A taste of nostalgia : links between food and consumer behaviour

Abstract

Many tourism destinations have reached a critical stage. As per the ‘Tourism Area Life Cycle’ Theory (TALC) (Butler, 1980), a steep decline will be inevitable if action is not taken. Henceforth, this paper attempts to integrate marketing and anthropological perspective to shed light on the connection between food and nostalgia. The latter perspectives are applied within the context of specific foreign target markets, suggesting that nostalgic memories fostered by food can be utilised to develop a new (niche) tourism product. The choice to target a niche market provides, to some degree, reinsurance. The sixties witnessed a significant exodus from the Maltese islands. Local government committed to funding travel costs to those who wished to emigrate and reside for a minimum of two years overseas; a strategic incentive implemented to mitigate the issue of overpopulation (Maltese Americans - History, Modern era, The first Maltese in America, Settlement, n.d.). The latter encouraged many natives to travel to and settle in English speaking countries such as America, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Consequently, many Maltese communities conglomerated within designated areas that still home a significant amount of Maltese-born nationals. Malta's most prominent city lies outside its borders, as 44,000 Maltese-born nationals, constituted of single and double ancestry, live in Detroit. Between the years 1946 and 1996, an estimated 11,600 Maltese landed in the United States (US) (Migration to the US: Post-war period, 2017), wherefrom, comparatively to other receiving countries, the return migration equates to a mere twenty-two point twenty-four per cent denoting the lowest value of all other major host communities (Migration to the US: Post-war period, 2017). Indeed in Ontario, Melbourne, and the UK have less than half the 8 indicated quota who still reside within the designated areas (figure i). Therefore, when comparing the above statistics to those of the islands, one may presume that there will be a high response rate precisely from Detroit and fewer to no responses from those areas that are not so dense with Maltese-born nationals. Stemming from, but not solely, Maltese culture is the tradition of community gatherings. Therefore, notwithstanding the expected attempts to integrate within the foreign cultures, linked to the acculturation theory, Maltese cuisine prevailed within the growing communities, forasmuch food embodies comfort (Locher et al., 2005). However, dispersed communities might not have maintained a solid culinary tradition; from all the mentioned areas, it is that in Detroit, there is a high sense of Maltese-born community. Moreover, as the generations grow, the gastronomic traditions deplete or are altered by external influences, but who doesn't love a good plate of 'Imqarum fil-forn' by Nanna? "A Taste of Nostalgia; Links between food and consumer behaviour" presents a three-fold study embracing conceptual, theoretical, and factual aspects. The focal point of this qualitative research is the target populations' perception and behavioural constructs driven by Maltese food; Thus, it aims to define whether Malta can provide a tourism experience that attracts foreign markets of Maltese descent, using nostalgia as a fundamental marketing tool to push consumption. The latter endeavour is successfully pursued by executing inductive, exploratory research facilitated by a set of research objectives, dividing the aim into categories that responded to each facet separately, clarified in chapter three. Initially, secondary data based on academic studies written by scholars George Cassar, Noel Butiggieg, and Guido Lanfranco provides a theoretical rationale that determines what Maltese food is. Although, food connoisseurs such as Marie Vella, Gloria Mizzi, and Anton B. Dougal must also be included when identifying the notion of local food and its origin. The contextualisation of this study is based on further theoretical rationale, referencing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943) is employed to understand the quotidian demand fostered by food effectively. The following discussion, determined by Auliana Poon on 'New Tourism' (1989), expresses the motive behind the capitalisation of food. The latter will clarify the correlation between food and tourism development; approached because of the trepidation urged by the TALC theory (Butler, 1980). Moreover, the definition of food as a tourism product based on Ellis, Park, Kim & Yeoman (2018), together with the groundwork findings of Pine and Gilmore (1999) on the 'Experience Economy', must be presented for marketing purposes. [...]