Research paper
Stenden University of Applied Sciences
Tourism Research Project
Report
Local products as part of the tourism product of a region
Table of contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
The research that is conducted within this module, namely Tourism Research Project, is about local products as part of the tourism product of the region Veenland/Emsland.
Veenland/Emsland is a region that is located in the west of Lower Saxony as well as in the southeast of Drenthe and, therefore, extends over the Dutch/German border. The terms Veenland and Emsland stand for the same geographical region, however both terms are mentioned in order to differentiate between the Dutch (Veenland) and German (Emsland) part.
Research is conducted in this area in order to find out how tourists perceive local products of the region and to which extent these products play a part in attracting tourists to Veenland.
In 2012 the Emsland had with approximately two million overnight stays per year (with an increasing tendency) the highest bed occupancy rate of Lower Saxony, Germany (Emsland, 2012). It is a tourist hot spot in Lower Saxony, however the Emsland promotes itself as a destination for active holidays including cycling and hiking, for example. Also the Veenland markets active tourists, because of the region’s biking routes that are 500km long in total and located in a landscape that includes preserve areas with plenty of wildlife (Het Drentse Veenland, n.d.). Even though the current target group are tourists who seek for nature and biking activities, to what extent do the local products attract tourists? Do they play a role as a pull factor at all?
For this research project, local products are defined as food, drinks and dishes. Local food, drinks and dishes are related to “the distance between food producers and consumers” (Martinez et al., 2010, p. 3), however there are also other components that are often related to
Tourism Research Project
Report
Local products as part of the tourism product of a region
Table of contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
The research that is conducted within this module, namely Tourism Research Project, is about local products as part of the tourism product of the region Veenland/Emsland.
Veenland/Emsland is a region that is located in the west of Lower Saxony as well as in the southeast of Drenthe and, therefore, extends over the Dutch/German border. The terms Veenland and Emsland stand for the same geographical region, however both terms are mentioned in order to differentiate between the Dutch (Veenland) and German (Emsland) part.
Research is conducted in this area in order to find out how tourists perceive local products of the region and to which extent these products play a part in attracting tourists to Veenland.
In 2012 the Emsland had with approximately two million overnight stays per year (with an increasing tendency) the highest bed occupancy rate of Lower Saxony, Germany (Emsland, 2012). It is a tourist hot spot in Lower Saxony, however the Emsland promotes itself as a destination for active holidays including cycling and hiking, for example. Also the Veenland markets active tourists, because of the region’s biking routes that are 500km long in total and located in a landscape that includes preserve areas with plenty of wildlife (Het Drentse Veenland, n.d.). Even though the current target group are tourists who seek for nature and biking activities, to what extent do the local products attract tourists? Do they play a role as a pull factor at all?
For this research project, local products are defined as food, drinks and dishes. Local food, drinks and dishes are related to “the distance between food producers and consumers” (Martinez et al., 2010, p. 3), however there are also other components that are often related to
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