Agri-food territory as tourist attraction in Quebec

Reflections on representations of a gourmet destination based on the concept of terroir

Abstract

Terroir products are characterized by the uniqueness of the territory where they are produced. This uniqueness is used to promote them, but it may also serve to trigger the interest of individuals in this territory. Starting in Europe and linked to wine, the concept of terroir is expanding all over the world for an increasing number of different products. However, its use outside of Europe raises the question of how this concept applies elsewhere and specifically, how it relates to tourism. This paper aims to understand how agri-food and tourism propositions/offers are integrated in order to build the image of terroir in Quebec. The analysis of lexical content and images of the web pages from destination management organizations, local food tourism associations, and food companies in two Quebec regions indicated that the notion of terroir is mostly used as a synonym for “local product”. Its use does not refer to the uniqueness of the product related to its production territory. Rather, we suggest a model of orchestration of the representative elements of the territory in order to contribute to a gastronomic destination. Two paths of development are proposed – one that is product-specific or one that is generalist. Although food tourism is already important for the destinations under study, it could be further integrated with the help of coordinated communication between all the actors involved.