Vegan menu as a decisive factor when booking a cruise through the Baltic Sea
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu Tampere University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme in Tourism BARRERO TORAL, MANUELA: Vegan Menu as a Decisive Factor when Booking a Cruise through the Baltic Sea Bachelor's thesis 49 pages, appendices 3 pages April 2016 Food is an elemental part of life. People need food in order to obtain energy and to be able to perform on a daily basis. However, food has become more than the source of energy nowadays. The selection of food consumed by people is in some cases very restricted, especially for vegans. Vegans limit their diets, excluding animal products from their meals, which in some cases leads to a very small selection and options, or in some cases to the inclusion of animal product in meals. There are many and various reasons why a person decides to become a vegan. Some people are concerned about animal rights, other have religious or ethical reasons, or even health reasons. The Baltic Sea is one of the favourite destinations for quick trips inside the Baltic countries area. It is accessible and affordable. It is possible to travel to other countries in less than 24 hours, at an economic price. In all cases there is a food catering service available on board. Nevertheless, the range of options for vegans is almost absent. In the best case scenario, vegetarian meals can be found on the menu. However, this limited offer puts the traveller in a non comfortable situation: Should the traveller change his/her lifestyle and ethics, or other motivations to eat vegan food because the food offer does not count with vegan tourists. The aim of this bachelor's thesis was to provide an answer to several questions within the food tourism or culinary tourism area: Is the availability of a vegan menu a decisive factor when booking a cruise? Would cruising companies obtain higher benefits if their menus included vegan options? Would the service improve by adding more vegan products in their shops and restaurants? It is important to find the value and effect of veganism in tourism and the travellers' experience in order to provide service and products for all segments in the market. These questions were answered based on the results obtained in the form of a survey. The survey results were analysed in order to provide a clear view of the current situation in this field, and to obtain plausible answers to the previously mentioned questions.