SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION OF CULTURAL AND GASTRONOMIC TOURISM THROUGH AHP ANALYSIS OF FOOD WASTE
Keywords:
Sustainable transformation, cultural tourism, gastronomic tourism, food waste, AHP method, Serbia
Abstract
The problem of food waste in tourism represents a significant challenge for achieving the principles of sustainable development, particularly in the segments of cultural and gastronomic tourism. The aim of this paper is to identify and rank key factors contributing to the sustainable transformation of the tourism offer in Serbia. The application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method enables the quantification and determination of the relative importance of factors influencing food waste reduction, including technological innovations, management of food preparation processes, employee education, and efficient use of resources. The main contribution lies in integrating a theoretical model with contemporary approaches to resource management in tourism and hospitality. The results highlight the importance of analytical methods in decision-making, enhancing the sustainability of tourist destinations, and strengthening competitiveness. Furthermore, the findings provide practical guidance for tourism managers and planners to optimize resources and reduce operational losses.
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References
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Buckley, R. (2012). Sustainable tourism: Research and reality. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 528–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.annals.2012.02.003
Cecchi, F., & Cavinato, C. (2019). Smart Approaches to Food Waste Final Disposal. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(16), 2860. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162860
Çetin, K., & Süren, T. (2024). An Investigation into the Causes of Food Waste by Tourists in All-inclusive Resorts in Turkey. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 25(4), 677–699. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2022.2135162
Ellis, A., Park, E., Kim, S., & Yeoman, I. (2018). What is food tourism? Tourism Management, 68, 250–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.tourman.2018.03.025
FAO. (2019). The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved April 25, 2026. From https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/11f9288f-dc78-4171-8d02-92235b8d7dc7/content
Filimonau, V., & De Coteau, D. (2019). Food waste management in hospitality operations: A critical review. Tourism Management, 71, 234–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.10.009
Font, X., & McCabe, S. (2017). Sustainability and marketing in tourism: its contexts, paradoxes, approaches, challenges and potential. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(7), 869–883. https://doi.org/10.1080/
09669582.2017.1301721
Garcia-Garcia, G., Woolley, E., & Rahimifard, S. (2017). A methodology for sustainable management of food waste. Waste and Biomass Valorization, 8, 2209–2227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9720-0
Global Sustainable Tourism Council (2023). What is sustainable tourism? Retrieved April 25, 2026. From https://www.gstc.org/what-is-sustainable-tourism/
Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C. M. (2021). Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1758708
Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., & Sonesson, U. (2011). Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved April 20, 2026. From https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/
suistainability/pdf/Global_Food_Losses_and_Food_Waste.pdf
Hall, C. M. (2019). Constructing sustainable tourism development: The 2030 agenda and the managerial ecology of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27(7), 1044–1060. https://doi.org/
10.1080/09669582.2018.1560456
IPCC. (2019). Climate Change and Land: An IPCC Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved April 25, 2026. From https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/11/SRCCL-Full-Report-Compiled-191128.pdf
Koester, U. (2014). Food loss and waste as an economic and policy problem. Intereconomics, 49(6), 348–354. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10272-014-0518-7
Papargyropoulou, E., Steinberger, J. K., Wright, N., Lozano, R., Padfield, R., & Ujang, Z. (2019). Patterns and Causes of Food Waste in the Hospitality and Food Service Sector: Food Waste Prevention Insights from Malaysia. Sustainability, 11(21), 6016. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su11216016
Rational. Retrieved April 20, 2026. From https://www.rational-online.com/en_xx/home/
Richards, G. (2018). Cultural tourism: A review of recent research and trends. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 36, 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.03.005
Saaty, T. L. (1980). The analytic hierarchy process: Planning, priority setting, resource allocation. McGraw-Hill.
Sigala, M. (2020). Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research. Journal of Business Research, 117, 312–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.015
Sims, R. (2009). Food, place and authenticity: local food and the sustainable tourism experience. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(3), 321–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580802359293
Todorov, P. (2025a). Upravljanje kvalitetom ekoturističkog proizvoda. Turističko poslovanje, 35, 105–114. https://doi.org/10.5937/
turpos0-58007
Todorov, P. (2025b). Menadžment održivog razvoja turističkih proizvoda u uslovima klimatskih promena. U Zborniku radova XI međunarodne naučne konferencije „Mediji i ekonomija“ (pp. 477–485). Visoka škola „Banja Luka College“, Banjaluka. https://doi.org/10.7251/
BLCZR0125477T
Todorov, P. (2025c). Ekološka poljoprivreda kao osnova za razvoj održivih proizvoda i usluga u ruralnim područjima primenom AHP metode. U Zborniku radova Prve međunarodne naučno-stručne konferencije „Zelena agenda EU i održivi razvoj ekološke poljoprivrede u Bosni i Hercegovini“ (str. 276–291). Univerzitet FINRA Tuzla, Biotehnički fakultet.
Todorov, P., & Simonović, Z. (2026). Sustainable transformation of rural communities through the development of a rural tourism product. In Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference “Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development – VI” (pp. 711–719). Institute of Agricultural Economics. https://doi.org/10.46793/zbIEP25.711T
Todorov, P., Veljić, A., & Ljubisavljević, J. (2023). The AHP method application in the process of selecting sustainable ecodestinations for the development of ecotourism. U Zborniku radova 4. međunarodne znanstveno-stručne konferencije „Holistički pristup razvoju studijskih programa menadžmenta i turizma” (pp. 177–197). Ekonomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu.
United Nations (2023). Sustainable tourism and the SDGs. Retrieved April 20, 2026. From https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2023.pdf
Vardopoulos, I., Abeliotis, K., & Lasaridi, K. (2025). A Systematic Informetric Analysis and Literature Review of Food Waste Quantification Studies in the Food Service Industry. Sustainability, 17(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17010103
Wang, L., Filimonau, V., & Li, Y. (2021). Exploring the patterns of food waste generation by tourists in a popular destination. Journal of Cleaner Production, 279, 123890. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2020.123890
United Nations Environment Programme & World Tourism Organization (2005). Making tourism more sustainable: A Guide for policy makers. World Tourism Organization. Retrieved April 25, 2026. From https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/9789284408214
Published
2026-10-16
How to Cite
Todorov, P., & Cilić, M. (2026). SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION OF CULTURAL AND GASTRONOMIC TOURISM THROUGH AHP ANALYSIS OF FOOD WASTE. Tourism International Scientific Conference Vrnjačka Banja - TISC, 9(1), 171-181. https://doi.org/10.52370/TISC26171PT
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Articles
