Quality versus quantity: An assessment of the impact of Michelin-starred restaurants on tourism in Spain

Jose I Castillo-Manzano, Mercedes Castro-Nuño, Lourdes Lopez-Valpuesta and à lvaro Zarzoso
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Jose I Castillo-Manzano: Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
Mercedes Castro-Nuño: Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
Lourdes Lopez-Valpuesta: Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
à lvaro Zarzoso: Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

Tourism Economics, 2021, vol. 27, issue 5, 1166-1174

Abstract: The number of internationally recognized Michelin-starred restaurants in a place is a new trend used to measure a tourist destination’s culinary standard. The purpose of this study is to close the gap created by the lack of econometric studies on the tourist attraction of Michelin-starred restaurants, especially in Spain. Panel data methodology is applied to 50 Spanish NUTS-3 regions over a broad time period (2000–2016) to assess the impact of Michelin-starred restaurants on tourism demand from both domestic and foreign tourists. The findings show that restaurant quality is more important than quantity in the gastronomy–tourism relationship and that Michelin-starred restaurants are a strong attraction for foreign tourists. Some policies are suggested, such as the development of Culinary Schools and marketing campaigns to promote haute cuisine tourism.

Keywords: gastronomy tourism; Michelin-starred restaurants; NUTS-3 regions; panel data; Spain; tourism demand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:toueco:v:27:y:2021:i:5:p:1166-1174

DOI: 10.1177/1354816620917482

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