Authenticity, Quality, and Loyalty: Local Food and Sustainable Tourism Experience

Junyu Chen,Tao Zhang,Baoliang Hu

doi:10.3390/su11123437

Abstract

The sustainability of rural development, both economic and environmental, has been increasingly linking to local food, which plays an indispensable role by preserving traditional culture, attracting tourists, and supporting the regional economy. However, the authenticity and quality of local food have not been fully convinced as competitive advantages by most practitioners. Little is known about how authenticity affects quality attributes, tourist satisfaction, and tourist loyalty. Thus, this study examines the role of authenticity in the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework. The field research was performed in Shunde County, Guangdong Province, China. The results challenge the traditional view of quality attributes by highlighting that authenticity is a key antecedent to the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework of food tourism. In contrast, the relationships among quality attributes, tourist satisfaction, and tourist loyalty are contingent on the extent to which food tourists perceive the authenticity of rural local food.

Highlights

Local food is frequently defined as authentic products which symbolize tourism destinations and vividly demonstrate local traditional culture [1]
To fill these research gaps, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of authenticity in the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework
The focus of this study is to investigate the tourist consumption of authentic local food in an attempt to generate a holistic view of the authenticity and quality attributes of local food, as well as tourist loyalty to tourism destinations

Summary

Introduction

Local food is frequently defined as authentic products which symbolize tourism destinations and vividly demonstrate local traditional culture [1]. The sustainability of rural development, both economic and environmental, has been more and more linked to local food [1,2]. Local food has been found to be a key component of the tourism experience and a very important part of the tourism system. It stimulates agricultural activity, creates job opportunities, and encourages entrepreneurship, it enhances destination attractiveness, reinforces destination brand identity, and builds community pride pertaining to food and related culture [3,4,5,6]. More and more rural tourism destinations are encouraging the revitalization and promotion of local food for cultural recognition and market exploration

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion