7. Why Go on Vacation to Crete? Assessing the Role of Local Cuisine

This research aims to assess British and Russian tourists’ consumer attitudes and preferences concerning Cretan cuisine as a driving force for selecting Crete for vacations, evaluating at the same time the overall gastronomic experience. For this purpose, we clarified crucial factors leading to the aforementioned final choice. Taking into consideration relative previous studies, a bilingual three-part questionnaire was created (British and Russian), and distributed to 249 respondents, of whom 126 were British, and 123 were Russian tourists. The vast majority of Russian and British tourists were satisfied with the island’s overall gastronomic experience. More specifically, the most significant factor, extracted from the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), for selecting Crete as a final destination for vacation, was the Cretan cuisine. British tourists are more willing to experience it and visit local restaurants. However, Russian visitors had a better knowledge of Cretan cuisine and gastronomy issues and were more ready to order a dish they had never tried before. Russian tourists expressed their intention to adopt Cretan foodstuff and recipes in their homeland and revisit Crete in the near future. This is not the case for the British at the same intention level. The educational level of the respondents is significantly interrelated with the importance of Cretan cuisine and an alternative gateway to get in touch with the traditions and culture of the island. Finally, it is evident that Russians emphasize the aforementioned issues more than the British.