The effect of social networks on the development of gastronomy – the way forward to the development of gastronomy tourism in Serbia

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate some of the current discussions about the possible impacts of social networks on the development of gastronomy in the Republic of Serbia. There could be either positive and/or negative impacts and this viewpoint provides some reflection on what the future might hold for some if not many tourism destinations in Serbia and the region when the tourism industry restarts after the pandemic of Covid-19 virus. Design/methodology/approach: The research was conducted in December 2021, on a total of 244 respondents in three cities in Serbia. SPSS software was used, version 26.00, and the obtained data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Then, to determine the structure of the questionnaire and the percentage of variance, an exploratory factor analysis was performed together with a higher order factor analysis, in order to obtain the desired number of factors. Subsequently, the authors used multiple regression analysis to confirm the significance of the predictors. The goal of the research was to determine whether, and to what extent, social networks can predict the choice of restaurants and gastronomic offers in Serbia. Serbian gastronomy has a great influence on the development of tourism, so this research has a wide scientific and practical contribution. Findings: This paper provides a context and viewpoint on the possible implications of impacts of social networks on the development of gastronomy in the Republic of Serbia in the future. It has been proven that social networks can have an impact on the development of gastronomy and tourism itself. Research limitations/implications: To examine the impact of social networks on the development of gastronomy, the authors conducted a survey online due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. The limitation of this research was precisely that the authors did not have the opportunity to conduct the research live due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is recommended that such surveys be conducted live in direct contact with respondents in the future in order to obtain a larger sample with fully completed questionnaires. Practical implications: The importance of social networks is increasingly a topic of study of world research, especially when it comes to gastronomy, which is becoming increasingly important as an activity in the tourism industry. The results indicate that the greatest importance in predicting the choice of restaurants and gastronomic offers has social networks and marketing. The importance of the work is reflected in the recognition of the importance of social networks, in order to better place Serbian gastronomy. Social implications: This paper offers a synthesis of views that fosters an understanding of the possibility of impacts of social networks on the development of gastronomy in the Republic of Serbia before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Originality/value: The viewpoint proffered in this paper provides scope for a rapid evaluation of the current status of gastronomy tourism in Serbia which can help practitioners and researchers in the faster and better development of gastronomy and tourism.