Gastronomy as an important part of the culture, morals, customs, and traditions of the countries meets the needs of visitors and at the same time contributes to tourism development through the rich gastronomic heritage. Gastronomic tourism offers the possibility of increasing the income criteria of a population, increasing jobs, and developing the national economy. The purpose of this study is to highlight the role of female creativity in the development of a gastronomic destination with a case study of Naxos in the South Aegean in Greece. At the same time, it aims to highlight the great challenges and opportunities brought about by gastronomic tourism with the contribution of women's entrepreneurship. Women's creativity and entrepreneurship create new job opportunities. The dynamic presence and activity of the women of Naxos highlights the tourism destination of Naxos as a destination of high gastronomy. Secondary sources present gender discrimination in entrepreneurship, women's entrepreneurship in tourism, and the connection of tourism with gastronomic heritage.
Top1. Introduction
Visitors to a tourism destination due to their growing desire to experience a variety of tourism experiences have placed gastronomy in their high preferences as an important part of their daily lives, being an important tourism motivation for them (Kim, Park, Lamb, 2019). Tasting a food is a gastronomic experience that represents the heritage and the characteristic idiom of a tourism destination and its inhabitants, reflecting its economic, social, environmental physiognomy (Brunori, Rossi, 2000) and experiencing the visitor other cultures through food (Long, 2004).
Gender and female creativity play a major role in the promotion of gastronomic culture, since in the world of gastronomic entrepreneurship, women entrepreneurs create in an innovative way, use their imagination and take advantage of the combined and unique resources they have (Chiles, Bluedorn, Gupta 2007). On the one hand, several scholars have approached the specific research field of female entrepreneurship from the optical of female creative perspectives, focusing on their creative imagination (Lachmann, 1977) and on the other hand, the possible limitations in the integration of women have been examined in business life (Al-Dajani, Marlow, 2013).
The specific contradictions that arise from the various research approaches that have been carried out do not invalidate the idea that the emotional and reminiscent criteria of local gastronomy turn a holiday place into an attractive and special resort (Kivela, Johns, 2002; Santos et al., 2021a; 2021b). They also reveal the key ingredients that highlight the cultural heritage of a destination (Björk, Kauppinen-Räisänen, 2016) and provide special personal experiences for the visitor (Finkelstein, 1989), gastronomic culture experiences that remain unforgettable (Wolf, 2002). Many times, social systems are gender-based due to the integration of institutionalized structures preventing women from realizing new ideas and creating businesses (Welter, 2011) within a wide range of contexts that include gender differences (García, Welter, 2013).
The unforgettable gastronomic experiences experienced by the visitor in Greece with the various culinary traditions and local food through female creativity and gastronomy are examined in this primary research effort by collecting primary data through interviews with women entrepreneurs located on the island of Naxos, located at the southeastern end of Greece and European Union. The primary research emphasizes the contribution of women entrepreneurship in the promotion of this island as a gastronomic destination. Successful women entrepreneurs enjoy social appreciation through their creativity (Baron, 2005). Conclusions and suggestions encourage female gastronomic creativity, as it offers the opportunity to progress by acquiring resources (McKeever, Jack, Anderson, 2015), examining the hypothesis that social systems are often gender-based and prevent women entrepreneurs from implementing new ideas (Welter, 2011) because of social forces (Shahriar, 2008).