This study explores the characteristics and urban implications of bakery pilgrimage—a travel and consumption behavior driven by social media—and the bakery pilgrimage destinations that serve as its focal points. Bakery pilgrimage refers to the act...
This study explores the characteristics and urban implications of bakery pilgrimage—a travel and consumption behavior driven by social media—and the bakery pilgrimage destinations that serve as its focal points. Bakery pilgrimage refers to the act of visiting local bakeries that can only be experienced in specific regions, much like a sacred pilgrimage, and sharing those experiences on social media. This trend has become a familiar cultural practice among younger generations. In the process, some local bakeries have evolved into iconic bakery pilgrimage destinations that either motivate visits to a region or become essential stops when visiting. These destinations often generate significant ripple effects on local commercial districts and regional economies. Amid demographic decline and the waning of traditional industries, many municipalities are seeking to expand their relational population. In this context, bakery pilgrimage represents a form of voluntary regional visitation driven by social media. A comprehensive understanding of bakery pilgrimage and its destinations can offer insights for local governments seeking to utilize such phenomena and similar future trends.
Focusing on Daejeon, a city that has emerged as a prominent destination for bakery pilgrims nationwide, this study analyzes the location characteristics of bakery pilgrimage destinations and the behaviors of consumers and bakery operators. Despite the increasing flexibility of commercial location patterns due to the influence of social media, bakery pilgrimage destinations in Daejeon tend to occupy advantageous locations in terms of population density and accessibility—conventional locational criteria for bakeries. These destinations also show a clustering tendency around major commercial areas, aligning with general bakery density patterns in the city. An analysis based on 156 survey responses, mostly from women in their 20s, revealed that motivations for bakery pilgrimage to Daejeon include interest in specific breads and bakeries introduced through social media, curiosity about Daejeon’s image as a “city of bread,” and the overall convenience of visiting and navigating the city for bakery tours. These motivations lead to social media sharing, intentions to revisit, and changes in perception of the city. In terms of operational characteristics, bakery pilgrimage destinations in Daejeon emphasize the city’s local identity through their physical spaces, management practices, and branding strategies, and many participate in education and social contribution programs, reflecting an awareness of multi-stop bakery pilgrimage behaviors.
Based on the Daejeon case, the study suggests the following urban implications of bakery pilgrimage and its destinations: (1) bakery pilgrimage destinations contribute to local vitality by forming clusters with other bakeries and commercial establishments, enhancing not just individual stores but broader commercial areas; (2) Bakery Pilgrimage Destinations strengthen the city’s bread-related image, and when combined with municipal initiatives and policies, they can serve as a key axis in shaping and reinforcing an urban brand; and (3) the growth of bakery pilgrimage and its destinations contributes not only to increased tourism and consumption but also to the development of related industrial ecosystems.
This study offers an exploratory and integrative analysis of bakery pilgrimage and its destinations using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Its significance lies in shedding light on social media–driven travel and consumption behaviors. However, as the research is focused on the specific case of Daejeon, further studies are needed to deepen the understanding of social media’s expanding influence on urban spaces and experiences, and to explore similar phenomena and stakeholder dynamics across diverse contexts.