Local food consumption values and attitude formation: the moderating effect of food neophilia and neophobia

PurposeThe local food tourism in Pakistan is increasing rapidly, and it attracts scholars to determine the factors affecting local food tourists' buying choices. Particularly, the authors aim to investigate the role of food consumption values on predicting domestic tourists' attitude toward local food and its effect on the intention to try local food with the moderating effect of personality traits (neophobia and neophilia).Design/methodology/approachThe authors tested the study model on 250 completed responses from local food tourists. They collected the data from three tourism locations (Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar) in Pakistan. Their study utilizes the consumption value theory within the limits of Pakistan's local food tourism.FindingsThe empirical findings show that consumption values, such as price, emotion, interaction, epistemic value, location value and variety value, effectively explain the domestic tourists' attitude toward local food. The authors further report that food neophilia strengthens the local tourists' positive reception toward the local food. However, food neophobia weakens the direction between local tourists' attitude toward local food and the intention to try local food.Practical implicationsThis study provides insights pertaining to tourists' local food consumption values (LFCVs) to a local destination owner and marketing manager to strategically work on LFCVs that are crucial for domestic tourists to derive their intention to try local food. Practitioners should work on domestic tourists who possess food neophobia trait and enquire them for their rejection or avoidance of a particular local destination. This will enable practitioners to bring innovation and development in the local destination, which ultimately promote local food tourism.Originality/valueThis study is the first to incorporate the variety and local value in tourists' LFCVs to predict local tourists' attitude toward local food. Additionally, the authors contribute to local food tourism by empirically studying the moderating role of personality traits (food neophilia and food neophobia) to examine the direction between local tourists' attitude and intention to local food.

Food tourism: opportunities for SMEs through diaspora marketing?

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the diaspora effect on food tourism. Focussing on the nexus of diaspora marketing, entrepreneurship and food tourism, this paper seeks to explore opportunities for food and drink small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in food tourism activities through diaspora marketing.Design/methodology/approachAs an investigation of an under-researched concept, this research uses mixed methods to develop a deeper understanding of diaspora effects on food tourism. This includes an online survey of 169 food producers, with 37 follow-up interviews. Research was conducted with food producing SMEs in Wales and Brittany, two culturally and geographically similar places, where both the food and drink and tourism industries are significant parts of the local economy.FindingsTwo avenues for diaspora tourism are apparent, either through engaging with diaspora networks, such as expatriate networks located outside the country of origin, or through the reverse diaspora effect, of visitors experiencing products and then seeking to purchase them once returned to their countries. Both approaches depend on the ability for the food producer to sell their products to international buyers, as well as ensuring that international buyers had sufficient awareness of the products, which also links to a positive reputation for food.Originality/valueThe paper aims to take a novel approach to the impact of diasporas on food tourism by considering the entrepreneurial activity of businesses in developing opportunities for food tourism through diaspora marketing. Distinctions are made from existing research by studying diaspora tourism from the business perspective.

Co-creation experience and foodscape in tourism: A case study of Yogyakarta

<p>Research focusing on co-creation experience in tourism has seen a significant increase in the last decade considering its importance as a basis for experiential value creation and future innovation. Co-creation experience concept is deeply related to food tourism because this type of tourism is about experiencing food and its associations with environments and people. The idea of foodscape is widely used in many studies to understand the connections between food, environments, and people. However, the ideas remain limited to be found in tourism studies in particular food tourism. Thus, investigating the linkage between the concepts of co-creation experience and foodscape is an interesting area of research. As such, this thesis aims to investigate how co-creation experience influences and creates foodscape in a food tourism destination. This research uses Yogyakarta, Indonesia as a basis to explore the construct of foodscape, co-creation tourism experience components that contribute to shaping foodscape, and how these components influence and create foodscape. The literature on food experience in tourism, co-creation experience, food tourism, and foodscape lays the theoretical foundation for this research. This research uses case study methodology and is based on collections of secondary data, observations, and interviews with food tourism suppliers and international tourists. The findings of this study are divided into three key areas. First, this study identifies five foodscape constructs: tangible and intangible environments, social interactions, food quality, price, and divergence. Second, the co-creation experience that shape foodscape is divided into three components: engagement, personalization, and co-production. It finds that these components center on experience environment and experience involvement. Third, this study finds that each co-creation experience components influence and create foodscape through new food offerings inventions, authenticity seeking, and attraction, facilities, and activities. This research contributes to understanding the dynamic nature of foodscape and the components of co-creation experience in the context of food tourism. It also develops our understanding of connections between co-creation experience and foodscape of the food tourism destination. As such, for academia, the research result can be used as a cornerstone for further studies in the related fields. Then, for practitioners, the findings may be useful to manage the construction of foodscape through co-creation experience.</p>

Co-creation experience and foodscape in tourism: A case study of Yogyakarta

<p>Research focusing on co-creation experience in tourism has seen a significant increase in the last decade considering its importance as a basis for experiential value creation and future innovation. Co-creation experience concept is deeply related to food tourism because this type of tourism is about experiencing food and its associations with environments and people. The idea of foodscape is widely used in many studies to understand the connections between food, environments, and people. However, the ideas remain limited to be found in tourism studies in particular food tourism. Thus, investigating the linkage between the concepts of co-creation experience and foodscape is an interesting area of research. As such, this thesis aims to investigate how co-creation experience influences and creates foodscape in a food tourism destination. This research uses Yogyakarta, Indonesia as a basis to explore the construct of foodscape, co-creation tourism experience components that contribute to shaping foodscape, and how these components influence and create foodscape. The literature on food experience in tourism, co-creation experience, food tourism, and foodscape lays the theoretical foundation for this research. This research uses case study methodology and is based on collections of secondary data, observations, and interviews with food tourism suppliers and international tourists. The findings of this study are divided into three key areas. First, this study identifies five foodscape constructs: tangible and intangible environments, social interactions, food quality, price, and divergence. Second, the co-creation experience that shape foodscape is divided into three components: engagement, personalization, and co-production. It finds that these components center on experience environment and experience involvement. Third, this study finds that each co-creation experience components influence and create foodscape through new food offerings inventions, authenticity seeking, and attraction, facilities, and activities. This research contributes to understanding the dynamic nature of foodscape and the components of co-creation experience in the context of food tourism. It also develops our understanding of connections between co-creation experience and foodscape of the food tourism destination. As such, for academia, the research result can be used as a cornerstone for further studies in the related fields. Then, for practitioners, the findings may be useful to manage the construction of foodscape through co-creation experience.</p>

FOOD TOURISM MOTIVATION AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON HIPSTER CAFÉ IN JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA

Hipster Café has developed in accordance with the hipster ideology of the food and beverage industry. Hipster, according to Greif (2016), refers to "rebel consumers" who describe their lifestyle and purchases in ways that vary from the standard. Interrelated with this was the introduction of the hipster concept into the food industry. Food tourism motivation plays an important factor in keeping hipster cafés competitive in the foodservice industry. As a result, this study aims to find out what young people think about the food tourism motivations and customer satisfaction of Hipster Café, as they have been recognized as regular visitors.

Who killed food tourism? Unaware cannibalism in online conversations about traveling in Italy

PurposeA food tourism destination can fully exploit its competitiveness if food-related attributes are consistently highlighted both in its promotion and in user-generated content. However, in the context of food tourism research, a possible image incongruence has not yet been studied. Tourism destination image incongruence occurs when different travel information sources reflect inconsistent representations of a destination's attributes. This study addresses this gap, focusing on Italian food and wine as drivers to attract visitors. This study examines whether food-related attributes are present in online travel-related conversations and are perceived differently by people with and without knowledge about the destination.Design/methodology/approachContent analysis based on a Bayesian machine-learning technique utilizing Leximancer software was applied to analyze questions and answers posted on TripAdvisor forums by potential and past visitors of four destinations in Italy (Naples, Florence, Parma and Ferrara). Questions and answers expressed by people with different knowledge in Italian and English were analyzed separately to gain deeper understanding.FindingsContrary to expectations, food-related themes were almost completely absent in the conversations analyzed, with only a few exceptions in Italian question sections. This situation depicts a sort of “cannibalism”, in the sense that the centrality of food-related attributes is engulfed by other, less sensorial, enjoyable and memorable aspects of the travel experience.Research limitations/implicationsAnalysis suggests that hype may exist in food tourism promotion related to destination image incongruence. However, while based on a large volume of conversations, the analysis covers only four Italian cities.Practical implicationsDestination management organizations (DMOs) should develop their strategy and communication considering internal and external elements: their marketing targets on one side and the local culture and attractions' perceptions on the other. Standard marketing processes (segmenting, targeting, positioning) and theories should be put in place. The application of standard marketing dynamics and studies should push the DMOs to understand that the internally perceived cultural values of the touristic destinations could not be known or joint univocally by the global external customers and that a local promotional activity should start with branding and not commercial activities.Originality/valueThis is the first study to suggest the existence of hype in food tourism promotion of Italian destinations and to provide evidence supporting this argument.

SUSTAINABLE FOOD AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL MARKER IN THE FOOD TOURISM INDUSTRY

Participation in food tourism promotes more responsible and sustainable tourism, benefiting both travelers and locals. In general, it is an experience in which food is used as a form of expression and connection with local culture, biodiversity, and the desire to understand local nature and ethnicity. On the basis of these acquired skills, a love for nature is formed, which is expressed through ecological thinking and lifestyle. In the context of a global, technologically rapidly changing world, gastronomy tourism is a way to contribute to local farming and food production practices for sustainable development, food security, social stability and community well-being. Tourists are active participants in the preservation of the environment, local culture and historical traditions, creating, together with local producers, opportunities for communication, outdoor activities and the exchange of regional food in various ethnic and cultural spaces. The problem with the tourism industry as a whole is that instead of moving forward towards sustainability, the industry only responds to emerging environmental problems. Thus, the game of reaction is always doomed to be untimely in matters of global solution of environmental problems. The article explores a more holistic view of both the problems of gastronomic tourism and the possibility of applying environmental solutions in gastronomic tourism to advance towards the goals of sustainable development. A proposal for the use of ecological approaches in gastronomic tourism based on sustainable nutrition is discussed to indicate real actions in achieving the greening of the tourism industry. The authors reveal the factors of the positive influence of gastronomic tourism using socio-ecological and economic approaches. Attention is focused on an integrated approach to identifying environmental problems in the field of gastronomic tourism and proposals for their solution. It is proposed to strive for sustainable nutrition in tourism and use the concept of such nutrition as a marker of the environmental friendliness of gastronomic tourism and the entire field of tourism business. However, it should be noted that further research in the field of gastronomic tourism should focus on the development of new culinary activities, culinary medicine, establishing more active stakeholder participation in the development of food tourism and the role of social networks in promoting these activities. It is argued that sustainable nutrition leads to the greening of gastronomic tourism and can be considered as an ecological marker of the results of tourism economic activities towards the achievement of sustainable development goals. Realizing the potential of gastronomy tourism requires learning to understand and predict demand, create and maintain relationships with all local stakeholders, and develop appropriate products and marketing strategies. Support is also needed for the formation of qualified employees.