1 INTRODUCTION
Over the past few decades, the tourism industry has experienced continued growth and diversification. According to World Tourism Organization, tourism sector is considered as the biggest and one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. Nowadays, tourism plays an important role in economy of most of the countries, and it is connected to development and an increasing number of destinations worldwide. (UNWTO, 2016) As cultural tourism market is rapidly growing, the factors affecting the decision to travel has also changed. Nowadays, when booking a holiday, the destination image is not the only main factor in decision making process, but there are also other significant factors or trends based on tourists’ interests and values.
The specialized tourism that involves group of tourists whose main reason or motivation to travel is their interests and needs, including their hobbies and activities, is called Special interest tourism (SIT). Douglas et al. suggest that a special interest tourism is an alternative to mass tourism and it provides customized leisure and recreational activities and experiences driven by the specific interests or needs of individuals and groups, that decide to engage with specialized tourism products or services that satisfies their specific interests and needs. They also suggest that special interest tourists are seeking the authenticity of the places they visit.
One of the most dynamic segment of special interest tourism is food