresponds to the occasion in which the interviewed had tasted the product, in other wordscorresponds to tasting experiences that usually take place at local agricultural food businesses. Supermarkets and food shop (together almost 30%) result as the most classical places where to buy the product for the immediate use, by the tourists that are doing a middle-long vacation in the area, surely more stationary. The judgement made by the interviewedtoursts about the tasted products is excellent, and not only as goodness, but also as quality of the product itself and his strong peculiarity linked to the characteristics of the area.

9 Shown below a chart about the importance of wine and food over the travel experience in Apulia. Conclusion Closing this document, as a result of what emerged here, some consideration have to be done. The treasure of traditional products of an area supports the local politics in development of agricultural food SMEs, motivating them to aim at tourists as kind of target, not only occasional but also continuous in time, offering a strong contribution to the deseasonalization of the income fluctuation, subject of which is our regional area. We have to consider, as we saw the strong presence of tourists coming from abroad, that is becoming interesting and possible for SMEs the opportunity to widen their market space both in Italy and abroad.

10 The endorsement of quality typical local products is closely connected with tourism trend in our region, in which, as was shown, the Italian and foreign tourists reveal to appreciate and attribute an important role to local wine and food for the success of their own holydays.