BUILDING CROSS-SECTORAL REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT PLATFORMS: THE CASE
OF FOOD TOURISM IN NORTHERN
EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS
Laura James (laura.james@humangeo.su.se)
Henrik Halkier (halkier@cgs.aau.dk)
Specialisation or variety?
• Marshall’s clusters or Jacobs’ externalities?
• Related variety: optimal distance between sectors = close
enough for understanding, far enough to learn
• Quantitative studies measuring degrees of ‘variety’ in regions
(preconditions), correlating these with economic outcomes
• Qualitative case studies of individual cross-sectoral regional
initiatives Lahti (Harmaakorpi, 2006), Bavaria, Skåne, Styria (Cooke,
2012), Tuscany (Lazzeretti, 2010)
• Policy implications: identifying and promoting potential future
cross-sectoral synergies
• From cumulative clusters to combinatorial platforms?
Is relatedness enough?
• What kind of ‘relatedness’?
• Sectoral
• Cognitive proximity (Nooteboom, 2009), 'organised proximity' (Torre
and Rallet, 2005); ‘social proximity’ (Boschma, 2005)
• Inputs and outputs, infrastructure, generic technologies
• Innovation involving different groups is often difficult, even
within sectors/firms
• How is cross sectoral development achieved in practice?
• How are policies and practices of food production,
retailing, catering and tourism reimagined and
reconnected?
Food tourism platforms in NW Europe
• Why food and tourism?
• Branding, boost local food production, extend tourist season
• From feeding tourists (industrialised, national distribution, pre fab,
limited seasonality)
• To ‘Local’, artisan, traditional, quality, experiences…
• Key practices
• Producing and processing food, retailing, catering and hospitality,
developing tourist products/experiences, promoting tourism
• Key actors
• Destination management organisations, local/regional/national
government, farmers, producers/processors, private tourism firms
(hotels, attractions), catering trade (restaurants, cafes), wholesalers,
supermarkets…
Food tourism platform in NW Europe
• Two case studies: North Jutland (DK), Suffolk (UK)
• Coastal destinations, rural hinterlands, food tourism ambitions
• Suffolk – part of the ‘bread basket of England’: wheat/barley, poultry,
pork, vegetables
• North Jutland – pork, seafood
• Both regions – summer season, self catering, families (NJ), couples (S),
• Interviews with producers, retailers, restaurants, policymakers
Key findings / 1
Food Tourism
North Jutland (DK)
Drivers
• ‘New Nordic’ cuisine
• Extension of tourism season
• Rural development
•
•
•
•
Resources •
Some small-scale producers
Some small scale fishing
Long-standing tourism sector
EU LEADER rural programme
Established, well-resourced
DMOs
Food Tourism
Suffolk (UK)
• Food scares – provenance
• Extension of tourism season
• Rural development
• Many small-scale producers
• Some small scale fishing
• Some larger ‘quality’
producers
• Long-standing tourism sector
• EU LEADER rural programme
• Commercial distribution
networks to supermarkets
etc.
Key findings / 2
Food Tourism
North Jutland (DK)
Initiatives
Challenges
Food Tourism
Suffolk (UK)
• Destination branding with
• Destination branding with
food
food
• Support for food events
• Support for food events
• LEADER food network to
• LEADER
link producers with
diversification/innovation
restaurants
projects
• Signature dishes with local
ingredients/ story-telling
• New Nordic is urban
• Establishing joint distribution
• Expanding small-scale
quality production
• Localising food chains
• Lack of iconic (local) cuisine
• Fragmented tourism policy
landscape
• Limited financial resources
Conclusions
• Focus on visible changes (menus, events) & new
temporality (outside main season) rather than
localising food chain
• Drivers – push vs. pull
• Resources – private (food) vs. public (tourism)
• Initiatives – diversification vs. networks
• Challenges – development AND branding