Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Exploring the rise of Farm-to-Table dining experience and its implications on sustainable tourism destination marketing(Saudi Digital Library, 2025) Baeshen, Lana Rayan; Wang, LornaFarm-to-table (FTT) is assessed in this study as more than just a sourcing preference. To promote sustainable tourism, it looks at FTT as an entire organizational structure and as a visitor experience. The objective is to evaluate how FTT enhances the perception of a location and its sense of place, adds value to the market for hospitality providers, and supports environmental, social, and economical sustainability. The work is guided by four objectives: defining FTT in the context of sustainable tourism; evaluating its social and environmental impacts; analyzing its function in place branding and destination marketing; and determining implications for destination development and sustainable tourism marketing. To comprehend the practical operation of FTT, a qualitative design was selected. Eleven participants, including chefs, restaurant managers, and visitors, participated in semi-structured interviews. To promote truthful responses, chefs and managers from the same location were interviewed separately. Their testimonies were then analyzed as matched pairs to compare viewpoints. To triangulate judgments of authenticity, quality, and value, tourist interviews were analyzed in conjunction with these dyads. Analysis proceeded in a straightforward manner from codes to themes, following reflexive thematic analysis. Data-source triangulation, an audit trail of analytical conclusions, and reflexive notes were used to support trustworthiness. The results for objective 1 demonstrate that FTT functions as an organizational system as opposed to a single strategy. Deliberate supply chain selection, menu engineering based on seasonality, staff proficiency in provenance knowledge, and guest communication outlining the significance of choices are all part of it. Seasonality serves as the operational rhythm that influences menu changes, preparation, and purchases. While managers convert seasonality into unambiguous statements for the table and online, chefs frequently view it as a creative catalyst. This systems perspective broadens our knowledge of FTT beyond the constrained concept of "local sourcing." Social, environmental and economical contributions are demonstrated by the results for Objective 2. Flexible menus can reduce waste and the effects of transportation and storage, as can short food chains and a seasonal focus. Redirecting expenditure to local producers and craftspeople and showcasing food traditions to tourists both create social value. Interviewees talked of cooperative problem-solving when harvests were delayed or yields were low, as well as relationships founded on trust with producers. These relationships uphold authenticity and safeguard quality, but they also highlight conflicts because small suppliers are subject to unpredictability and scale constraints. The study candidly documents operators' realistic modifications as they strike a balance between ideals and operational reality. The results for Objective 3 demonstrate how FTT helps with place branding and tourism marketing. By transforming landscapes, farms, and producers into menus and stories that guests can taste and identify, FTT "puts place on the plate." The restaurant's local food network is connected by cues displayed in the dining rooms, servers explain procedures and seasons, and menus mention people and locations. Travelers associate these cues with a greater sense of location and describe them as genuine and memorable. In this sense, FTT uses sensory experience and believable storytelling to enhance destination uniqueness and loyalty. The results for Objective 4 show the implications for the market and development. When food tastes better, supports local farmers, and adheres to ethical standards, tourists are willing to pay premiums typically between 15% and 25% if provenance and quality are obvious and staff members provide an explanation of the "why" without being pushy. However, the study identifies obstacles that hinder scalability compared to standardized chains: depending on small suppliers creates unpredictability; menu agility necessitates close coordination between the kitchen and floor and trained teams; and stock-outs necessitate meticulous service timing. The value of FTT is not diminished by these problems but rather show that development is dependent on enabling structures that preserve provenance while enhancing dependability, such as producer networks, light aggregation, and shared logistics. By connecting front-of-house meaning to back-of-house practice, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution. It links branding outcomes like place attachment, word-of-mouth, and authenticity signals to sourcing and menu design. Methodologically, triangulating with tourists and pairing chefs and managers in the same location lessens the bias of a single informant and highlights tensions and complementarities that are otherwise difficult to identify. All things considered, FTT is positioned as an organizing logic that is integrated into a destination rather than as a stand-alone strategy. Practical guidance follows. Instead of fighting seasonality, operators can plan their prep procedures and menu cycles to accommodate it. Teams should receive training on how to succinctly and effectively demonstrate provenance, backed up by straightforward producer records. Values and costs should be reflected in pricing, with clear connections to waste reduction, biodiversity, and farmer advantages. Plans for replacements and close coordination between the beverage, floor, and kitchen teams enable the transformation of limitations into stories and innovation that create value that visitors can relate to. For destination managers and policy makers, the study suggests using transparent sustainability standards to preserve trust and guard against greenwashing; investing in enabling infrastructure like shared logistics or food hubs that maintain traceability while improving reliability; and coordinating across producers and venues to keep messages and quality consistent. Benefits are dispersed more widely when high-end FTT eating is combined with easily accessible touchpoints, including as markets, seasonal events, and producer tours. Limitations are acknowledged. Cultural nuance and rural comparability may be limited by the qualitative, purposeful, and time-limited nature of the research; majority of the interviews were performed in urban areas and in English. A clear analytical trail, depth, and triangulation help to counteract these scope conditions. To investigate resilience and equity, future research may compare urban and rural ecosystems and governance models, measure trade-offs and willingness to pay using choice experiments, and monitor producer-restaurant connections throughout seasons. In summary, the dissertation achieves its goal. It demonstrates how farm-to-table transforms seasonality into unique brand value and region into gastronomy. When practice and storytelling coincide, it shows social, environmental and economic benefits in addition to believable market results. It discusses how enabling structures might aid and why growth may be slower than for huge, standardized chains.16 0