Towards development of tourism industry: insights into tourist nutrition via food and impressions

The article presents conclusions about the impact of food on the development of the tourism industry. It is established that gastronomy contributes to the attractiveness of local tourist products and services, increasing tourist flows. The leading method of research has become a deep relation interview with a tourist, who was attending cafes and restaurants during the journey. The results of the study illustrate the factors of choice of food outlets for social groups with different income levels; the impact of new trends in tourist food on the development of the restaurant business, which is especially important for determining the prospects for the development of the tourism industry. The authors developed a hierarchy of triggers for the formation of tourists ' impressions of food consumption in the trip: basic needs and attitudes to consumption, hospitality and interdependent relationships, impressions and emotions. Consideration of tourist food as a synthesis of food and experiences provides an increase in the competitive potential of the territory, the diversification of the local economy, the profits growth of the tourism industry. The formation of tourist satisfaction from food consumption creates the basis for re-visiting the territories, the spread of positive responses. It is established that the impression of a tourist trip may depend on the organization, completeness, exclusivity and "unusual" food consumed in the journey. The results of the study showed a relationship between high ratings of exclusivity of the dish/place of food and getting positive impressions from visiting the restaurant, as well as from the trip in General. Visualization of food and photo replication in social networks has a significant impact on the formation of positive impressions. Getting likes and approval of the reference social group is a mechanism that reinforces positive impressions. At the rational level, the Russian tourist is focused on obtaining quality goods and services. Whereas on the emotional level, the attitude to unforgettable emotions and impressions dominates. The emphasis on the practices of commercialized hospitality, attention to the successful communication of the restaurant staff and the tourist provides emotional involvement of the tourist in the process of food consumption, which forms a stable orientation of the tourist to re-visit.