What's on the menu? : how the cuisine of large-scale, upmarket tourist resorts shapes agricultural development in Fiji : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
| dc.contributor.author | Laeis, Gabriel C. M. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-06-28T22:42:44Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2020-06-28T22:42:44Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Tourism is an economic backbone for many developing countries, especially small island development states (SIDS). Nevertheless, scholars have argued that tourism is a globalising and, potentially, colonising force that may not be a sustainable path for the economic and cultural development of such countries. Even though international tourist numbers are growing, economic leakages are high in developing countries. This is partly due to a significant share of food being imported for tourists, despite local food production. Research on the impediments of agriculture-tourism linkages in developing countries has so far taken mostly an economistic approach, finding a variety of supply, demand, marketing and policy related factors. To allow for a more holistic approach, this study takes a cultural perspective and investigates how the cuisine of large-scale, upmarket tourist resorts shapes agricultural development in SIDS, such as Fiji. Sahlins’ (1992) theory of cultural change is combined with the corporate community development framework (Banks, Scheyvens, McLennan, & Bebbington, 2016) to explore the agency of Fijians in negotiating the impact of Western-dominated tourism. This study employed ethnographic methods in a case study approach during a four-month field trip to Fiji. Participation and observation in a resort kitchen, field visits to other resorts, farms and food intermediaries, 38 interviews as well as document analysis enabled a rich representation of local viewpoints on food, culture and tourism. Large-scale resorts present Fijian cuisine either in the form of tokenistic ‘island night shows’, or in fusion concepts that cater to a few affluent guests. Fijian chefs rarely perceive their own cuisine as valuable, due to decades of Western-dominated tourism. The use of local produce is accordingly low and purposeful development of tourism-agriculture linkages is rare. Farmers, on the other hand, recognise resorts as a valuable market. Nevertheless, many Indo-Fijian farmers turn towards food exporters as a more reliable and predictable business partner. Indigenous food producers engage only to a degree that they deem valuable for their own socio-cultural needs and goals. Findings suggest that small-scale resorts, catering to niche markets, might be more conducive to local integration and sustainable tourism development. Policy-wise, developing the agricultural agenda of SIDS to match the requirements of Western diets might have environmentally and socially detrimental implications. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10179/15434 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Massey University | en_US |
| dc.rights | The Author | en_US |
| dc.subject | Tourism | en_US |
| dc.subject | Social aspects | en_US |
| dc.subject | Economic aspects | en_US |
| dc.subject | Resorts | en_US |
| dc.subject | Agriculture | en_US |
| dc.subject | Gastronomy | en_US |
| dc.subject | Fiji | en_US |
| dc.title | What's on the menu? : how the cuisine of large-scale, upmarket tourist resorts shapes agricultural development in Fiji : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| massey.contributor.author | Laeis, Gabriel Christoph Maria | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Development Studies | en_US |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | en_US |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | en_US |