Celebrities enhance food tourism: a chef in the city or a city by the chef?

Abstract

In recent decades, previous studies have devoted increasing attention to the relationship between celebrities and tourism, due to their influence on travel behaviors. Based on the literature on celebrity-induced film tourism, chefs have emerged as a source of celebrity-induced gastronomic tourism, which values ​​food as art. This research note is based on a case study focused on the culinary empire of Karlos Arguiñano in Zarautz (Basque Country, Spain). The results show that celebrity chefs are powerful cultural and social agents who have developed their own brands and influence on food consumption, as exemplified by the case of Karlos Arguiñano and his businesses in Zarautz, consolidating it as a gastronomic destination. This research innovatively illustrates the potential of celebrity chefs for the development of gastronomic tourism.