Analyzing the food supply chain between local farmers, restaurants and tourists - Gerald Kock M.S. University of Aruba

Analyzing the food supply chain between local
      farmers, restaurants and tourists.
                 Gerald Kock M.S.
                University of Aruba

This paper investigates the interaction and linkages
 between tourism and agriculture (local farmers)

  More specifically, it uses Aruba as a case study to investigate its
   current strategies that constrain or support the development
                           of existing linkages
                       between the two sectors.

◦ Despite the current economic turbulence, international tourist
  arrivals grew by over 4% in 2011 to 980 million , with growth
  expected to continue in 2012 (UNWTO, 2011).

◦ Records show that long-term prospects remain strong, with 10
  year growth holding up at 4.0% per year between 2011 and
  2021 (WTTC, 2012).

The tourism industry in the Caribbean has grown
 astoundingly, becoming one of the leading sectors
 both in terms of job creation and foreign exchange
 earnings.
      Overall tourists arrivals to the region have increased in 2010
      Cruise arrivals grew faster than land-based
      Aggregate spending above previous years due to higher arrival
       numbers
      Arrivals expected to grow around 5% in
       2011www.onecaribbean.org/statistics/annualoverview

◦ Its involvement with tourism dates back to 1947

◦ Since then, Aruba has been considered one of the leading
  tourism destinations in the Caribbean, particularly if measured
  in terms of visitors’ arrivals and gross expenditures (CBS,
  2010).

•However, the second quarter of 2010 experienced a slight decrease of 1.3%
compared to the second quarter of 2009.

•As seasonality is a major issue for small island destinations, Aruba is no
exception to the rule.

   Even though the above mentioned data looks
    promising:

    ◦ Caribbean islands are being faced with constant international
      and regional competition, becoming the most tourism-
      dependent region in the world .

    ◦ Measuring the competitiveness level of most Caribbean island
      has been mainly based on tourism arrivals.

Latest Tourism Statistics 2011
Please be aware that CTO cannot report data that
member countries have not supplied. Documents are in pdf format. Download Adobe Acrobat,
Adobe Reader or another pdf viewer to open and view the documents.
Contact statistical departments of CTO member countries - Download contact information.
Download Stay over Arrivals YTD 2011 (updated Jan 24, 2012).
Download Tourist (Stop-over) Arrivals & Cruise Passenger Visits in 2011 (updated Jan.
24, 2012).
Download Latest Tourism Statistics 2011 set of tables, updated Jan 24, 2012.
The set includes the following tables:
Table 1: Tourist (stop-over) Arrivals in 2011
Table 2a: Tourist Arrivals by Month - 2011
Table 3: Tourist Arrivals by Main Market - 2011
Table 4: Cruise Passenger Arrivals – 2011 & 2010

Download 2010-2011 statistics as received from VENEZULA:
ESTADÍSTICAS BÁSICAS DE TURISMO

◦ This approach of “mass-tourism”, has been
  increasingly criticized by both social and
  environmental advocates.

◦ Is characterized by destinations attracting large
  numbers of tourists consuming highly standardized,
  packaged and inflexible tourism products.
    From “clean industry” to “double edged sword industry”
    Caused by unsustained tourism development.

o   Experienced a transformation of their economies, from
    being based on agriculture to being based on tourism .

o   Tourism has replaced the traditional plantation export
    agriculture as the main driving force of the economy.

It is the assumption that the tourism industry has
   influenced agriculture in similar ways as it did with the
   remainder Caribbean islands.

  ◦ a) the tourism industry offered alternative employment
    opportunities and therefore raise the reserve price of agricultural
    labor and encourage migration from farming to tourist areas;

  ◦ b) competition for land between recreation and agriculture may
    have raised land values and so remove some agricultural land from
    food production;

o   Studies have focused on the strategy of strengthening
    the link between food consumption by tourists as a
    strategy for sustainable tourism (Torres, R., Momsen, J., Timms,
    B., Neill, S., Rhiney, K., Richardson-Ngwenya, P.)

    While chefs of local restaurants and foodservice operations have
      recognized the benefits of purchasing locally produced foods,
         limited empirical research has been published from the
                  perspective of foodservice operations.

o   Chefs that are aware of the benefits of locally grown
    foods, purchase these for:
    o a) perceived superior quality and freshness;
    o b) to meet customer requests;
    o c) to access unique products; and
    o d) to support local businesses.
        o (Starr, Card, Benepe, Auld, Lamm, Smith, and Wilken, 2003).

Top 20 trends (NRA,
 2012)
 ◦ Locally sourced meats
 ◦ Locally grown produce
 ◦ Healthy kids' meals
 ◦ Hyper-local
 ◦ Sustainable as a culinary
   theme
 ◦ Sustainable seafood
 ◦ Farm branded items
 ◦ Locally produced wine and
   beer

o   For the restaurant industry:
    o Lack of communication between industry representatives and
     local farmer, particular restaurants’ high food supply quota
     and quality requirements

    o Preference by certain types of restaurants to source cheaper
      priced food imports over local food provisions (Rhiney, 2011).
      o Other obstacles can include from inconsistent availability
        and quality, to difficulty identifying reliable local suppliers,
        difficulty in making purchases (due to farmers’ ordering
        procedures), to dealing with multiple suppliers .

o   For the agricultural industry, inability to guarantee sufficient
    supplies of high-quality, competitively priced agricultural
    produce on a consistent basis (Rhiney, 2011).
    o poorly organized food marketing and food production systems,
    o unfavorable agro-ecological and climate conditions
    o limited use of technology
    o poor access to well-needed technical and financial support.

The consumption of locally produced foods, therefore,
   represents a unique opportunity for consumers to
  contribute with the increase of the linkage between
   tourism and agriculture, therefore enhancing food
                    sustainability .

◦ First, this paper identifies the farmer’s perception towards
  promoting and selling the food products they produce, and the
  challenges faced during this process

◦ Second, the restaurant industry’s perception towards selling
  locally produced foods on their menus is identified in
  conjunction with their challenges faced in the logistics
  between farmers and restaurants

◦ Third, using a random sampling technique, tourists visiting the
  island will be provided with a survey to mainly identify their
  consumption preferences in order to identify the potential for
  stimulating new demand for locally grown food products.

◦ Using the Input-Output Modeling, a simulation of the
  economic impact caused by increased purchasing behaviors of
  locally produced by foodservice operators will be calculated.

Economic
                           Strength
Sustainable   Ecological              Farmers   Restaur   Tourists
 Farming
                               of
                           Linkage
                Social

Farmers/
                                                                       Restaurants                     Tourists
                                             Fisherman

                                        Willingness to Negotiate   Willingness to Negotiate   Willingness to Pay LPF

                                             MKTG Ability               MKTG Ability          Perception Dest. MRKT.
              Economic
                                             Consistency            Perception of Const.           Consistency
Sustainable   Ecological    Strength
 Farming                   of Linkage      Safety/Sanitation          Safety/Sanitation          Safety/Sanitation

                Social
                                          Government Policy          Government Policy          Government Policy

                                           Background Chef            Background Chef         Perception type of Chef

                                         Ability Organic Food        WTS Organic Food           WTP Organic Food

Farmers/
                                            Restaurants                     Tourists
                  Fisherman

             Willingness to Negotiate   Willingness to Negotiate   Willingness to Pay LPF

                  MKTG Ability               MKTG Ability          Perception Dest. MRKT.

                  Consistency            Perception of Const.           Consistency

 Strength
of Linkage      Safety/Sanitation          Safety/Sanitation          Safety/Sanitation

               Government Policy          Government Policy          Government Policy

                Background Chef            Background Chef         Perception type of Chef

              Ability Organic Food        WTS Organic Food           WTP Organic Food

We need to understand
   where our food comes from
   produce it the best possible way
   observe the principles of taste, and respect for the local
    community.

    Any individual, which is well informed about agriculture and
    ecology and intercommunicates with them, will be able to find
     the natural resources to guarantee development in the most
          threatened areas of the planet without harming the
                             environment.