ENHANCING TOURISM SMES DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FOOD TOURISM IN THE CZECH REGIONS

The paper focuses on the impact of food tourism development on SMEs in the Czech regions. Czech regions combine some prerequisites for food tourism development with a long lasting tradition of preparation food culture. SMEs focusing on food preparation and services were subject to qualitative research using primary and secondary data. The further development of food tourism in the Czech regions is outlined based on the results of the analysis. The research included face-to-face interviews in a one-to-one setting with thirty tourism stakeholders. The entire sample was selected by snowball sampling method. Given the qualitative nature of the information gathered and the size of the sample, the survey responses were not amenable to statistical analysis. Based on the interviews conducted it can be stated that the offer of regional food and local drinks has the important influence on the revenue growth of SMEs, it increases the guests traffic, improves the image and enhance the average spending of guests.