Sustainable Restaurant Management

 

Another PowerPoint presentation from a conference.

Bristow, R. & Jenkins, I. (2013). Factors Influencing a Business Preference for Tourism Sustainability: An International Example. Proceedings of the 2013 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Available at http://scholarworks.umass.edu/nerr/2013/Papers/3/.

The GSTC in Health Tourism

Found this old Powerpoint on the computer and thought I'd share.

 Bristow, R., Yang, W. & Lu, M. (2010). An Application of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria in Health Tourism. In: Watts, Clifton E., Jr.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-66. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 97-103. http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/35650.

Innovative Business Practices

See Chapter Sixteen

Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria: An International Perspective on Restaurant Sustainability Model Development

Ian Jenkins and Robert S. Bristow

Islands of the World XII Conference 2012

Returned from the Islands of the World XII Conference held in Tortola, BVI this past week.  A good conference with great papers, lectures, field trips and opportunities to share.  The next Islands conference will be held in 2 years in Jersey UK.

The organizers are expecting to post videos and pictures on the website, so stay tuned.  I delivered the paper:

Management of Island Restaurants:

Applying the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria

R. S. Bristow¹; B. Conz¹; I. Jenkins²

¹Westfield State University, Westfield, Massachusetts, USA

²Les Roches Gruyere University of Applied Science, Bulle, Switzerland

Abstract

There are unique challenges in the management of island restaurants. While it may be reasonable to procure local seafood as part of the cuisine, other meats, produce and beverages may have to be transported great distances.  Further, in a declining economy, sustainable management practices may be less important.

The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the sustainable management practices found in a sample of restaurants found on the islands of Providenciales, North and Middle Caicos in the Turks and Caicos (TCI) to those found in the US.   Selected for this study was the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC). These criteria are designed to be the minimum practices to insure sustainability for the business as well as protect the natural and cultural resources.  Given the lack of local food products on this Caribbean island, it is hypothesized that island restaurants may be more susceptible to sustainable practices.

Data for this study come from a questionnaire administered to a sample of restaurants in both locations.  The survey is designed to collect general information about the restaurant, what kind of cuisine offered, sources of food and concludes with a few questions asking about the sustainable practices. Excluded from the sample are chain and fast food restaurants.  At present 40 restaurants have been surveyed yielding a 25% response rate in TCI and 20% rate for the region in the States.  Additional restaurants are being sampled at the time of this writing and a plan for sampling restaurants in Europe will occur in the spring of 2012.

Preliminary results indicate that for the island restaurants most food comes from either the United States or the Dominican Republic.  Exceptions to these two sources would be the local seafood, produce grown at a local hydroponic farm and most baked goods.  While many managers desire specialized foods, e.g., organic, chemical free, grass-fed or free range food, these are not readily available.  On the other hand, price, uniformity, availability and quality are important to most managers.

Management’s assessment of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria found that energy and water use were of most concern.  Electricity use, for example, was quite expensive and restaurants had few alternatives for more sustainable practices.

Encouraging prospects do exist for the island restaurants.  Potential farm land on the neighboring North and Middle Caicos could be cultivated to meet the local needs.   Most island restaurants would purchase this local food providing the cost, availability, and quality were dependable.

Keywords – global sustainable tourism criteria, restaurants, islands, local food, sustainable development

Subtheme – Sustaining Tourism after the Global Financial Crisis

What makes a restaurant Sustainable

I've been working on a project to answer that question for the past year. Initial results will be presented at the Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium in a few weeks.

Basically we are surveying restaurant managers to find out some general information about their business, the sources of food they serve, importance of the types, and an assessment of sustainable practices. The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria is used.

Chinson's is a good example of a sustainable business in Providenciales.

How Sustainable are the Pioneer Valley Restaurants

We'll find out, since my students are administering a questionnaire to a sample of restaurants in the Pioneer Valley. Stay tuned.

da Conch Shack

Hungry for conch? I am partial to cracked conch and this a really good place to get it.

They also participated in our Sustainable Restaurant Study, so take this as a shameless plug for their food.

Sustainable Tourism in Restaurants

I was in the local supermarket a day ago, and while I was checking the shelves, two different people commented about the high prices. I paused before replying (something I need to do more often) and said something like "well everything is higher and you have to consider the transportation costs...".

Transportation costs? It amazes me when get strawberries at home in winter. I mean, the berries are being transported 5-7 thousand miles, and they are only a couple of bucks.

But here and now, on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, BVI, the five dollar loafs of bread, "Kraft" cheese going $10 a pound and so on, everything is higher than at home. But on an island EVERYTHING has to come from somewhere else.

I mean, the seafood is local (and fresh, not frozen) and the hydroponic farming does provide some local greens. But be prepared to pay $50 and up for a cut of beef at the dinner table. But who would (or should) when the conch chowder tastes so good!

So this a longer than normal intro is needed to post our research here: Sustainable Restaurant Study. Using the criteria established by the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, we are interviewing restaurants in TCI about the sustainable food practices. More to come....