Examining the relationship between gastronomic experience, revisit intention, destination image and destination brand love: a moderating role of cewebrity reviews

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the gastronomic experience and the revisit intention using a moderated serial mediation approach. The Stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) is a theoretical lens to explore the novel relationship of experience-image-love-intention. A total of 448 responses were collected from a structured questionnaire distributed among domestic tourists on gastronomy tours. A moderated serial mediation model was performed using SmartPLS 4. The relationship between a gastronomic experience (GE) and revisit intention (RVI) was positive and significant. The mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between GE and RVI was partially mediated by destination image and destination brand love. The results of the moderated mediation indicated that cewebrity reviews moderate the relationship between gastronomic experience, destination image, and revisit intention. This research provides ways for marketers to improve gastronomic experiences through specialized gastronomic routes and itineraries to encourage tourists to revisit a destination.

Résumé

L’objectif de cette étude est d’examiner la relation entre l’expérience gastronomique et l’intention de revisite en utilisant une approche de médiation sérielle modérée. Le paradigme SOR (Stimulus Organisme Réponse) est une perspective théorique qui permet d’explorer la nouvelle relation entre l’expérience, l’image, l’amour et l’intention. Au total, 448 réponses ont été recueillies à l’aide d’un questionnaire structuré distribué aux touristes nationaux participant à des voyages gastronomiques. Un modèle de médiation sérielle modérée a été réalisé à l’aide de SmartPLS 4. La relation entre une expérience gastronomique et l’intention de revisite était positive et significative. L’analyse de médiation a révélé que la relation entre l’expérience gastronomique et l’intention de revisite était influencée par l’image de la destination et l’amour de la marque de la destination. Les résultats de la médiation modérée indiquent que les avis des vedettes du Web modèrent la relation entre l’expérience gastronomique, l’image de la destination et l’intention de revisite. Cette étude permet aux spécialistes du marketing d’améliorer l’expérience gastronomique en proposant des routes et des itinéraires gastronomiques spécialisés afin d’encourager les touristes à revisiter une destination.

KEYWORDS:

• destination image
• destination brand love
• gastronomic
• revisit intention

MOTS-CLÉS:

• image de la destination
• amour de la marque de la destination
• gastronomie
• intention de revisite

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Institutional research ethics board

The institutional research ethics board approved both the pilot and final data collections.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shaply Abdul Kareem

Shaply Abdul Kareem is a doctoral student and a Teaching and Research Assistant at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University, Vellore, India. He taught for eight years before embarking on his research career. His research interests include consumer behaviour, social media marketing, and destination marketing. He also attended research workshops and presented research papers at national and international conferences (Amity University, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, and Taylor University). He can be reached at [email protected]

Pulidindi Venugopal

Pulidindi Venugopal is an enthusiastic marketing professor and a researcher at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) University, Vellore, India. He completed the FDPM at IIM Ahmedabad. He started his teaching profession at VIT in 2010. He has 72 research articles in prestigious journals, case studies in prestigious case centers, and 25 book chapters in his possession until 2022. He has also produced eight doctorates to date and holds two funded research projects sponsored by the Indian Council for Social Science and Research (ICSSR). He also received six best paper awards at international conferences organized by well-reputed institutions (Amity University, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, and Taylor University), received research awards for publication in peer-reviewed journals, and received the “Excellence in Research Award” from the Samagra Vikas Welfare Society for outstanding contributions in the field of education. He is the corresponding author and can be reached at [email protected]