Tourist destinations increasingly sustain their consolidation, promotion, and development from gastronomy. This research aims to contribute to the scientific literature analyzing the relationship between tourism and gastronomy for the specific case of the Costa del Sol (Spain) from tourists’ experiences of different nationalities who have visited the area. The methodology has been based on questionnaires applied to foreign travellers, after the gastronomic tasting of lunch or dinner in typical beach restaurants, called “chiringuitos”. Results show the existence of different segments of tourists based on their attitude towards local cuisine. Three groups have been identified, with different gastronomic predispositions and knowledge, and it is concluded that there are different levels of satisfaction and motivations in tourists, as they are identified in one segment or the other.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is the segmentation of the spectators attending a music festival in the city of Córdoba, Spain, according to their musical preferences. Design/methodology/approach In order to achieve this objective, the methodology used in the research consisted of the application of a group of multivariable techniques and in the realisation of a post hoc single-variate ANOVA analysis. Findings The principal conclusion resulting from this research is that there are different musical preferences with respect to the spectators at a music festival. Practical implications The main practical application of this research focusses on knowing the principal factors that determine musical preferences of the persons attending the festival. Originality/value The principal originality factor and innovation is analysing how the spectators of a music festival that has been held for many years attend with different motivations with respect to their musical preferences.

The aim of the present research was to present the typologies of foreign tourists in the city of Granada, Spain, based on their emotional perception and interest in culture using different fieldwork methods. The main obtained results determine four segments of tourists: cultural, alternative, heritage, and emotional. The results also show that, in addition to cultural reasons, tourists presented other types of attractions that encouraged them to visit the city. Regarding the satisfaction variable, the obtained results show that satisfaction increased when cultural reasons had a strong influence on the tourists’ choice of destination. This research contributes to identifying the characteristics of the different visitor segments, with the aim of designing tourist and cultural products that can more efficiently satisfy their needs. This will have a positive impact on the economic development of the city of Granada with an increase in tourist spending, which will lead to an increase in employment and urban development.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to characterize the international tourists who visit a cultural event, such as the Oruro Carnival (Bolivia), that is catalogued as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this purpose, a segmentation is made based on the combination of two theoretical models used and contrasted in similar research: the model of McKercher (2002), based on the cultural motivations to go to a destination, and that of Poria et al. (2003), based on the emotional perception of the visitor in relation to the heritage they visit. Findings Four types of tourists are thus identified: alternative, cultural, emotional and patrimonial. Likewise, the research includes an assessment of the most relevant tourist attributes linked to the Oruro Carnival, which is much more positive among international tourists with greater cultural motivation and emotional bonding. Originality/value The principal originality factor and innovation is analysing the cultural motivations and the emotional perception of the visitor in relation to the heritage they visit.

Purpose Researchers have become aware of the importance of festivals as a phenomenon worthy of studying, but in-depth studies of cultural festivals are lacking. The purpose of this study is to describe the attributes of cultural festivals, specifically theatre festivals and examine the motivations to organise them. Similarly, this study seeks to discover the type of tourist that attends these types of festivals. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was applied to a representative sample of tourists who visited one of the most prestigious festivals in the international panorama: Almagro International Festival of Classical Theatre. A non-probabilistic technical sample was used. Tabulation of the data was performed by the study group using the SPSS, v. 23. Findings This study makes a segmentation of the tourists who attend the festival based on their motivations. Using this segmentation, the authors analyse the socio-demographic characteristics and tourists’ behaviour, as well as their experience at the festival. Amongst the higher-rated attributes of the festival are care and service organisation and interpretative quality of the actors and/or theatre company. Research limitations/implications The main practical application of this study is to help understand the peculiarities of each segment of visitors and their evaluation of the destination to create tourist and cultural products that provide greater satisfaction with respect to their needs. Originality/value The main value is the novelty of studying this kind of cultural event. The authors analyse the reasons to visit it in relation to the motivations that move the visitors. The authors also study the assessment the tourist does of the qualities of the festival.