Characterization of Olive Oil Tourism as a Type of Special Interest Tourism: An Analysis from the Tourist Experience Perspective

Abstract

Olive oil tourism is an emerging activity that is sparking a growing interest among tourists seeking to partake in this experience and the self-fulfilment it offers. An ever-greater number of olive oil mills are diversifying their businesses to incorporate this type of tourism. In this article, olive oil tourism is characterized as a type of special interest tourism (SIT), under a demand-side approach. Based on quantitative research carried out with olive oil tourists, which examined the aspects of the destination they value, as well as their preferences and motivations for consumption, this article proposes four dimensions that are considered key for characterizing olive oil tourism as SIT: experience, sustainability awareness, the promotion of local culture, and the image of status and prestige held by the tourist. This proposal to characterize olive oil tourism as a type of SIT can contribute to the development of more effective and successful marketing strategies that orient olive oil tourism towards services that tourists value and demand. In turn, this will have an impact in terms of wealth creation for rural olive oil producing areas.

Oleotourism: A Comparison of Three Mediterranean Countries

“…Considering Spain, Italy, and Croatia, the three Mediterranean countries upon which this research is based due to their results in terms of top-quality production, it is observed that the oleotourism activities offered are strongly related to the enjoyment of experiences in a traditional local environment. This is related to studies that classify oleotourism as a type of special interest tourism, characterizing it with indicators such as sustainability, experience, the promotion of local culture, and the image of prestige/status (Parrilla-González et al, 2020 [16]; Pulido-Fernández et al, 2019 [15]).…”

“…Proactive planning and identifying strategic objectives in the case of each above-mentioned country are the key steps to future oleotourism development. It is evident that a certain group of stakeholders within all three countries is increasingly diversifying (Parrilla-González et al, 2020) [16] its core business and bonding it to tourism (Pulido-Fernández et al, 2019) [15]. This enables the system to be economically sustainable.…”

Factors that characterize oleotourists in the province of Córdoba

“…The bivariate analysis also shows that foreign tourists are more satisfied; therefore, this work could be used by entrepreneurs to advertise oil tourism in international markets and increase the demand of oil tourists because they are the ones who most value this market niche. However, the dimensions of experience and sustainability analyzed in the work of Parrilla-González et al, [ 7 ] in the province of Jaen would have to be considered to transform Córdoba’s oleotourism into not only gastronomic tourism but also experiential tourism, given the uniqueness of the oil in the Mediterranean Basin.…”

Museumization of olive oil mills: instruments for conservation of the heritage of the olive grove culture

“…The use in the museum of artefacts and objects that have been preserved by society positively influences the degree of museumization of olive oil mills. (Parrilla-González et al 2020). Such experiences are based on tourism, especially cultural tourism (Herrero 2011) and what is known as Special Interest Tourism (SIT).…”

“…Such experiences are based on tourism, especially cultural tourism (Herrero 2011) and what is known as Special Interest Tourism (SIT). In the case of olive oil tourism, these may include activities such as visiting an olive grove; taking part in olive harvesting; visiting olive oil mills, interpretation centres or museums (Parrilla-González et al 2020). There is another type related to industrial heritage tourism, which expands the cultural experience available to tourists.…”