Hospitality Futures: Towards a sustainable, healthy and ethical way of catering

ADRIAN GUACHALLA

This is a sister piece to the article ‘Plant-based diets and destination image: A holistic approach’ which was published in Winter 2021 in the Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change (20(1-2)). This first article evaluated how following a strict plant-based diet that excludes all forms of animal produce influences the individual’s perception and experiences of the destinations they visit as tourists. This research implemented a qualitative research strategy involving 20 semi-structured interviews with people from all walks of life that follow strict plant-based diets (not referring to them as vegans, because the article only focused on food consumptionwhereas veganism cuts across other lifestyle choices).

The first article explored how dietary choice plays an active role in how people build images of destinations – either positively or negatively. It was found that when destinations actively and effectively cater to the needs of the plant-based tourist market, these tourists note feelings of social belonging as they feel welcomed by the destination’s catering provision. These tourists consume culinary products alongside other tourists and/ or locals that have the same or similar views around food consumption and, in this way, develop a sense of connectivity with others which can be nurtured through a culture of accepting, embracing and welcoming those with specific dietary needs.

These needs may also result in journeys off the beaten track when tourists visit less popular tourist areas and precincts because of their plant-based diets. Their dietary choice often leads them to smaller, independently owned catering outlets. This can result in what the literature conceptualises as ‘emotional solidarity’ – when tourists develop feelings of loyalty and are willing to visit less popular precincts seeking to support businesses that operate in line with what they perceive to be a more ethical way of producing food. Alternatively, when destinations effectively welcome plant-based tourists by making plant-based food widely available, then tourists develop perceptions of these destinations as being cosmopolitan, modern and progressive. This makes them more competitive as they show a willingness to welcome tourists who have different beliefs and views around food.

Publishing this work inevitably required extensive secondary research on the reasons why people choose to follow plant-based diets. Insights on these reasons were organised using a threefold framework, and it was noted that individuals in contemporary society appear to steer away from consuming animals because of the extensive environmental pressures that animal agriculture imposes on the planet’s finite resources. People also take into account the health benefits that rejecting products derived from animals may report as they consider the health risks associated with the consumption of animals. Finally people also take into account the suffering of animals across different stages of the food production chain. Wide-ranging research on these three areas was collected, which documented scientific-based facts to demonstrate the significance of these issues. From the extensive environmental footprint of animal agriculture to health concerns around animal-derived produce via comprehensive studies around animal sentience and the exploitation and suffering that animals endure in food production systems.

On publication of the first article the level of material indicated the chance to put together another piece of research. A second article was generated to present and discuss the additional secondary data, from which recommendations for the hospitality industry were derived in terms of actively transitioning to more normalised and better-promoted catering practices around plant-based food. This publication is seen as potentially indicative of the fact that the world is changing, and that the need to operate more sustainably and ethically across all elements of the tourism system - including the hospitality and catering sectors – is acknowledged and discussed.