Being a vegetarian traveller is not easy

Abstract

PurposePrevious empirical studies have not documented the link between vegetarians’ dietary constraints and travel intentions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to utilise a mixed-methods approach to examine the interrelationships of this group’s travel motivations, travel constraints, constraint negotiations and behavioural intentions, with special reference to how dietary constraints deter its members from travelling, and its extent.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire was administered to outbound Taiwanese vegetarian travellers (n=418), and this was followed by in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n=9) to complement the quantitative data.FindingsThe results indicated that vegetarians’ dietary constraints significantly deterred them from travelling in certain circumstances: notably, in the company of non-vegetarians. Nevertheless, it was found that some vegetarians efficiently negotiated their constraints and persisted in travelling, in some cases, by compromising their dietary preferences.Practical implicationsTravel agents and planners should explore more strategies to meet the needs of vegetarian travellers to increase this group’s travel satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study established the first theoretical model explaining the relationships among vegetarians’ travel motivations, dietary constraints, constraint negotiations and travel intentions.