Impacts of authenticity, degree of adaptation and cultural contrast on travellers’ memorable gastronomy experiences

ABSTRACT

Gastronomy is an essential component of the travel experience and isbecoming one of the “best things to do” in many destinations.Impressions gained from local food coupled with tourists’ attitudes can influence the living experience. This paper analyses the extent to whichthe perceived authenticity of local food, the degree of adaptation andcultural contrast determine memorable tourist experiences. Moreover, itproposes the moderating effect of searching for authenticity andadaptation ability. Results from a sample of international tourists whotried a typical dish support the positive effect of authenticity and culturalcontrast on the perceived experience, whereas product adaptationreduces the perception of authenticity and cultural contrast. Authenticityhas a greater effect on experience perception when actively sought bytourists, and individuals are less influenced by cultural contrast whenthey are unable to adapt to different cultures.

摘要

美食学是旅游体验的重要组成部分，正成为许多目的地的“最佳选择”之一。从当地食物中获得的印象和游客的态度可以影响生活体验.本文分析了当地食物的感知真实性、适应程度和文化对比度在多大程度上决定了难忘的旅游体验.此外，还提出了寻找真实性和适应能力的调节效应.从一个国际游客的样本中，他们尝试了一道典型的菜肴，结果支持了真实性和文化对比对感知体验的积极影响，而产品适应则降低了对真实性和文化对比的感知.当游客主动寻找真实感时，真实性对体验知觉的影响更大，当个体无法适应不同的文化时，其受文化对比的影响较小.

KEYWORDS:

• Authenticity
• cultural contrast
• cultural adaptation
• gastronomy experience

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness [ECO2017-86628-P];Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) [VA112P17];