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In order to analyse the gastronomic experience of tourists before, during and after their visit to the Canary Islands, Promotur Turismo de Canarias has led the ambitious study “Online gastronomic reputation of the Canary Islands”, carried out in collaboration with the specialised company Vivential Value, based on more than two million opinions and recommendations shared by users at the main forums and tourist platforms. Thanks to this large volume of pinpointed opinions, the results of the study have been divided into geographic terms (66 locations and analysed tourist centres) and priority source markets (Spanish, English, German, French, Norwegian and Swedish).

Among the main conclusions of this innovative study based on big data online, there’s a high score given by tourists for their gastronomic experience on the islands, with almost 8.5 out of 10, despite the fact that gastronomy is not a main motivation when tourists choose the Canary Islands as holiday destination. In fact, only 15% of the conversations around the decision involving a holiday destination, include questions or comments regarding gastronomy. This one and other results, were submitted last Thursday 10th May to professionals of the sector in a new Fortunata session, the Tourist Marketing Club in the Canary Islands set up and promoted by Turismo de Canarias.

Gastronomy, an outstanding factor for a tourist experience

The contents created by tourists themselves on the Internet, are nowadays one of the main inspiration and decision-making sources for other potential tourists. In addition, they are a great chance for those managing the different destinations to do so knowing precisely what the experience of tourists is like. This can seen in the study, as we can observe there is a positive gastronomic experience of those who visit the islands, with a significant effect on recommendations made by visitors after their trip, helping to build up the identity of the holiday destination.

41% of the recommendations include gastronomy or catering-related comments, which shows that even if it’s not one of the main factors when deciding where to go to, it is somehow an important point for those experiencing a holiday in the Canary Islands, and as a result, it’s in the minds of tourists when they think about their trip and the possible comments they will make, whether that is verbally or digitally shared.

The gastronomic experience of tourists during their visit to the islands, is also highly satisfactory, as we can see in the opinions shown on the internet. Restaurants in the Canary Islands reach an outstanding Reputation Rate “iRON” of 8.46 (out of 10). That score can be considered quite high in absolute terms as well as comparative terms, as it places restaurants on the islands on a reputation rank over the average in the mainland.

However, we must point out that this latest result is partly determined by lower gastronomic expectations “before travelling” to the islands, as well as high opinions given by foreign tourists with an average of 8.55 representing 77% of the total opinions included in the study.

Despite that favourable global opinion, we can see an improvement margin since 18% of tourists state that their expectations weren’t fully covered. This is especially important for the Canary Islands, a destination with a high repetition and loyal visitors rate, where meeting expectations can vary with every visit to the islands.   

Future strategies

From the results of the study, we can take a solid base for future gastronomic tourism development strategies for the Canary Islands. In addition to having several short-term challenges like guaranteeing the ongoing improvement of the gastronomy offered, since the expectations and demand levels will increase, for new tourists as well as for those already loyal to the Canarian destinations. Also, strengthen the exposure online of unique gastronomic experiences with a local identity already in place but not always visible to tourists at the different inspiration and consumption phases.

In order to conduct this study, a set of innovative tourist intelligence techniques have been used, such as semi-automatic semantic analysis of opinion texts and recognition by means of artificial intelligence of the photograph content shared by tourists. Furthermore, and in relation to the current Smart Destinations, context, the study also includes a dynamic dashboard that allows for a segmented visualisation of the reputation-based big data created in the project, that is the foundation of a pioneering gastronomic tourism intelligence system in the State.