Evaluating Gastronomic Destination Competitiveness through Upscale Gastronomy

Abstract

Food has evolved from a basic necessity to a primary motivation for travel. While providing a high-quality gastronomic offer is still a restaurant’s primary function, quality is no longer enough; today’s demanding guests seek unique and memorable dining experiences. A restaurant’s competences play a significant role in shaping the guests’ overall perception of the quality and derived perceived value, both of which ultimately impact the competitiveness of both the restaurant and the gastronomic destination. The main contribution of this article is the development of a novel theoretical model—GADECOMP—which is designed to measure a gastronomic destination’s competitiveness by centering it around the destination’s gastronomic offer. Exploratory factor analyses confirmed that the instrument is reliable and valid. The model was tested on upscale restaurant guests in Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia. Additionally, the SERVQUAL model of quality measurement was transferred from the entrepreneurial level to the destination level. Our method uses a unique competence approach and expands and diversifies the existing quality concepts by using elements of innovativeness, creativity, sustainability, and local features. The GADECOMP model measures the perceived quality of a gastronomic destination through its competences, which are reflected in the gastronomic destination offer. A regression analysis was used to identify the strength of the effect that perceived value has on the gastronomic destination offer and gastronomic destination competences.