Effects of local food attributes on tourist dining satisfaction and future: The moderating role of food culture difference

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the effects of local food attributes on tourists’ dining satisfaction and future intention in Hong Kong. In addition, the moderating effect of food culture difference on the relationship between local food attributes and tourists’ dining satisfaction was examined. Surveys from 1,274 tourists who had tasted local food in Hong Kong were used for data analyses. The moderating effect of food culture on the relationship between food novelty and satisfaction was larger for tourists whose home food culture was similar to the Hong Kong’s food culture. By contrast, the moderating effect of food culture on the relationship between food quality and satisfaction was larger for tourists from a food culture that was different from the Hong Kong’s food culture. Hong Kong destination marketers could include distinctive and unusual features of local food in their promotional material with the knowledge that food culture difference affects tourists’ dining satisfaction. The integration of local food into food culture difference using multilevel analysis offers constructive theoretical and practical implications.

摘要

本研究旨在探讨香港当地食物特性对游客用餐满意度和未来意向的影响。本研究还进一步验证了饮食文化差异对当地食物特性与游客用餐满意度两者间关系的调节作用。本次调查分析所采用的数据来自1274名曾在香港品尝过香港当地食物的游客。对于家乡饮食文化与香港饮食文化相似的游客, 饮食文化在食物新奇度与满意度两者间关系的调节作用更大。相比之下, 对于来自不同于香港的饮食文化的游客来说, 饮食文化在食物品质与满意度两者间关系的调节作用更大。通过本次对饮食文化的差异在游客的用餐满意度上的影响的研究, 以香港为旅游目的地的行销者未来可以更多的在他们的宣传材料中加入本地美食的特色和不寻常之处来更好的吸引游客。本研究的结果证明, 在通过多层次的分析中, 将当地美食融入到饮食文化差异具有建设性的理论和实践意义。

KEYWORDS:

• Hong Kong food
• satisfaction
• food attribute
• food culture
• hierarchical linear modeling

关键词:

• 香港美食
• 满意度
• 美食特性
• 美食文化
• 层次线性建模

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Seongseop (Sam) Kim

Seongseop (Sam) Kim is Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. His research interests include tourism destination marketing, convention/event tourism, and tourism impacts (E-mail: [email protected]).

Ja Young (Jacey) Choe

Ja Young (Jacey) Choe is Assistant professor in Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Macau, Macau SAR, China. Her research interests include food tourism, food technology, and food sustainability (E-mail: [email protected]).

Peter Beomcheol Kim

Peter Beomcheol Kim is Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism at the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. His research interests include service marketing management and strategic human resource management in the context of hospitality and tourism (E-mail: [email protected]).