Culinary heritage and its role in the development of tourist product on the example of agritourism offer in Poland

The paper reports on a research project aimed at analysing the role of regional culinary traditions and local foods in the development of the tourist product from the perspective of both the hosts and the visitors to agritourism farms. Following a questionnaire-based survey conducted at the beginning of 2017, authors note a divergence of opinion about the importance of traditional foods and recipes between the agritourism service providers and their clients. The former are aware of local traditions but they use them to a limited degree in creating the tourist offer. The latter, in turn, expect that regional culinary traditions will be present among the food they are offered on site and available to purchase as souvenirs. Importantly, the questionnaire results suggest that agritourism visitors base their choices of holiday destinations as much on the presence and style of the local cuisine as on other features of the local culture, as well as such regional characteristics as landscape and climate.