Planning and sustainable management of gastronomic tourism in Santa Marta, Colombia

Abstract

At a global level, gastronomic tourism has adopted various strategies to promote this activity, through routes, markets or gastronomic festivals, allowing the culinary offering of many cities around the world to be positioned. Planning plays an important role in the implementation of strategies to strengthen gastronomic tourism in a destination such as Santa Marta, where the influences and expressions of cultures such as Spanish, indigenous, African and Arab converge. Likewise, sustainability and compliance with the SDGs can contribute to gastronomic tourism given its contribution to the conservation of biodiversity, natural resources and the responsible consumption of agricultural products. As an objective, this research aims to indicate the main strategies with which local governance can plan and promote the destination, making visible the city's potential for gastronomic tourism. As a mixed methodology, primary sources from the Scopus database were consulted, and a semi-structured interview with open responses was conducted with a focus group of tourism experts from the city, from the public, academic and private sectors, in order to evaluate the current state of gastronomic tourism in the city, with its strengths and weaknesses, comparing it with the theoretical results found. The results allow us to affirm that, thanks to its gastronomic variety, preparation techniques, cultural diversity and its unique ancestral culinary heritage, Santa Marta is potentially attractive for developing gastronomic tourism capable of attracting tourists whose main or secondary motivation is to get to know its traditional cuisine. In conclusion, the development of tourism is directly related to the competitive advantages of the territory, which, if properly exploited, can lead to its diversification through tangible and intangible resources or cultural heritage combined with an appropriate sustainable development plan.