Stakeholders’ Collaboration in the Development of an Authentic Gastronomic Offering in Rural Areas: Example of the Ravni Kotari Region in Croatia

Abstract

The development of food tourism, with an emphasis on authentic gastronomy, is important to ensure the long-term sustainability of tourism, especially in rural areas. Success in developing this type of tourism is largely dependent on strong stakeholder commitment. This study aims to understand the dynamics of the mechanisms of collaboration between different categories of stakeholders in the local development of authentic gastronomy for the purpose of tourism development, using a single rural region as an example. The case study method was selected to obtain a better understanding of the complexity of relationships among rural tourism stakeholders and the Ravni Kotari region in Croatia, as a rural area in the hinterland, with significant gastronomy tourism potential. Content analysis of available secondary sources was conducted to reveal cooperation patterns among different categories of stakeholders that are relevant for authentic gastronomy, together with onsite semi-structured interviews of representatives of different stakeholder categories. The research findings revealed a significant level of cooperation among public sector stakeholders, especially in terms of cooperating on projects that promote local gastronomy. However, the lack of horizontal cooperation among stakeholders from the private sector is also noted as a big challenge. This research provides valuable insights into the roles’ relationships and the collaboration mechanisms among key local stakeholders in the provison authentic gastronomy tourism.

1. Introduction

The link between gastronomy and tourists’ experiences is important for destinations, as these memorable experiences are associated with positive word of mouth and higher satisfaction [1]. This is particularly important in the context of rural destinations, where food is seen as a characteristic feature of rural areas, representing a certain heritage and traditions, and contributing to their development [2]. When developing gastronomy tourism in rural areas, it is of the utmost importance to consider the authentic nature of the food on offer. Gastronomy can be defined as authentic if “it is specific to a region, is prepared in a certain way, makes use of traditional preparation methods, combines and/or re-combines new with traditional ingredients and is made by a specific person” [3]. As Ramkissoon and Uysal [4] noted, food authenticity should be a prerequisite for tourism experiences and satisfaction. When tourists taste local gastronomy, they learn about the local culture, and emotional bonds can be formed through these gastronomic experiences [5], which often include also meeting the producers in their “natural” setting through different tasting tours [6].

In the process of developing an authentic gastronomy tourism product in rural areas, certain general challenges to tourism development in rural areas arise, such as modest physical infrastructure (especially transport infrastructure), potentially scarce social and human capital due to depopulation trends, and the limited availability of financial resources [7]. Nonetheless, sustainable economic growth led by tourism development in rural areas leads to job creation and is accompanied by sustainable social development, which an important method for eliminating depopulation and poverty in rural areas [8]. To achieve such a positive change, cooperation among stakeholders on a local level is crucial. The development of an authentic gastronomic offering requires special knowledge, skills, and motivation from the local community. Various categories of stakeholders are key for the success of this process: hospitality offering providers operating in rural destinations, local destination management organisations (DMOs), as well as residents and their formal and non-formal associations and groups focused on preserving local gastronomic tradition and heritage. All of their interests and needs should be carefully aligned in the process of developing, managing, and promoting an authentic gastronomic experience not only to create a tourism product of high quality, but also to foster the sustainable economic and social development of the host rural destination. While stakeholder cooperation has been proven to be essential for the success of local tourism development [9,10], creating destination tourist products also induces competition among private sector stakeholders, in terms of gaining benefits and capturing part of the created value [11]. This hybrid relationship between cooperation and competition is called coopetition and is an important concept when understanding stakeholder relationships in developing local tourism [12]. Having in focus authentic gastronomy tourism as a specific niche rooted in local culture and tradition, combining food production, specific presentation, and orientation towards short supply chains, an understanding of the dynamics of stakeholder cooperation is key for successful future development.

To contribute to this rather under-investigated segment of stakeholder collaboration in the process of delivering authentic gastronomic offerings in rural areas, this study focuses on two related research questions:

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What are the main cooperation challenges in the development of an authentic gastronomic offering in rural areas?

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In practice, how do stakeholders from the private, public, and civil sectors collaborate in the joint provision of an authentic gastronomic offering?

A theoretical background that is relevant for understanding the context of the identified research questions is presented in the short overview of the literature, followed by an introduction to the methodology used in this study. The results of the analysis of data gathered for the study area of Ravni Kotari, a rural destination with significant potential for authentic gastronomy tourism, are presented in the next section of the paper, while the final part of the paper is dedicated to a discussion on the obtained results, followed by conclusions, limitations, and potential future lines of research.

2. Literature Review

Tourists are increasingly looking for experiences based on the culture, identity, and authenticity of a destination, and one such strong feature of ‘diversity’ is regional gastronomy [13]. Gastronomy tourism in general is a type of tourism activity characterised by the link between the visitor’s experience and food and related products and activities while travelling, including authentic, traditional, and/or innovative culinary experiences ([14], p. 44). Gastronomy has evolved from a peripheral matter of little importance in tourism management to one of the largest parts of a destination’s reach [15].

Considering that food and drink have become increasingly important to tourists, the role of gastronomy in tourism has become a focus of research in the last decade [2,5,16]. Correia and associates [17] found that food expenditures can account for 25–35% of tourists’ spending, which means that gastronomic experiences also have a direct economic impact on destinations. Consequently, the environmental and economic sustainability of rural development is increasingly associated with local food and gastronomy because of their important role in supporting regional economies, attracting tourists, and preserving traditional culture [18,19,20,21]. Moreover, the results of the systematic literature review by Figueiredo et al. [2] show that food tourism is often associated with sustainable rural development. Local gastronomy stimulates agricultural activity, creates jobs, promotes entrepreneurship and enhances destination attractiveness, reinforces destination brand identity, and fosters community pride in food and its associated culture [22,23]. Food tourism in rural areas is inevitably related to agritourism as a form of connecting agriculture and farm activities with tourism in a unique and memorable tourism product, usually with emphasis on authentic gastronomy and tradition [3]. Activities related to agrotourism, culinary and wine tourism, are very useful to attract the attention of tourists and to increase the attractiveness of a rural destination [8,24]. When tourists are looking for unique and genuine gastronomic experiences, gastronomy becomes an important motive for choosing a destination [24]. Gastronomy allows tourists to discover the cultural roots of the destination, making it one of the motivations for choosing the destination and an important element of overall satisfaction with the travel experience [15]. In addition, the level of satisfaction with gastronomic experiences is highly related to the relationship between gastronomy and the cultural heritage of the local community [15,16]. The results of Perez Galvez and associates [16] suggest that gastronomy is a factor that contributes to the creation and enhancement of the experience and, therefore, to the satisfaction of the tourist at the destination. Nevertheless, even if tourists do not opt for agritourism, and prefer to stay in rural areas and use them as a base for the exploration of the surrounding destinations, they still often search for a certain level of authenticity and locality in the food they consume in the area and are often interested in attending local food festivals in order to experience the local culture and tradition [25]. López-Sanz et al. [8] emphasised the importance of participatory tourism, where tourists interact with locals and are involved in the daily activities and customs of the place, which in turn ensures that the traditions of the area are not lost. There are more and more tourists who are interested in gastronomy and want to learn about different gastronomic habits and cultures, taste local food, and expand their knowledge about local traditions [24]. The participatory nature of enjoying local and authentic food served by locals, along with the unique experience of local culture and customs, makes gastronomy tourism a highly perspective tourism niche for rural areas, as well as for those areas which lack of other unique features capable of attracting visitors. Still, even in destinations that build their tourism on other attractions, a well-developed gastronomy identity significantly improves overall tourist experience, increases tourist consumption, and generates new job positions, if developed in a sustainable and cooperative manner, such as the case with New Zealand [26].

It is not possible to develop competitive and sustainable rural tourism products without the efficient cooperation of all relevant stakeholders from the public and private sectors. As noted by Dredge [27], communities comprise a variety of stakeholder groups that interweave across networks of actors of private and public institutions, and cooperative behaviour among actors and stakeholder groups in tourism destinations does not follow pure rational theoretic principles, but rather relies upon the individual characteristics of people operating within respective institutions [28]. It is important to note that different stakeholders obtain different roles in food tourism networks and gastronomy tourism development, and it is not unusual for them to follow different logic in different situations and even to change their perspectives when entering in different collaboration initiatives or within different stages of the same cooperation process [29].

Each category of stakeholder offering development that is important for rural tourism has a particular set of responsibilities and interests. To attract tourists, private accommodation and hospitality service providers usually individually seek solutions that are competitive and innovative yet cost-effective and manageable enough for their capacities and the limitations of the destination [7].

Destination management organisations (DMOs) are, due to the extremely competitive tourism market, in constant search for a destination’s identity in terms of its unique tangible and intangible features [18], which can often include authentic and local food products and experiences. Led by a desire to demonstrate that the attractions and experiences offered by a destination are worth visiting, DMOs might, however, fall into the trap of misrepresenting the extent and availability of local food, while restaurants and other hospitality facilities offer mostly international and national dishes [30].

Important gastronomy tourism-related products which demonstrate stakeholder cooperation are food tours, where tourists are transported to different areas, including public and private places, where they witness the food creation process and interact with local producers and even their families [31]. Food tours require engagement from local producers hosting those tours, in terms of presenting their tradition, culture, and habits, so that visitors, by consuming local products at the place where they are produced, are physically and emotionally integrated with the destination and its gastronomy profile [32]. As discussed by Vlachou and Savvinopoulou [33], the direct contact between tourists and locals, especially the contact with the owner/chef of the visiting business during food tours, contributes to the maximization of the gastronomic experience of the visitors.

Stalmirska [34], in her study, focused on the private tourism sector and DMOs as supply-side representatives and, based on their perceptions, concluded that local food usage for the purpose of sustainable tourism development requires more support, clear guidelines, and improved governance at the destination level. The importance of the cooperation of local producers and tourism-related companies was also emphasised by Hall and Mitchell [35]. Furthermore, a crucial role of the private stakeholders was emphasised in the fact that primary and secondary food producers are listed among the key attractions of food tourism [35]. An important role of local tourism organisations, in the development and marketing of gastronomy tourism products (more precisely wine tourism products), was also outlined by Cambourne and Macionis [6].

Authentic local gastronomy, as a core offer, implies the involvement of local farmers in terms of providing fresh ingredients and products, as well as agritourism activities. Farmers usually see involvement in tourism as an opportunity to expand their market, access the price premium, and diversify their activities (should they decide to develop agritourism). Dougherty and associates [36] explored the importance of understanding the complexity and dynamics of the cooperation of farmers, restaurateurs, and food tourists as the three key hubs in local food tourism networks. They identified two key barriers to the development of food networks [36]:

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Economic barriers to local food tourism networks (questionable reliability of delivery and logistics, and increased food costs for restaurateurs);

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Uneven market relations of power (perceived and real distribution of risks and awards from local tourism food products among restaurateurs and farmers).

To contribute to preventing/overcoming the identified barriers, additional research is necessary, particularly in case study analysis, to provide a better understanding of the formal patterns of cooperation, subsequently enabling the provision of a final authentic gastronomic-offering tourism product. It is also important to consider the possibility that the stakeholders’ motives for collaborating in creating food experiences do not necessarily have to be only economic, as stressed by Šmid Hribar and associates [37]. Stakeholders can also be motivated by collaboration in local community building and personal empowerment, even assuming responsibility for their own (local) development, as also discussed by Bole and associates [38].

When discussing the authentic gastronomy offering as a part of the tourism product of a destination, it is important to examine the role of the local community (formal and non-formal associations of local residents, in particular) in providing knowledge and skills regarding the traditional recipes, local ingredients, and customs related to the authentic gastronomy of a particular area. It can be presumed that local restaurateurs and farmers, despite being residents of a given area, might not be sufficiently knowledgeable of those topics to develop the authentic culinary background of the provided local food products and dishes. N.B., the term “culinary” focuses on the style of food preparation and consumption, but also deals with the social context in which food is ordered, prepared, and consumed [39]. This is particularly important for rural destinations focused on developing and promoting an authentic memorable rural landscape and experience as part of the “as-it-once-was” destination image. Generally, the contribution of non-profit organisations (associations of citizens) to tourism development is often underrated, even though those organisations (especially those in the field of sport, art, and culture) can potentially improve the diversity and quality of the tourism offering [40].

To successfully attract visitors to a particular rural destination by using authentic gastronomy, it is important to manage the perceptions and expectations that potential tourists have while searching online for information on a destination’s offering [41]. Therefore, a careful examination of the available online information also provides important insights into the potential perception of an authentic gastronomy offering and local partnerships in the provision of that offering.

3. Materials and Methods

This study focuses on examining the available secondary data on a single rural destination, with emphasis on the cooperation of different types of stakeholders in providing an authentic gastronomy offering, and it discusses the involvement of the local community in this process.

The case study method was selected as a comprehensive method to obtain better understanding of complex phenomena in their contextual environment.

Key elements of the methodological approach used to provide answers to the identified research questions are presented in this section. First, the region of Ravni Kotari, the selected study area, is described in detail, followed by an outline of the research methods used.

3.1. Case Study Setting: Description of the Ravni Kotari Region

Ravni Kotari (Eng.: Flatlands) is a geographical region in northern Dalmatia, in Croatia. It lies between Bukovica in the northeast, the Zadar–Biograd Riviera in the southwest, and the Krka River and Lake Prokljan in the southeast. The administrative centre of the area is Benkovac, located on the eastern border of Ravni Kotari [42]. The region comprises four geographical entities, covering an area of 1661 km². These are the central Kotari area, the Kotari coastline, the northern Kotari coast, and the southeast Kotari coast [43]. The region has a total of 142 towns and villages.

For the purpose of this study, only the central part of the Ravni Kotari region (central Ravni Kotari) was taken into account, specifically, the area of the Town of Benkovac and seven municipalities: Lišane Ostrovičke, Zemunik Donji, Polača, Škabrnja, Stankovci, and Galovac (as visible on Figure 1). This particular area was chosen due to the fact that it was united under a single regional tourism board called Ravni Kotari in 2019.

The selected area has around 20,000 inhabitants and, in 2018 and 2019, it reached its record of more than 100,000 overnight stays [44]. Even in 2020, a year strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the destination managed to attract domestic tourists and visitors [45]. The main attractions include rich cultural and historical heritage, as well as traditional and indigenous values incorporated into a rural tourism offering. This tourist destination takes great pride in its enogastronomic offering based on homemade cuisine, authentic products, and locally produced food. Some of the key features of the authentic gastronomy offering include the preparation of food under “a baking lid” or in wood fire ovens, while the most popular local products are olive oil and red wine [44].

As an integral part of its cultural offering, Ravni Kotari hosts various events, one of the oldest and most prominent being the Benkovac Fair, visited by more than 10,000 visitors yearly. An important intangible cultural heritage of this area is “ojkanje”, a traditional form of singing, which is under the protection of UNESCO [44].

The Town of Benkovac is also visited for its Heritage Museum, which houses a canon made by Leonardo da Vinci. With regards to natural assets, Vransko Lake Nature Park is particularly important, and the whole area is covered in ancient Roman roads, now used partially as bike trails.

There are approximately 350 accommodation units in the area. Most of these are vacation homes (about 220) and the rest are tourist apartments. There are around 70 restaurants and cafes [44].

The Ravni Kotari tourist destination provides services based on its gastronomic offering that attract mostly domestic tourists, who highly value this local production. Apart from domestic guests, tourists arrive from Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

Plans for the future development of the destination rely on the construction of new tourism infrastructure to improve the diversity of the offering. Building new wineries and wine-tasting establishments is highly important, as is developing and improving the existing family farms and opening new ones [44].

3.2. Methods

This study is based on a qualitative approach, specifically, the case study approach. The authors opted for a case study due to the exploratory nature of the research and the need to understand complex phenomena consisting of highly contextualised processes. As stated by Yin [46], case studies allow investigators to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events, with an emphasis on organisational and managerial processes. The case study approach typically enables different and creative combinations of qualitative and quantitative data along with the mixed methods approach and primary data collection. In line with that, this case study employed a combination of primary and secondary data collection in order to better understand different aspects of rural stakeholders’ cooperation, as well as its public presentation in terms of the available information on the authentic gastronomic offering in Ravni Kotari (final outcome of collaboration of various sectors).

The following sources of secondary data were carefully examined and used for the purpose of coding and extracting relevant information:

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scientific and professional papers related to the case study area;

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official websites of organisations and enterprises operating in the Ravni Kotari area (regional tourist board, non-governmental organisations, local agricultural businesses, private accommodation owners, restaurants, tourism agencies, etc.), including their publicly available social network profiles;

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official websites of projects dealing with the gastronomy and tourism of the Ravni Kotari area;

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media releases and news related to the gastronomy and tourism offering in the area;

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all other relevant information on the topic of this study.

As a first result of the in-depth analysis of secondary data, key stakeholders involved in most of the gathered information on authentic gastronomic offer of Ravni Kotari were identified and grouped, and their main role was described. Moreover, coding and the creation of key focus topics emerging from the analysed information was conducted to gain a broad framework for further analysis.

In the second part of the analysis, identified stakeholders from each category were contacted, and four in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with them, using research questions and coded topics as a basis for conversation. Interviewees were asked to generally present themselves, and further conversation was driven by a broad narrative of topic, starting with their general perspective of the authentic food of Ravni kotari and its implementation in tourism attractions. In the first part of the interview, interviewees were also encouraged to identify key gastronomy tourism stakeholders in the area. Later in the interview, the questions were more oriented towards the nature and scope of cooperation among the identified stakeholders, challenges surrounding their work, and prospects for joint activities (in line with the research questions). The aim was to further deepen our understanding of local situations in terms of cooperation and challenges in providing an authentic gastronomy offering and to obtain insights beyond publicly available data. To better understand contextual background and reveal “not so obvious” elements of local gastronomy ecosystem, interview questions were not very strictly sequenced, and interviewees had the liberty of free talking and associating topics, situations, and their personal attitudes related to authentic gastronomy development in Ravni Kotari. All the interviews were conducted onsite and in person, and the approximate duration of interview was between 1 and 1.5 h. Interviews were conducted with:

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one representative of the local DMO (DMO): female, 35 years old, 5 years of experience in tourist board;

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one provider of hospitality services (owner of private accommodation which also offers the preparation and serving of traditional meals to its guests as well as to visitors (only groups, and with prior notice) (PHS): male 55 years old, with over 15 years of experience in providing hospitality services (in different forms) as a side job, with family support;

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one employee of the local museum (cultural institution which comprises, as a part of the exhibition, elements related to the history of the area’s gastronomy) (ELM): male, 28 years old, museum curator, 4 years of experience.

To extract relevant information and create a broad framework for understanding the challenges of stakeholder cooperation, content analysis of the gathered data was performed as a careful, detailed, and systematic examination and interpretation of a particular body of material to identify patterns, themes, biases, and meanings [47]. Guided by the main research questions, the authors separately investigated the available sources, selected the important information, and coded them into themes. After each author completed the data analysis, we cross-checked and compared the results and agreed on the final version of the presentation of the obtained results.

In the second step of the analysis, systematically integrated and presented results were supplemented with information obtained through interviews, thereby integrating insights from an “outside perspective” (secondary data, publicly available) with “insider” information and perceptions from the field.

4. Results

The results of the qualitative content analysis of the available secondary data on the authentic gastronomic offering of Ravni Kotari are organised by sections according to the identification and the description of key stakeholders, and another section relates to the identified themes and topics related to stakeholders’ cooperation.

4.1. Identification of Key Local Stakeholders in Provision of Authentic Gastronomic Offer for Tourists and Visitors of Ravni Kotari

As a part of the proposed methodological approach, authors first conducted an extensive search of the secondary data, identifying all potentially relevant stakeholders engaged in gastronomy offer of Ravni kotari, by exploring available public sources (official websites, commercial offerings, press releases, etc.). After thorough analysis, the obtained results were filtered and grouped. Each group of identified stakeholders is described in the context of their relation to the provision of the authentic gastronomy offer of Ravni Kotari (

Table 1. List and short description of identified stakeholder groups.

Name of the Stakeholder	Linkage to Authentic Gastronomic Offer of the Area
Tourism Board of Ravni Kotari	- Organisation of various cultural events including local gastronomy as part of the event’s offering - Promotion and informing on local authentic dishes, products as well as producers and hospitality facilities offering them - Created mobile application for accessing key information on providers of tourism services in Ravni Kotari
Regional Development Agency, Tourism board of the County (regional level) Department of tourism within regional self-government	Indirect involvement in promotion of authentic gastronomy of Ravni Kotari through: - Participation in EU project oriented towards the promotion of traditional food and culture of the hinterland area - Creation and maintenance of the specialised website “Agroturism Zadar”providing information on agritourism offer of Zadar area (including offer from Ravni Kotari as hinterland area bordering with Zadar)
Local heritage Museum	As a part of its exhibition, included elements of traditional gastronomy, promoted current local producers of traditional food products, and hosted (in outdoor area of the Museum) some events also related to local gastronomy
Producer Cooperative for Wine and Oil production along with some other (rather) large and important producers of local food products (olive oil, wine, cheese, prosciutto)	Individually significant and recognisable providers that have already developed communication and promotion channels (including own website, profile on social network(s), etc.). Offer organised tastings with the tour of their production facilities and possibility of on-site purchase of products
Small-scale specialised producers of olive oil, wine, prosciutto, etc.	Focused on their main fields of production, present in different address books and offerings which are available for tourists, but only with mobile and e-mail contacts, making it more difficult to access additional information on their availability and extent of current offering
Family farms preparing and offering traditional food for groups of tourists/visitors, sometimes also combined with accommodation services	Directly oriented towards providing authentic gastronomy experience in traditional setting, but only for groups with prior reservation
Hotels with strong heritage elements in design and gastronomy	Professional hospitality facilities with focus on high level of quality of services and gastronomy not exclusively oriented on Ravni Kotari region (e.g., dishes based on fish and seafood)

).

As can be seen in the table, various stakeholders are involved in shaping authentic gastronomy of Ravni Kotari and making it available to visitors and tourists. List of tourism-related stakeholders significant for Ravni Kotari region would be somewhat longer; however, during the analysis of stakeholders related to local food products and gastronomy, the direct link between the individual vacation homes and tourist apartments (which are not part of agritourism nor family farms) has not been established. Having in mind that vacation homes and tourist apartments make the most of the total number of accommodation units available in Ravni Kotari, this finding is important for a discussion on stakeholder cooperation.

In terms of public sector stakeholders, it was noticed, during the data-gathering and analysis process, that most of the identified stakeholders understood the importance of authentic gastronomy as one of the key features for the recognition and economic development of Ravni Kotari. Additional recognition can also be seen in the fact that the gastronomy of Ravni Kotari was part of two international European Union-funded projects: “Made In-Land” and “Take it Slow”. Here is evident continuous involvement of public bodies promoting local gastronomy; however, this is yet to be further elaborated in the final sustainable outcomes of the project-based activities and results.

While museums are usually not directly associated with authentic gastronomy, in the case of Ravni Kotari, the local heritage museum is an important landmark as it is situated in the historical fortress in the centre of the Benkovac (the biggest town in Ravni Kotari and central place for most of the visitors and tourists residing in the area). As part of its permanent exhibition, the heritage museum also informs and promotes local traditions related to agriculture, including the traditional production process. It also displays some of the most important local dishes and culinary techniques as a relevant part of the everyday life and culture of the region. Additionally, the museum (historical old courtyard) outdoor space hosts different cultural events, some of which are related to the presentation of authentic gastronomy and traditional local products (e.g., wine festival, ethno-festival).

Identified private sector stakeholders are either primarily oriented towards hospitality services, while using (local) gastronomy as an additional element of attraction, or are primarily involved in the production of typical local products such as wine, olive oil, and prosciutto, offering them to tourists and visitors as an additional source of income.

Further sections describe observed themes and issues observed during the research and analysis of the gathered secondary and primary data on cooperation among the aforementioned identified stakeholders.

4.2. General Availabilty and Ease-of-Access to Authentic Gastronomy of Ravni Kotari

To better understand the availability of the authentic gastronomy offer of Ravni Kotari from the perspective of visitors and tourists, online research was conducted to examine the structure and key elements of the available offer. The results of thorough research of the authentic gastronomy of Ravni Kotari and its key providers revealed that there are several websites offering information on providers of authentic food and products and their offerings. One of those websites belongs to Tourism Board of Ravni Kotari (DMO) and local hospitality providers, along with family farms; moreover, hotels providing local food are presented along with their basic information.

The other online platform, related to local gastronomy, is titled “Agritourism Zadar”, and was created by a regional self-government to present and promote the agritourism offer of the entire region (including hinterland such as the Ravni Kotari region, but also coastal areas). This website presented the available offer in the form of routes (wine route, cheese route, olive oil route, traditional dishes route), connecting family farms which offer tastings of local products, traditional dishes, tours of production facilities, etc.

A somewhat different approach to presenting possibilities to experience authentic gastronomy was taken by the web platform authland.com as an entrepreneurial project oriented towards giving exact information on available offers of different local producers, including the ability to reserve particular tasting sessions, meals, or tours of the facility online (often included in the prepackaged offers of meals and tastings). In terms of Ravni Kotari authentic gastronomy providers, the existing producer cooperative, several individual larger producers, and family farms offer tastings of local products (usually wine accompanied with local cheese and ham) and traditional dishes, but only for groups.

Orientation exclusively towards groups (at least 5 people for tastings and 10 people and more for traditional dishes preparation) makes the authentic gastronomy offer hard to access by the individual guests and small families interested in local culture and cuisine. Another issue relates to the fact that most of the providers offer tastings and other hospitality services only during the summer season with potential extension to late spring and the early autumn months. This was confirmed by the interviewee from DMO:

… they (family farms and producers) are offering their products only during the high tourist season when they get calls from agencies bringing larger groups of tourists. Otherwise they are not interested to open their facilities, prepare everything and be ready for several walk-in visitors to come (DMO)…

More insights on this issue were given by the PHS who explained that all of his family members have »regular« jobs and during the summer they usually take vacation in order to get involved in tourism and also, during the summer they can more easily get help from younger members of the family and relatives, in order to prepare everything, but also to communicate with (foreign) guests. Also, interviewee emphasised the importance of the quality cooperation with tourist agency:

From the last year we have an arrangement with tourist agency which brings tourists from cruise ships directly here for lunch. We prepare the entire menu for them, mostly focused on local meat delicacies (lamb, veal under the »baking lid«) and offer them some of our wine. Usually we all take one or two days off from work to prepare everything, but it pays off.

(PHS)

PHS also favorably spoke about cooperation with public sector stakeholders (DMO, local and regional authorities) and expressed his satisfaction with local museum as interesting attraction, important also for the local residents and preservation of their identity. When asked about possibilities to directly cooperate with other providers of local food products and hospitality services providers (especially accommodation providers), the PHS was quite reluctant to provide clear answer, although it was visible that he did not see any special benefit from entering in such cooperation.

The existence of a similar situation also with other local food products and hospitality service providers was confirmed by the interviewed DMO representative:

…They prefer to do everything by themselves and with family members, cooperation with similar producers is not very appealing to them, even when there is clear compatibility (e.g., cheese and wine producers) or potential for mutual benefit (local food products producers and accommodation providers). It looks like as they are lacking trust, maybe fear to be cheated. This is particularly visible with some larger local food products producers who prefer to extend their business activities and offer as much as possible by themselves, rather than cooperating with compatible producers in order to join their offer into new tourist product.

(DMO)

4.3. Project-Oriented and Event-Oriented Cooperation among Authentic Gastronomy Stakeholders of Ravni Kotari

While a lack of trust and sufficient benefits from entering into a mutual cooperation was identified among providers from the private sector, cooperation between stakeholders from private and public sector was much better in terms of involvement in joint projects oriented towards the promotion and preservation of local gastronomy. This is visible through the implementation of two European Union-funded projects based on the promotion of tourism in the hinterland (MADE IN-LAND) and sustainable tourism based on local cultural and natural heritage (TAKE IT SLOW). Both of the projects included the Ravni Kotari region in its activities and as a “living lab” for some pilot activities, due to the rich gastronomy and cultural possibilities in the area. The interviewed DMO representative expressed the satisfaction with the cooperation of the local stakeholders and the overall result of the implemented project, especially with the mobile application, which presented the key features of the tourism offer of Ravni Kotari, with special emphasis on authentic gastronomy and its providers. However, again, it was apparent that the cooperation paths are successful as long as they include a direct link between DMO and local provider, without the need for providers to communicate and cooperate mutually.

When it comes to local gastronomy related festivals and events, public sector representatives invest a lot of effort into the creation of characteristic events based on local food and specialties, which are often organised in an outdoor space belonging to local heritage museum, situated in the old castle of Benković in Benkovac, the capital of the area. The presentation of authentic gastronomy during those events (including traditional preparation and contests) is the product of the well-developed organization of the public sector (usually DMO, along with heritage museum), with significant participation of private sector stakeholders. Those one-off, year-round events are part of the local identity, and are very much appreciated by the local residents as well as by visitors from the surrounding area. Foreign visitors and tourists are welcomed to these events and festivals, although all of the program is in Croatian, as well as most of the promotion and information on the events. This was confirmed by the DMO representative as well as the local heritage museum employee.

In terms of understanding the importance of authentic gastronomy for the visitors as well as locals, a very interesting overview was given by the interviewed employee of the local heritage museum:

… Practically not a single foreign visitor or visitor from another part of Croatia left the museum without asking the recommendation where to go and try some local food, traditional dishes and local products. We as a museum are not allowed to sell those products so we usually just give visitors promotional materials in order to encourage them to stay a bit longer in the area…

(ELM)

This opinion was also supported during the interview with DMO, while the PHS referred to the authentic gastronomy of the area as “our food” and “our dishes” and also confirmed the high level of interest of visitors. When it comes to the overall accessibility of the authentic gastronomy offer, the ELM confessed that he is sometimes sending interested visitors, friends, and family members from other parts of Croatia to eat at hotels and big restaurants (several of them exist in the area) rather that the particular local family farm or producer, due to the potential unavailability without prior notice and without sufficient number of interested people. On the other hand, gastronomy festivals and events provide a unique opportunity to try different local food and specialties at one place and without having to contact individual providers in advance.

5. Discussion and Conclusions

The results obtained for the purpose of this study revealed difficulties in horizontal cooperation among private sector providers of local authentic gastronomy. While this can be linked to the coopetition phenomena [12], it is important to outline that, for most of the authentic gastronomy tourism products, the stakeholders of Ravni Kotari have not yet even reached that level—their cooperation level is quite low, and most of them are relying upon individual efforts. More developed cooperation among all stakeholders is visible in the organization of food-related festivals and joint participation in international projects dealing with the elements of authentic gastronomy in tourism, which is in line with the models of stakeholder cooperation developed by Šmid Hribar and associates [37], wherein cooperation in the organization of food festivals is described as easier than cooperation for the purpose of (continuous) services (also in [48].)

This research confirmed that small family farms and local producers indeed have a key role in preserving culture and tradition through authentic gastronomy; however, their availability is limited due to the limited logistics and lack of human resources to extend the level and array of their services. Moreover, this research (perhaps due to the small number of interviewees) did not support the finding of Stalmirska [34], in which stakeholders made a clear connection between local food and community cohesion, as one of the positive outcomes of developing gastronomy tourism activities. While local gastronomy festivals are well visited and are considered as a positive example of the cooperation of all gastronomy stakeholders of the area, they are mostly perceived as events for locals, and not as directly related to tourism. When a component of tourism (especially foreign visitors) becomes part of the authentic gastronomy development, private sector stakeholders become more careful in entering collaborations.

As for the observed economic barriers for cooperation among food stakeholders (as outlined by Dougherty and associates [36]), uneven market relations of power are confirmed, especially in terms of food and wine producers insisting on larger groups of people, as they perceive to have a potentially higher chance of additional consumption and spending. The potential discrepancy between the desired and actual profile of visitors was also noticed in the research conducted by Cambourne and Macionis [6]. Moreover, providers of hospitality services are more inclined to use their own products and purchase all other necessary products from large companies to ensure a stable amount and flow of needed products, and also to save money. A limited production size and its accompanying logistics could be a source of reluctance among restaurateurs and hospitality service providers to enter into more substantial collaborations with local producers. This lack of cooperation among gastronomy providers unfortunately contributes to the very slow and limited development of the authentic gastronomy offer in rural areas in terms of continuous services and available tourist products. This can also be considered as an overall conclusion, albeit not directly related to the specific context of Ravni kotari, but to rural areas in general. The role of the public sector was confirmed to be very important in linking the offer of individual providers to tourist products, as well as for the promotion and implementation of projects important for increasing the visibility and attractiveness of the area.

The practical implications of this paper are emphasise that more work on raising education and the awareness of providers is needed, especially when it comes to understanding the benefits of cooperation for tourism purposes. Local public sector stakeholders in Ravni kotari, such as DMO and local heritage museums, might be ideal choices for initiators of education and joint activities connecting the private sector providers, since they already have positive experiences in individual cooperation with providers and are viewed as “neutral” in terms of working for the common good and for regional development. Insights related to the lack of awareness among local producers and hospitality facility owners of cooperation benefits are also important for all other regions interested in developing authentic gastronomy tourism rooted in local traditions.

The theoretical implications of this study contribute to the methodological framework when examining stakeholder relationships in terms of the need for a combination of primary and secondary data to obtain contextual characteristics of a studied area, along with specific insights directly from stakeholders.

This study has limitations regarding the rather limited quantity and representability of the interviewed representatives of the stakeholder groups; therefore, the logical future path (and also one of the foreseen activities) would be to conduct a series of interviews with a larger number of representatives of local producers and authentic gastronomy providers to gain more insight into their perspectives and to better understand the underlying context of the existing situation. Still, this paper provides a basis for further discussion on the objective and subjective obstacles in stakeholder cooperation in authentic gastronomy development, and further lines of research might also include an examination and comparison of the cooperation networks in other regions/areas in terms of their existence and the strength of the cooperation among producers.