A (Sustainable?) Pinch of the Destination - Demand for Local Products at Lake Balaton, Hungary

Local products play an important role in the present-day world. Tourism stakeholders encourage destinations to support production, and travelers to buy local products. Local products can be ambassadors of visited areas, furthermore contributing to a more sustainable tourism sector. Concerns are also raised by stakeholders such as changing landscape in order to serve local product demand, or challenges of serving a great volume of visitors with small scale produced local products. Besides the overview of the theoretical background, the study presents the results of the primary research done at Lake Balaton (Hungary). Demand for local products among leisure travelers was mapped, differentiating food and non-food items. Respondents to the survey could furthermore indicate whether local products were bought for own use or as souvenirs for others. In line with previous studies, food items are dominating, two thirds of leisure travelers bought any food type local product. Implications of the study can support stakeholders in identifying influencing factors when buying local products, and give guidance on how to reach successfully potential consumers.