The Development of Traditional Food in Tourist Destinations from the Perspective of Dramaturgy

Hongwei Mo, Shoubing Yin () and Yunxia Liu
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Hongwei Mo: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, China
Shoubing Yin: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, China
Yunxia Liu: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241000, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 24, 1-12

Abstract: The sustainable development of traditional diets in the tourist industry is an important issue. This article analyses the historical evolution and the opportunities for a traditional Chinese dish in tourism. Taking mandarin fish in Anhui cuisine as the research object and the world heritage site Hongcun as the case, this paper investigates the evolution process of the local traditional die driven by tourism and its influence on the construction of gourmet tourism destinations. Primary data were obtained via interview. It was found that, to cater to the mass tourists, the destination created the diet frontstage. Traditional food changed through menu simplification, taste changes, the standardization and scale of production, and the immobilization of presentation. The dieter’s frontstage and backstage are not entirely separated; the “middle stage”—Homestay diet is a fusion of them; it is the product of functional differentiation of the frontstage and active integration of the backstage. By expressing the actual state behind the scenes, the middle stage transforms the tourist system from a “supportive experience” to a “peak experience”.

Keywords: traditional diet; frontstage; middle stage; the smelly mandarin fish (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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