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Thursday 31 December 2015

Perceptions of food and its locality among Russian tourists in the South Savo region of Finland

Volume 48, June 2015, Pages 455–466

Highlights

Russian tourists value freshness and healthiness associated with local food.
The concept of local food is perceived differently in Finland and in Russia.
In the destination local food represented a source of experimentation and local culture.
Local food products are poorly recognized by Russian tourists.
The promotion of locality for Russian tourists has much potential in the South Savo region.

Abstract

Russians currently form the largest foreign tourist group visiting Finland. Market studies show that most of the money spent by Russian tourists during their visits is allocated towards food. However, their perceptions of food and food-related preferences during their visits have not been studied in detail. This study focuses on understanding the perceptions, experiences and awareness of Russian tourists concerning local food in the South Savo region. It applies both qualitative and quantitative methods to reach a more in-depth understanding of Russian tourists' relations to local food. The results show that Russian tourists especially value the freshness and healthiness associated with local food. Nevertheless, the motivators to use local food products appear to be different when it comes to food products in Finland or in Russia. In addition, local food products are poorly recognised, and tourists are not familiar with local South Savo food. Consequently, the study reveals potential factors that could increase the Russian tourists' usage of local food products or food services while visiting the region and potentially other tourist destinations.

Keywords

  • Tourism;
  • Local food;
  • Perceptions;
  • Russian tourists

Corresponding author. Tel.: +358 504965227.
1
Present address: Finnish Embassy in Moscow, Kropotkinskij pereulok 15-17, 119034 Moscow G-34, Russia.