Gastronomic tourism in the department of Santander - Colombia. Is the formulation of a strategic plan relevant for its consolidation as a tourism product?

Abstract

This research presents a descriptive analysis from two approaches: The first, inquires in tourists if the gastronomy of Santander is one of the motivating factors at the time of purchase of the destination; the second, surveys among Santander's tourism service providers, state actors and academics, the relevance of a strategic plan that consolidates gastronomic tourism in Santander, as well as the willingness to cooperate in formulating it. A mixed approach was used, involving the analysis of bibliographic information and field work, using the survey for both approaches. It was found, from the first approach, that only 10% of the tourists who come to Santander know about a gastronomic tourist route, and that the average satisfaction of these tourists with the local gastronomy is 4.10 on a 5-point scale. From the second approach, that 90% of those surveyed consider it extremely important to have a strategic plan for gastronomic tourism in the department of Santander, but only 76.7% of those surveyed would be willing to initiate this articulation. Therefore, it is concluded the need for a public-private articulation that promotes the positioning and consolidation of the gastronomic offer in Santander so that national and international tourists consider it within their purchasing decision dynamics, and thus increase the average tourist expenditure in this tourist product.