| Author: | Badu-Baiden, Frank |
| Title: | Memorable local food tourism experiences and their effects on attitudinal and behavioral consequences |
| Advisors: | Kim, Sam (SHTM) |
| Degree: | Ph.D. |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Subject: | Food tourism Tourism -- Marketing Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | School of Hotel and Tourism Management |
| Pages: | xvii, 349 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Experiencing local food at an overseas tourism destination has become a significant activity for tourists. Within a destination setting, tourists actively consume local foods as this enables them to understand the unique cultures of a place. It also enhances their overall tourism experience and generates pleasant memories. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of memorable tourism experience in tourists' cognitive activities as tourists draw on their memories in future decision making, evaluation, and reflection. Memories of local food tourism experiences can also inform tourists' attitude toward local food as well as affect their subjective wellbeing, intentions, and loyalty to a food tourism destination. While memorable experiences related to tourism are among the most popular topics in the tourism literature, few studies have specifically explored the memorability of tourists' local food tourism experience. Consequently, there is a limited understanding of this issue and several questions remain unanswered or have only been partially answered. Key among these questions are the factors that contribute to tourists' memories in the local food tourism context and the verification of the dimensions of tourists' memorable local food tourism experience in terms of reliability and validity. Furthermore, the effects of the relationships among tourists' memorable local food tourism experiences and how this affects their attitude toward local food, their subjective wellbeing, intention to recommend, and destination loyalty are yet to be tested. This thesis sets out to answer these questions and is informed by four objectives: (1) to examine the dimensionality of memorable local food tourism experiences from a demand perspective, (2) to develop a scale to measure tourists' memorable local food tourism experiences, (3) to examine the effects of the relationship among tourists' memorable local food tourism experiences and how this affects their attitude toward local food, their subjective wellbeing, intention to recommend, and destination loyalty, and (4) to examine the moderating role of food tourism place, food-related personality trait, and food tasting experience on the relationships among memorable local food tourism experiences, attitude toward local food, subjective wellbeing, intention to recommend, and destination loyalty. A rigorous scale was developed for this study. Following a thorough literature review to generate items and in-depth interviews with experts, a questionnaire was developed, pre-tested, and pilot tested on the targeted sample. An online panel data survey company for United States tourists was used as the main data collection method. After data cleaning, checking screening questions and attention checks, a total of 900 questionnaires were analyzed. The results revealed eight elements that constitute tourists' memorable local food tourism experience. They include; (1) relaxation and energizing, (2) hospitable service experience, (3) ambience and aesthetics, (4) learning exotic food culture, (5) sensory appeal and authentic experience, (6) hedonic experience, (7) conviviality, and (8) gastronomic novelty and curiosity. All the factors except relaxation and energizing, exotic local food culture and consumption, and conviviality had a direct positive effect on attitude toward local food. Attitude toward local food positively affected subjective wellbeing, intention to recommend, and destination loyalty. Subjective wellbeing positively affected destination loyalty; however, it did not affect intention. Finally, food tourism place, food neophobia, and food tasting experience partially moderated the relationship among the aforementioned constructs. A major contribution of this study is its identification of an eight-factor structure of tourists' memorable local food tourism experiences through a rigorous process of scale development. This measurement scale can be applied in different contexts and can enhance our understanding of memorable local food tourism experiences. Furthermore, the study tested a model on interrelationships among tourists' memorable local food tourism experience and how this affects their attitude toward local food, subjective wellbeing, intention to recommend, and destination loyalty. An empirical verification of the model enriches the literature as it can help explain the relationship among memorable local food tourism experience and the aforementioned outcome variables. The findings also hold practical implications for destination marketing and positioning efforts. The study can help destination marketers understand the multidimensional nature of tourists' memorable local food experiences and subsequently determine the types of experiences that can inform tourists' attitudes toward local food, their wellbeing, intention to recommend, and loyalty. Such knowledge will be useful in allocating resources for local food tourism planning, marketing, and other activities. The dimensions identified in this study will also be useful to local food businesses and restauranteurs in their efforts to provide facilities and services that can give tourists memorable experiences. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | open access |
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