Food tourism in Tampere region during the summer 2020
Luoma, Karoliina (2021)
Luoma, Karoliina
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202105199458
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202105199458
Tiivistelmä
This research aims to determine what kind of experiences food tourism entrepreneurs in Tampere region faced concerning their business due to the worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, during the summer 2020. The commissioning party of this research is the Hungry for Finland -project. The objective is to give information to the Hungry for Finland -project by sharing food tourism entrepreneurs' experiences. The information obtained will enable organizations to better guide entrepreneurs in similar situations in the future. This research also aims to tell entrepreneurs that they are heard and appreciated during these challenging times.
The main research question is the following:
- What kind of impacts the COVID-19-pandemic had on the food tourism
entrepreneurs in Tampere region in the summer 2020?
The sub-questions are:
- How the pandemic affected the customer base?
- How the pandemic affected companies' product ranges and services?
- What kind of possible innovations were made?
The theoretical part of the thesis explains tourism and food tourism, the effects of the covid-19-pandemic on tourism, and innovation as a tool for development. Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon that entails people's movement to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business purposes. Food tourism combines different kinds of eating and drinking experiences with local culture. COVID-19 is a disease that can spread from person to person, and a pandemic is defined as an epidemic occurring worldwide. Innovation is an idea that has been developed forward and ultimately put into practice.
The research has been conducted with the help of a qualitative thematic interview. Six companies were involved in the research. The interviews took place between the 24th of February and the 2nd of March, 2021. The entrepreneurs represented different kinds of food tourism companies, such as restaurant, winery, agritourism company and program service companies.
Summer 2020 was very lucrative for many entrepreneurs, although the worst was feared. Customer numbers, the sales of food and beverage increased, and many entrepreneurs developed new products. Several of the entrepreneurs complained about unclear pandemic restrictions. The results showed that financial support should have been more readily available to small businesses, and pandemic restrictions should be equitable between different industries. The hard work, perseverance, and resourcefulness of the entrepreneurs helped them compensate for the loss of income, mainly due to the cancellation of the group bookings.
The main research question is the following:
- What kind of impacts the COVID-19-pandemic had on the food tourism
entrepreneurs in Tampere region in the summer 2020?
The sub-questions are:
- How the pandemic affected the customer base?
- How the pandemic affected companies' product ranges and services?
- What kind of possible innovations were made?
The theoretical part of the thesis explains tourism and food tourism, the effects of the covid-19-pandemic on tourism, and innovation as a tool for development. Tourism is a social, cultural and economic phenomenon that entails people's movement to countries or places outside their usual environment for personal or business purposes. Food tourism combines different kinds of eating and drinking experiences with local culture. COVID-19 is a disease that can spread from person to person, and a pandemic is defined as an epidemic occurring worldwide. Innovation is an idea that has been developed forward and ultimately put into practice.
The research has been conducted with the help of a qualitative thematic interview. Six companies were involved in the research. The interviews took place between the 24th of February and the 2nd of March, 2021. The entrepreneurs represented different kinds of food tourism companies, such as restaurant, winery, agritourism company and program service companies.
Summer 2020 was very lucrative for many entrepreneurs, although the worst was feared. Customer numbers, the sales of food and beverage increased, and many entrepreneurs developed new products. Several of the entrepreneurs complained about unclear pandemic restrictions. The results showed that financial support should have been more readily available to small businesses, and pandemic restrictions should be equitable between different industries. The hard work, perseverance, and resourcefulness of the entrepreneurs helped them compensate for the loss of income, mainly due to the cancellation of the group bookings.