Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management

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Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction: An

Empirical Examination of Destinations' Food Image

Shahrim Ab Karim & Christina Geng-Qing Chi

To cite this article: Shahrim Ab Karim & Christina Geng-Qing Chi (2010) Culinary Tourism as a
Destination Attraction: An Empirical Examination of Destinations' Food Image, Journal of Hospitality
Marketing & Management, 19:6, 531-555, DOI: 10.1080/19368623.2010.493064

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2010.493064

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 Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19:531–555, 2010
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1936-8623 print/1936-8631 online
DOI: 10.1080/19368623.2010.493064

Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction:

An Empirical Examination of Destinations’
Food Image

SHAHRIM AB KARIM
Department of Foodservice Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology,
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University Putra Malaysia, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

CHRISTINA GENG-QING CHI

School of Hospitality Business Management, College of Business, Washington State University,
Pullman, Washington, USA

This article illustrates the food image of France, Italy, and

Thailand, countries known for their popular cuisine. An online
survey was conducted; the population consisted of members of
online travel and food groups from Yahoo.com and MSN.com. A
total of 294 individuals responded to the online survey. A series of
multiple regressions were conducted to determine (a) the relation-
ship between destinations’ food image and travelers’ visit intention,
and (b) the relationship between information sources and trav-
elers’ purchase decisions. The results revealed that in general,
Italy had the most favorable food image and the highest poten-
tial to be visited in the future. Significant positive relationships
were found between food image and visit intentions. The study
also confirmed that travelers’ purchase decisions were significantly
influenced by different types of information sources. Conclusions
and implications were drawn based on the research findings.
This information would be particularly useful for destinations
interested in promoting culinary tourism.

KEYWORDS Culinary tourism, destinations’ food image, inten-

tions to visit, information sources

Address correspondence to Shahrim Ab Karim, PhD, Department of Foodservice

Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University Putra Malaysia, 43400
UPM Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia. E-mail: shahrim@putra.upm.edu.my

531
 532 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

INTRODUCTION

The development of local and regional cuisines has been identified as a plat-
form for tourist attractions by various researchers (Long, 2004; Salomonsson,
1984). Culinary tourism, or travel for food, has become a trend in many
countries in the world. Countries which are popular with their cuisine such
as Italy, France and Thailand, have been known for the food and/or wine
tourism. Other emerging countries in food tourism are Australia and Canada;
these two countries have made their cuisine one of the reasons for travelers
to visit.
There are many tourists who travel for reasons of seeking culinary expe-
rience (Bessiere, 1998; Hall & Sharples, 2003; Long, 2004). Tourism activity
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related to food has been labeled such as food tourism, culinary tourism, or
gastronomy tourism. These terms have the same meaning: people travel to
a specific destination for the purpose of finding foods. Several studies have
found that food is a motivator for travelers (Quan & Wang, 2004; Boniface,
2003; Long, 2004; Ryan, 1997). Furthermore, culinary tourism has gained
worldwide reputation as niche marketing in the tourism industry, and desti-
nations are capitalizing on the potential to promote their cuisine as a unique
product. Even though it is becoming a crucial segment of the tourism indus-
try, culinary tourism is an area that has not been studied by many researchers
(Hjalager & Corigliano, 2000; Long, 2004).

LITERATURE REVIEW

The tourism industry has many facets such as ecotourism, ethnic tourism,
cultural tourism, sports tourism, sex tourism, health/medical tourism, and
others. Different types of tourism produce different kinds of experiences
(Long, 2004). One of the central functions of the tourism industry is to
provide food experiences. Recent research has shown that tourists spend
almost 40% of their budget on food when traveling (Boyne, Williams, &
Hall, 2002). The 2004 Restaurant & Foodservice Market Research Handbook
stated that 50% of restaurants’ revenue was generated by travelers (Graziani,
2003). It shows that there is a symbiotic relationship between food and
the tourism industry. More importantly, food has been recognized as an
effective promotional and positioning tool of a destination (Hjalager &
Richards, 2002). With increasing interest in local cuisine, more destinations
are focusing on food as their core tourism product. Hobsbawn & Ranger
(1983) suggested that cuisines that are highly known for their taste and
quality can be developed into tourist products. For example, France, Italy,
and Thailand that are known for their cuisine have been promoting culinary
tourism.
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 533

Definition of Culinary Tourism

Culinary tourism is related to food and eating experiences that occur when
people travel. During a trip or vacation, some travelers might look for types
of food similar to those that they eat at home. In contrast, there will be trav-
elers who might be passionate to try foods of other cultures or those who
are curious about different foods. The term culinary tourism was developed
by Lucy Long in 1998 (Wolf, 2002). Long (2004) defined culinary tourism
as experiencing and participating in the foodways of other people which
include but are not limited to consumption, preparation, and presentation
of food items. Hall and Mitchell (2001) defined food tourism as “visitation to
primary and secondary food producers, food festivals, restaurants and spe-
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cific locations for which food and tasting and / or experiencing the attributes
of a specialist food production region are the primary motivating factors for
travel” (p. 308). Culinary tourism is not only associated with eating and
drinking, but also events ranging from food festivals to farm visits (Canadian
Tourism Commission, 2002).
Culinary or gastronomical activities of a destination are also categorized
as part of cultural tourism (Corigliano, 2002). Richards (1996) claimed that
cultural tourism may include experiencing the cultural attractions as well
as sampling the local food. Long (2004) emphasized that savoring the food
of others is the way one can really experience and accept different culture
without reluctance.

Relationship Between Food and Tourism

The importance of the connection between food and tourism cannot be
ignored. Many researchers have shown that cuisine has a great impact on
travelers’ decisions when choosing their vacation destination. Authentic and
interesting food can attract visitors to a destination. For example, the strength
of people’s desire to visit Italy is largely due to its cuisine (Boyne et al.,
2002). Italian cuisine and wine has boosted the Italian tourism industry
(Hjalager & Corigliano, 2000). Likewise, the image of France has always
been associated with its food and wine (Frochot, 2003). Hong Kong tourist
arrivals were increasing because of the growing number of restaurants that
offer many varieties of cuisines. A major reason people traveled to Hong
Kong was to experience and taste the food (Au & Law, 2002). A study
by Rimmington and Yuskel (1998) found that the major reason travelers
revisited Turkey was for its cuisine, and food was one of the most impor-
tant factors that contributed to travelers’ overall satisfaction. Hu and Ritchie
(1993) stressed that food was one of the most important reason for people to
visit a destination along with weather, accommodations, and scenery. Ryan
(1997) and Smith (1991) proved that food had an impact on the travelers’
level of satisfaction with the trip. In general, it seemed that food significantly
 534 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

contributed to the travelers’ overall impression of and satisfaction with a

destination. These examples confirm the importance of linking food and
tourism.
According to Riley (2000), the association of national cuisine and
tourism depends on the role of the cuisine in the social culture that cre-
ates the national identity. The cuisine of a country can showcase its cultural
or national identity (Rand, Heath, & Alberts, 2003). For instance, the success
of Italian gastronomy is predominantly attributed to the assimilation of its
gastronomy into its national identity. Food is blended in the Italian culture
and connected to the lifestyle of its people (Corigliano, 2002). Food plays
a key role in attracting tourists to Italy because of its reflection of Italian
culture and lifestyle.
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Given that food helps project the identity and culture of a destination,
food consumption can play a role in the development of a destination image
(Quan & Wang, 2004). Destinations can use food to represent its “cultural
experience, status, cultural identity, and communicating” (Frochot, 2003,
p. 82). Quan and Wang (2004) noted that food can convey unique expe-
rience and enjoyment to travelers. Specifically, food may totally enhance
tourists’ experience and can be the most memorable part of the trip. Thus,
the food of a destination can represent the image and distinctiveness of
the destination.
Culinary tourism is steadily growing and highly demanded in today’s
marketplace. It is not only appealing to tourists, but also contributes to
the social, economic and environmental development of a destination
(Corigliano, 2002). Food is not only a basic need for tourists, but also a
cultural element that can positively present a destination (Jones & Jenkins,
2002). Those regions that can offer and take advantage of their food and
position them as a premier tourism product will benefit highly as the value
of their destinations increase. To use food as the main attraction and develop
marketing strategies that will focus on the food, it is important for marketers
of a culinary destination to know the image currently held by its targeted cus-
tomers, and the underlying factors that can draw travelers who are interested
in tasting different foods.

Information Search and Information Sources

Before making any decisions, travelers have to search for information about
the potential destination of their vacation. The amount of information search
will heavily depend on the type of products intended to be purchased. A
product of a higher value will require more intense or in-depth information
search behavior, such as when traveling to international destinations (Beatty
& Smith, 1987). Likewise, customers who are responsible for decision-
making will generally search for more information in order to rationalize
their decision (Money & Crotts, 2003)
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 535

Today’s customers have to engage themselves with a plethora of infor-

mation sources that can be examined before making purchase decisions
(Pingol & Miyazaki, 2005). Mathieson and Wall (1982) argued that most
potential travelers would require some type of information and extensively
seek the information they need. How they respond to the information
depends on the type and credibility of information sources. In general, trav-
elers use varieties of information sources in order to develop a certain image
of a destination (Walmsley & Lewis, 1984). Additionally, customers search
widely if they are buying expensive products or expecting higher risks on
certain products (Beatty & Smith, 1987; Capon & Burke, 1980; Cunningham,
1967)
Searching for information has been one of the most important aspects
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for travelers when making decision for vacation or any tourism activi-
ties (Fondness & Murray, 1998; Gursoy & Chen, 2000; Snepenger, Meged,
Snelling, & Worrall, 1990). Meaningful information may lead and help cus-
tomers in decision making (Schmidt & Spreng, 1996). The success of tourism
products can be highly dependent on the type of information available for
the customers (McIntosh & Goeldner, 1990). The type of information used
might affect customers’ decision making process (Fondness & Murray, 1998).
With the current information-rich environment, knowing customers’ informa-
tion search behavior is ultimately crucial for effective marketing campaigns
and promotions (Srinivas, 1990; Wilkie & Dickson; 1985).
Information about a destination or place can be presented to us by
various sources. Kotler and Armstrong (1994) categorized sources of infor-
mation as: (a) personal sources of information from families and friends,
or from observation and product testing; (b) commercial sources of infor-
mation related to any type of marketing efforts, such as salespeople and
marketing communications; and (c) public sources, including print media
such as magazines and newspapers.
Mathieson and Wall (1982) divided sources of information into two
types: formal and informal. Informal information sources are related to
word-of-mouth, especially from families and friends or other travelers
who have past experiences. This type of information is not really well
organized, and its credibility depends on the informant’s communication
skills in delivering the message. Nevertheless, Katz and Lazarfeld (1955)
argued that word-of-mouth information was as effective as any other
media such as electronic or print. Price and Feick (1984) confirmed that
almost 91% of the respondents in their study used an informal source
of information before making final decisions. On the other hand, formal
information sources include commercials from print to electronic media.
Each of these formal sources of information has a particular objective
in order to convey the message to groups of individuals (Mathieson &
Wall, 1982).
 536 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

Purposes of the Study

Although food continues to be a highly significant aspect of the tourism
industry, the industry has not been able to attract many researchers in this
field (Tefler & Wall, 1996). Previous research agrees that food has a major
role in tourism. However, this role has not been fully characterized and
specified. Few studies have been conducted in relation to food, the factors
associated with food that might affect travelers’ experience (Long, 2004), and
the role of food in developing destination image. In addition, there is little
research that examined the relationship between destinations’ food image
and travelers’ intention to visit a destination. This study aims to illustrate the
underlying factors of destinations’ food image and the relationship between
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destinations’ food image and travelers’ visit intention. In essence, this article
seeks to determine the importance of culinary tourism and how food can be
used as a tool to market a destination.
The other major purpose of this study is to explore the importance
of different information sources on travelers’ decision to visit a culinary
destination. In today’s competitive global environment, knowing customers’
information search behavior would be imperative for marketers and tourism
policy makers (Srinivas, 1990; Wilkie & Dickson, 1985). To advertise their
products effectively, destination marketers should know how and where to
communicate the message they would like to convey. In this regard, know-
ing the types of information sources or channels chosen by customers will
be vital for marketers. Wilkie and Dickson (1985) stated that “information
search represents the primary stage at which marketing can provide informa-
tion and influence customers’ decisions” (p. 85). In summary, understanding
how customers search for and use the information significantly impact the
success of a destination.

METHODOLOGY
Survey Instrument
This study attempted to determine the effect of a destination’s food image on
travelers’ intention to visit the destination, and the importance of different
information sources in influencing travelers’ purchasing decisions. An online
survey method was used for data collection. A self-administered question-
naire was developed based on a comprehensive literature review and a focus
group study. The focus group was consisted of four male and five female
participants who had traveled extensively in the past. The discussion was
led by one of the researchers seeking to draw a broad understanding of the
impact of food on tourists when selecting a destination and the importance
of different information sources used by tourists when choosing a culinary
destination. Data gathered from the focus group was used in formulating
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 537

the questionnaire. The questionnaire measured specifically travelers’ opin-

ions on the food image of France, Italy, and Thailand, using a 7-point Likert
scale. These three destinations were selected based on the popularity of
their cuisine. These countries were mentioned numerous times during the
focus group session. Similarly, Cohen and Avieli (2004) and Chaitrong (1999)
stated that France, Italy, and Thailand were the world’s most popular cuisine.
The questionnaire consisted of five sections: destination’s food image,
intention to visit a culinary destination, importance of different types of infor-
mation sources, the influence of information sources on traveling decision,
and travelers’ demographic characteristics.
Section 1 investigated the food image of France, Italy, and Thailand
from the travelers’ point of view. The questions were adopted from the
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focus group and a study on New Orleans by Dimanche and Moody (1998).
Most of the attributes were used in previous image studies. A 7-point Likert
scale was used. Respondents were asked to rate the level of agreement that
ranged from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree.
Section 2 asked the travelers how likely they would be to visit those
destinations. In particular, respondents were asked how the food and din-
ing experiences would influence their intention to visit the destinations in
the next five years. Respondents were asked to rate the level of their inten-
tion based on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 = most unlikely to 5 = most
likely.
Section 3 analyzed the importance of different types of information
sources used by travelers when planning their vacation. In particular, the
respondents had to rate the importance of information sources for planning
trips in France, Italy, and Thailand. The attributes in this section were derived
from both the focus group and Fondness’ (1994) study on tourist motivation
and information sources. The attributes were rated on a 7-point Likert scale
that ranged from 1 = very unimportant to 7 = very important.
Section 4 measured overall importance of information sources in trav-
elers’ decision-making process for all three destinations, on a 7-point Likert
scale from 1 = very unimportant to 7 = very important. The last section
captured travelers’ demographic characteristics.

Survey Population and Sample

The target population for this study was members of online travel commu-
nities or travel groups. According to Preece (2000), an online community
is related to people who are involved in an online group for similar goals
that are bounded by the norm and policies. The sample population was
chosen from travel groups in Yahoo.com and MSN.com. These two websites
were selected because they had the highest number of online travel groups.
Specifically, the groups selected for this study comprised of various online
food, travel, and tourism groups based on the descriptions provided on the
 538 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

groups’ homepage. All members of the prospective groups were contacted

to participate in the study. As such, a census and convenience sampling
procedure were employed.

Reliability
A pilot study was conducted to examine the reliability of the instru-
ment, using a convenience sample of professors and students from a
major research university located in the U.S. Midwest. A reliability analy-
sis (Cronbach’s alpha) was performed to test the internal consistency of the
questionnaire items for food image and information sources. The Cronbach’s
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alpha was above .80 for both constructs. An alpha of .70 and above is con-
sidered as good indication of reliability (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). The
pilot test provided helpful information on the questionnaire design, word-
ing, and measurement scales. The questionnaire was modified based on the
findings.

Data Analysis
Frequency analysis was used to analyze respondents’ demographic informa-
tion. Mean scores were calculated on the destinations’ food image, travelers’
intentions to visit, the importance of various types of information sources,
and the overall influence of information sources on travelers’ purchasing
decisions. Based on the literature review, food image was prespecified
into three dimensions: food/cuisine, dining/restaurant, and Food-Related
Tourism Activities (see Table 1). Information source was also grouped a pri-
ori into three dimensions: personal sources, commercial sources, and public
sources (see Table 2). Summated scales for food image and information
source were developed for the subsequent analysis. Paired sample t-tests
were applied to identify differences of food image for the three countries.
Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine how a destination’s
food image can affect travelers’ visiting intention, and how different types of
information sources can influence travelers’ purchasing decisions.

RESULTS
Response Rate
Thirty-five travel groups were chosen to participate in the study, with an
overall population of 8,067. A total of 294 respondents completed the survey,
which accounted for 3.6% of the population. Of these, 10 surveys were
discarded due to incompleteness, resulting in 284 usable questionnaires for
further data analysis.
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 539

TABLE 1 Food Image Dimensions

Ma

Prespecified food image dimensions France Italy Thailand

Food/Cuisine
Offers variety of foods 4.95 5.27 5.00
Offers good quality of food 5.47 5.75 5.06
Offers regionally produced food products 5.42 5.54 5.34
Offers attractive food presentation 5.73 5.48 5.09
Offers exotic cooking methods 4.87 4.75 5.63
Offers delicious food 5.50 5.96 5.64
Dining/Restaurant
Offers reasonable price for dining out 3.76 4.72 5.48
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Offers many attractive restaurants 5.37 5.39 5.03

Offers easy access to restaurants 5.06 5.27 5.22
Offers varieties of specialty restaurants 4.83 4.88 4.85
Offers friendly service personnel 4.17 5.30 5.09
Offers restaurants menus in English 3.97 4.41 4.54
Food-related tourism activities
Offers food and wine regions 5.85 5.67 3.30
Offers package tours related to food and wine 5.24 5.39 3.75
Offers unique cultural experience 5.51 5.72 5.91
Offers opportunity to visit street market 5.04 5.19 5.56
Offers unique street food vendors 4.61 4.82 5.53
Offers various food activities, e.g. cooking classes and farm visits 4.70 4.97 4.33
Offers much literature on food and tourism 5.19 5.30 4.33
a
On a 7-point Likert scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree.

TABLE 2 Information Sources Dimensions

Ma

Prespecified information sources dimensions France Italy Thailand

Commercial sources
Automobile Clubs/AAA 3.38 3.42 3.23
Brochures 5.24 5.24 5.13
Direct mail from destinations 3.95 4.14 4.04
Travel agency/company 4.73 4.66 4.61
Public sources
Travel books 5.47 5.51 5.46
Travel magazines 5.09 5.19 5.16
Local/national tourism offices 4.67 4.67 4.62
Newspapers 4.02 4.08 3.93
TV/movies/travel channels 4.98 5.10 5.06
Internet/websites 5.84 5.87 5.75
Personal information sources
Past experience 5.55 5.54 5.10
Friends and family members 5.49 5.62 5.50
a
On a 7-point Likert scale from 1 = very unimportant to 7 = very important.
 540 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

Online survey response rate was usually lower than mail or telephone
surveys (Kraut et al., 2004). The response rate for this study was low due
to several uncontrollable factors or bias of an online survey. First of all, it
was not known as to how many different groups of which each individual
was a member. In other words, an individual might be a member of multi-
ple groups selected for this study. Second, inactive group members of the
selected groups were not known. The response rate could have been higher
if the number of active members were known. Third, members might not
visit the websites during the survey period thus did not have an opportu-
nity to fill out the survey. Fourth, members might have not visited any of
the destinations which would prevent them from participating in the study.
For these reasons, the total population of the study could have been lower,
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not as reflected by total number of current members in surveyed groups

(8,067).

Demographic Profiles
Gender of the respondents was almost equally distributed with 51% male
and 49% female. More than half of the respondents’ age was 29 years old and
under (57%), followed by 30–39 years old (22%), and 40 years old and above
(21%). More than half of the respondents were never married (58%), while
the remaining were married (36%) or divorced/widowed/separated (6%).
Close to half of the respondents (46%) had a graduate/postgraduate degree;
37% had a college/university degree; and the remaining 17% were high
school graduates. About 30% of the respondents reported a yearly income
of $50,000 and above. The next income group $25,000–39,999 consisted of
14% of the respondents. Forty six percent of the respondents reported an
annual income of under $25,000.

Food Image Comparison

Paired-sample t-tests were employed in order to identify if travelers had dif-
ferent food image perceptions for the three countries: France, Italy, and
Thailand. Comparisons were made between France and Italy, Italy and
Thailand, and France and Thailand on the three prespecified food image
dimensions: (a) Food/Cuisine (6 items including variety of food, good qual-
ity of food, regionally produced food products, attractive food presentation,
exotic cooking methods, and delicious food); (b) Dining/Restaurant (6 items
including reasonable price for dining-out, many attractive restaurants, easy
access to restaurants, varieties of specialty restaurants, friendly service per-
sonnel, restaurant menus in English), and (c) Food-Related Tourism Activities
(7 items including food and wine regions, package tours related to food and
wine, unique cultural experiences, opportunity to visit street markets, unique
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 541

TABLE 3 Food Image Comparisons for France, Italy, and Thailand

Food image composite

variables Countries M SD t Sig.

Food/Cuisine France < Italy –.12895 .84708 –2.520 .012

Italy > Thailand .18781 1.00672 3.054 .002
France > Thailand .04057 1.10276 .601 .548
Dining/Restaurant France < Italy –.45849 .92854 –8.099 .000
Italy < Thailand –.05013 .99031 –.826 .410
France < Thailand –.50494 1.16475 –7.123 .000
Food-related tourism France < Italy –.12050 .71262 –2.737 .007
activities
Italy > Thailand .62377 .99167 10.181 .000
France > Thailand .49026 1.09191 7.295 .000
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street food vendors, various food activities such as cooking classes & farm
visits, much literature on food and tourism). As noted in Table 3, the results
revealed significant differences on seven of the nine pairs examined, which
implied that respondents expressed significant different opinions about the
food image of the three countries.

FRANCE VERSUS I TALY

As for France and Italy, the mean differences of all three food image
dimensions were negative and statistically significant. This indicated that
respondents perceived the food image for France and Italy as significantly
different, and they had more favorable perception towards Italy’s overall
food image than that of France.

ITALY VERSUS THAILAND

For Italy and Thailand, the mean differences of two image dimensions were
positive and significant: Food/Cuisine and Food-Related Tourism Activities.
This implied that travelers viewed Italy’s Food/Cuisine more positively
than that of Thailand, and they also held higher opinion of Italy with
regards to providing Food-Related Tourism Activities. However, in terms of
Dining/Restaurant, travelers documented slightly higher regards for Thailand
than Italy, though the difference was not statistically significant.

FRANCE VERSUS THAILAND

Travelers reported slightly more affirmative (though not statistically sig-
nificant) perception towards France’s Food/Cuisine than that of Thailand.
They also considered France significantly more favorably than Thailand with
 542 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

respects to offering Food-Related Tourism Activities. However, with relation

to Dining/Restaurant, respondents showed significantly more appreciation
for Thailand than for France.

Relationship Between Food Image and Travelers’ Visit Intention

One of the main purposes of this study was to examine the role of
destinations’ food image on the travelers’ intention to visit a destination.
Respondents expressed the highest interest in visiting Italy (M = 3.83; 3 =
not sure and 4 = likely), followed by France (M = 3.54) and Thailand
(M = 3.12). Multiple regression analysis was conducted for each country
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with intention to visit as the dependent variable and the three food image
composite measures as the independent variables: Food/Cuisine (6 items),
Dining/Restaurant (6 items), Food-Related Tourism Activities (7 items). The
results pointed to a significant positive relationship between destinations’
food image and travelers’ visit intention, which implied that more favorable
food image would result in higher likelihood of visiting a destination. The
F-ratios for the three countries were all significant at p < .0001, indicating
that the regression of the dependent variable on the independent variables
taken together was statistically significant; in other words, the regression
results were reliable (see Table 4).

FRANCE
The R 2 value of .107 stated that about 11% of the total variance in the depen-
dent variable (visit intention) can be explained by the independent variables
(food image) in the model. The significance tests were used to examine
the impact of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Two
variables emerged as significant at 0.05 and were thus retained in the regres-
sion model: dining/restaurant and Food-Related Tourism Activities. The final
regression model was as follows:

Y = 1.183 + .299 X1 + .194 X2 + e,

Where:

Y = travelers’ intention to visit France

X1 = France’s dining/restaurant (6 items)
X2 = France’s Food-Related Tourism Activities (7 items)
e = random error

The results indicated that on average, the probability of travelers’ visit

intention increased by .493 (.299 + .194) for each unit change in the two
independent variables. So, when travelers were strongly disagreeable with
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TABLE 4 Relationship between Destinations’ Food Image and Travelers’ Visit Intentions

Dependent Variable: Travelers’ Dependent Variable: Travelers’ Dependent Variable: Travelers’

intentions to visit France intentions to visit Italy intentions to visit Thailand

R .327 .259 .356

R2 .107 .067 .127
Adjusted R2 .100 .064 .120
F 16.393 19.798 19.631
Sig. .000 .000 .000

543
b SE β t Sig. b SE β t Sig. b SE β t Sig.

(Constant) 1.183 .429 2.757 .006 2.189 .375 5.829 .000 .449 .433 1.036 .301
Dining/Restaurant .299 .099 .219 3.023 .003 .032 .418 .676 .300 .115 .215 2.601 .010
Food-related .194 .099 .143 1.972 .050 .082 .842 .401 −.067 −.806 .421
tourism activities
Food/Cuisine .089 .954 .341 .300 .068 .259 4.449 .000 .220 .108 .169 2.041 .042
 544 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

France’s food image, i.e. when X1 and X2 = 1 (strongly disagree), the

probability of visiting France was very low: Y = 1.183 + .299 + .194 =
1.7 (1 = very unlikely; 2 = unlikely). Whereas when travelers were strongly
agreeable (when X1 and X2 = 7) with France’s food image, the probability
of visiting France increased to the maximum: Y = 1.183 + (.299 + .194)
× 7 = 4.634 (4 = likely; 5 = very likely). The dimension with relatively
heavier weight in explaining visit intention was France’s dining/restaurant
(β = .299), followed by France’s Food-Related Tourism Activities (β = .194).
The results implied that the likelihood of travelers’ visiting France depended
essentially on these two variables.
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ITALY
The R 2 was .067, indicating that the model predicted about 7% of the
variation in tourists’ visit intention. Only one variable was significant
(Food/Cuisine). The final regression equation model was illustrated as
follows:

Y = 2.189 + .300 X1 + e,

Where:

Y = travelers’ intention to visit Italy

X1 = Italy’s food/cuisine (6 items)
e = random error

The results suggested that for each unit change in the independent
variable Italy’s Food/Cuisine, the probability of visiting Italy improved by
0.300. When travelers felt strongly negative with Italy’s Food/Cuisine (1 =
strongly disagree), the probability of visiting the country was fairly low: Y =
2.189 + .300 = 2.489 (2 = unlikely; 3 = not sure). Whereas when travelers’
were strongly approved of Italy’s Food/Cuisine (7 = strongly agree), the
likelihood of visiting the country boosted: Y = 2.189 + .300 × 7 = 4.289 (4 =
likely; 5 = very likely). The variable with greatest effect on visit intention was
Italy’s Food/Cuisine (β= .300), which was considered as the determinant
factor of the probability to visit Italy.

THAILAND
The R 2 was .127, which indicated that about 13% of the variance in travelers’
visit intention can be predicted by the independent variables retained in the
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 545

model (p < .05): dining/restaurant, and food/cuisine. The following was the
final regression model:

Y = .449 + .300 X1 + .220 X2 + e,

Where:

Y = travelers’ intention to visit Thailand

X1 = Thailand’s dining/restaurant (6 items)
X2 = Thailand’s food cuisine (6 items)
e = random error
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The results revealed that every one unit increase in the independent
variables resulted in .520 unit increase (.300 + .220) in travelers’ intention
to visit Thailand. The variable with the heaviest weight in predicting visit
intention was Thailand’s dining/restaurant (β = .300), trailed by Thailand’s
food/cuisine (β = .220). This indicated that Thailand’s dining/restaurant was
the most important predictor of tourists’ probability to visit Thailand, with
Thailand’s food/cuisine being the second most influential predictor.

Relationship Between Information Sources and Travelers’

Purchasing Decision
On the whole, the respondents felt that information sources were impor-
tant in influencing their decision to visit the three destinations, with overall
mean scores for France, Italy, and Thailand being 5.15, 5.27 and 5.46
respectively (5 = somewhat important; 6 = important). Multiple regres-
sion analysis was conducted for each country with purchasing decision
as the dependent variable and the three information sources compos-
ite measures as the independent variables: (a) personal sources, (2 items
including friends/family members, past experience), (b) commercial sources
(4 items including automobile clubs/AAA, brochures/travel guides, direct
mail from destinations, travel agency/company), and (c) public sources
(6 items including travel books, travel magazines, local/national tourism
offices, newspapers, television/movies/travel channels, Internet/websites).
The results of the regression analysis indicated that, for all three coun-
tries, significant positive relationships were identified between information
sources and travelers’ purchasing decision. The more important travelers
perceived the information sources, the more influential the information
sources would be in travelers’ purchase decision-making process. The F-
ratios for the three countries were all significant (p < .000), suggesting that
the results of the regression equation could hardly have occurred by chance
(see Table 5).
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TABLE 5 Relationship between Information Sources and Travelers’ Purchasing Decisions

Dependent Variable: Travelers’ Dependent Variable: Travelers’ Dependent Variable: Travelers’

intentions to visit France intentions to visit Italy intentions to visit Thailand

R .474 .497 .439

R2 .225 .247 .193
Adjusted R2 .219 .242 .190
F 40.696 46.060 67.244
Sig. .000 .000 .000

546
b SE β t Sig. b SE β t Sig. b SE β t Sig.

(Constant) 1.775 .429 4.134 .000 1.726 .415 4.159 .000 2.367 .386 6.125 .000
Commercial .352 .095 .280 3.702 .000 .341 .087 .279 3.925 .000 .026 .444 .657
sources
Public sources .367 .120 .231 3.064 .002 .405 .110 .262 3.693 .000 .619 .075 .439 8.200 .000
Personal .063 1.119 .264 .005 .082 .935 .109 1.498 .135
Sources
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 547

FRANCE
The R 2 value of .225 stated that approximately 23% of the total vari-
ance in travelers’ decision to visit France can be explained by the two
independent variables retained in the model (p < .05): commercial infor-
mation sources and public information sources. The regression equation
model was written as:

Y = 1.775 + .352X1 + .367X2 + e,

Where,
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Y = travelers’ decision to visit France

X1 = commercial information sources
X2 = public information sources
e = random error

The results suggested that for every one unit increase in the importance
of commercial and public information sources, there was .719 unit increases
in travelers’ decision to visit France. When commercial and public informa-
tion sources were rated as least important during the information search,
i.e. when X1 and X2 = 1 (very unimportant), their importance in influenc-
ing a traveler’s decision to visit France was also low: Y = 1.775 + .352 +
.367 = 2.494 (2 = unimportant; 3 = somewhat unimportant). When com-
mercial and public sources were ranked as the most important sources (X1
and X2 = 7), their influence in travelers’ decision to visit France also esca-
lated to the highest: Y = 1.775 + (.352 + .367) × 7 = 6.808 (6 = important;
7 = very important). The standardized βwas used to indicate the importance
of each independent variable in the model. Commercial sources (β = .280)
was the most important factor in influencing travelers’ purchasing decision,
followed by public sources (β = .231).

ITALY
The total R 2 was .247, which means that the two independent variable in
the model explained about 25% of the total variance in ‘travelers’ decision
to visit Italy’. The final regression equation model was as follows:

Y = 1.726 + .341X1 + .405X2 + e,

Where,
 548 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

Y = travelers’ decision to visit Italy

X1 = commercial information sources
X2 = public information sources
e = random error

The results indicated that, on average, the impact on travelers’ decision

to visit Italy increased by .746 (.341 + .405) for each unit change in the
importance of commercial and public information sources. The two inde-
pendent variables were almost equally important in determining travelers’
decision to visit Italy. The dimension with relatively heavier weight was
‘commercial information sources’ (β = .279), followed by ‘public information
sources’ (β = .262).
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THAILAND
About 19% of the variance (R2 = .193) in travelers’ decision to visit Thailand
can be predicted by the significant independent variable public information
sources. The following was the regression model:

Y = 2.367 + .619X1 + e,

Where,

Y = travelers’ decision to visit Thailand

X1 = public information sources
e = random error

Every one unit increase in the importance of public information sources

will result in .619 unit increase in travelers’ decision to visit Thailand. Public
information sources (β = .439) was the most important variable in predicting
travelers’ decision to visit Thailand.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Culinary tourism has become one of the most promising tourism products
in that it has been very successful in recent years. This study has enriched
the body of literature in culinary tourism and is one of the first studies to
compare food image across countries, document the relationship between
destinations’ food image and travelers’ visit intention, as well as investigate
the importance of information sources on travelers’ purchasing decision. The
results of this study could provide a foundation for future research related
to these topics.
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 549

Destination’s Food Image and Travelers’ Visit Intention

Many countries have identified culinary tourism as one of today’s emerging
trends in tourism. The three countries selected for this study—France, Italy,
and Thailand—are already well known for their cuisines. As such, the main
factors that contributed to their popularity might be useful for other countries
to develop their own culinary tourism products. Each of the countries was
found to have different food image in travelers’ mind. For example, France
and Italy were known for their Food/Cuisine that included such attributes
as taste, presentation, variety, and quality of their Food/Cuisine; and they
also provided travelers with unique Food-Related Tourism Activities includ-
ing food and wine tours, cooking classes, street markets, etc. Thailand was
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perceived to have better Dining/Restaurant/ by offering variety of attractive

restaurants with easy access, reasonable prices, friendly service personnel,
and menus in English. These findings were comparable to the real image
of the countries. France and Italy are famous internationally for their wine
producing regions and the popularity of their cuisines, and have been the
top destinations for providing food and wine tours. Whereas Thailand being
a “country of smiles” is heavily focused and reliant on tourism, it tries its
best to accommodate tourists from around the world by providing diverse
cuisine, friendly service, and affordable price.
The study confirmed that there was a significant relationship between
destinations’ food image and travelers’ intention to visit the destinations, but
different factors emerged as significant in affecting travelers’ visit intention.
For France, Dining/Restaurant and Food-Related Tourism Activities were
determinant factors for travelers’ intention to visit France. Since respondents
did not have high opinion of France’s Dining/Restaurant compared with the
other two destinations, this may explain respondents’ moderate rating of the
intention to visit France. For Italy, Food/Cuisine had significant impact on
travelers’ interest in visiting Italy. Italy had the highest rating in Food/Cuisine
compared with the other two countries, which may account for travel-
ers’ highest interests in visiting Italy. As for Thailand, Dining/Restaurant
and Food/Cuisine significantly influenced travelers’ intent to visit the coun-
try. Thailand could not compete with the other two countries in terms of
Food/Cuisine, which may lead to travelers’ lowest likelihood of visiting the
country.
Travelers’ image perception of a destination can help culinary desti-
nations determine what type of marketing program to develop in order to
appeal to potential travelers. The findings of this study should provide desti-
nation marketers with some insight about how to formulate the type of food
image they want to establish and how to promote and develop a culinary
destination. For example, this study found that specific culinary products
have to be offered at a culinary destination because a unique food image
would help a destination create its niche market. Destinations blessed with
 550 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

natural resources such as wine-producing regions should aggressively pro-

mote wine tourism as one of their core culinary tourism products. Italy and
France have been successful in establishing themselves as “lands of wine”
and have drawn millions of tourists each year for food and wine tours.
New emerging markets in wind production such as Australia and Canada
are following suit and are working hard to develop their food and wine
image, hoping to become another premier food destinations. On the other
hand, destinations rich in culinary heritage should focus on promoting their
food/cuisine, as well as their unique cultural experience since food is part
of the culture and lifestyles of the people. Countries like Thailand should try
to blend their culture into their cuisine so that people would travel there to
savor their exotic food as an indispensable part of experiencing the exotic
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culture. This study revealed some inadequacies in Thailand’s part in pro-

moting its culinary tourism, as evidenced by respondents’ relatively low
perception of Thailand’s Food-Related Tourism Activities compared with the
other two countries. Boasting its unique cultural and food experience such
as hawkers’ food and street markets that are common scenes in the coun-
try, Thailand should emphasize its strengths, build on a distinctive image
accordingly, and then deliver the image to the traveling public. Other emerg-
ing destinations such as Singapore and Hong Kong are starting to recognize
the great potential of culinary tourism, and are developing marketing efforts
to attract tourists by promoting “harmonious combinations of east and west
flavor,” both in terms of food and culture. In a nutshell, by actively seeking
the appropriate food image, destinations could well-position their prod-
ucts and develop a powerful marketing tool to boost their culinary tourism
business.
Results from this study also indicated that not only food/cuisine and
various food-related tourism activities were critical in enticing travelers,
but other aspects of foodservice were also crucial for the success of a
culinary destination. As such, various types of restaurants offered, rea-
sonable price for dining out, friendliness of service personnel, including
menus in English were all important destination choice factors. In this
study, France lost points in survey respondents’ mind with regards to
Dining/Restaurant factor, which affected respondents’ interests in visit-
ing France. Therefore destinations interested in pursuing culinary tourism
should coordinate concerted efforts from restaurant owners, managers,
and service/kitchen personnel in order to provide travelers with excellent
dining/restaurant experiences and ultimately draw more culinary tourists
in visiting the destinations.

Information Sources and Travelers’ Purchasing Decision

It was proven in this study that different types of information sources were
important in influencing travelers’ decision to visit a particular destination.
 Culinary Tourism as a Destination Attraction 551

Specifically, there were three main sources of information: (a) public

sources, (b) commercial sources, and (c) personal sources. For visiting
France and Italy, travelers mainly relied on commercial information sources
such as travel agency, automobile clubs, brochures, and direct mail from
destinations; and public information sources including local/national tourism
offices, travel books/magazines, newspapers/TV/movies, and the Internet.
As for visiting Thailand, travelers considered public information sources the
most important in influencing their purchasing decision. Similarly, previ-
ous research (Beerli & Martin, 2004) found that information sources such
as travel agents, travel guidebooks, and mass-media broadcasting (e.g. TV,
movies, documentaries, etc.) played an important role in portraying a des-
tination’s image in travelers’ minds and were highly significant sources for
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destination choice decisions. Interestingly, in this study personal informa-

tion sources such as friends and family, as well as past experience were not
regarded as important as the other two sources in affecting travelers’ decision
to visit any of the three culinary destinations. This was somehow inconsistent
with some of the previous studies in communication and consumer research
(Katz & Lazarfeld, 1955; Price & Feick, 1984) in which personal information
sources were found to be an important source for making final purchasing
decision. This might be due to the fact that culinary tourism is still a rel-
atively new phenomenon and not many people have actually travelled for
culinary purposes; therefore, there are limited personal information sources
for potential travelers to seek after.
With a reportedly strong relationship between the importance of infor-
mation sources and travelers’ purchasing decision, destinations could apply
the channels of information sources recommended in this study in their mar-
keting program. By adopting appropriate marketing channels, destinations
could best utilize their financial resources with the optimal results. Since both
commercial and public information sources were found to be valuable in
helping potential culinary tourists make travel decisions, destinations should
ensure that all the information about the destinations be communicated
and accessible to the commercial and public information channels, includ-
ing travel agency, AAA, local/national tourism offices, travel publishers,
multimedia organizations, etc. Destination marketers must develop good
relationships with appropriate distribution channels and ensure that only
desired messages are transmitted. As to what information and message to
convey to the potential travelers, this should be based on what kind of
image destinations would like to present to the travelers. Since it’s difficult
to control messages passed on by multimedia channels, destinations must
collaborate more directly with the media and keep track of the image being
broadcasted. In order to maximize the marketing efforts culinary destinations
should establish an appropriate image first and then use a mix of appropriate
information sources to deliver the desired image.
 552 S. Ab Karim and C. G.-Q. Chi

Limitations
Findings and conclusions in the study need to be considered in light of sev-
eral limitations. First, the study was conducted online. Respondents might
have limited information about the destinations. People would have a differ-
ent image and the results would be more realistic if the study was conducted
at the actual destinations. This might explain why a rather low percent-
age of the variance (low R 2 ) in travelers’ visit intention could be predicted
by destinations’ food image. In addition, if a question about previous vis-
its was included in the questionnaire, the study could have compared the
differences between visitors with prior experience and without.
Second, the results of this study cannot be generalized beyond the
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survey population. Using the Internet as the only source for data collection
made it difficult to determine whether the respondents were representative
of the group targeted by the researchers. Furthermore, the respondents of
this study were in a younger age bracket, which could be overrepresented
in the data set. If the sample was larger, more valid and reliable results could
have been observed.

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