Abstract
Food souvenirs as the tangible reminder that encounters the travelling experience are considered as an essential element in the tourism industry. However, the studies exploring the dimension of food souvenirs, are limited, and most of them applying single factor analysis, either exploratory or confirmatory. In response to the identified gap, this research scrutinizes the aspects of food souvenirs by utilizing a mixed method of exploratory-confirmatory factor analysis. The data was collected from 252 domestic tourists in Bandung, Indonesia. The exploratory factor analysis test identifies four dimensions of food souvenirs: tangible, brand and packaging, value, food quality. Although confirming the food souvenir dimension, the confirmatory factor analysis notes that the elements of the dimensions are different from that identified in exploratory factor analysis. Besides offering a theoretical understanding on the food souvenirs dimension, this study extends our understanding of a methodological issue that the exploratory-confirmatory factor analysis offers a better explanation on the food souvenir dimension compared to that of single factor analysis.
Highlights
A souvenir is a tangible product that encounters the perceptual images of travelling experience and its effects on a favourable tourist future behaviour
This study argues that exploring the dimension of food souvenirs using a mixed method, exploratory-confirmatory factor analysis, will provide a better result
Much of past researchers tend to emphasize on the meaning of food as a souvenir, but limited attention has been given on the dimensionality of food as a souvenir
Summary
A souvenir is a tangible product that encounters the perceptual images of travelling experience and its effects on a favourable tourist future behaviour. As a result of its essential role in the tourism industry, souvenirs have been studied from different perspectives, including cultural, behavioural, and retailing [4, 6, 7]. Previous studies assessing the dimension of food souvenirs mostly use exploratory factor analysis or confirmatory analysis only [3, 5, 11]. Using a single factor analysis approach to assess the dimension of food souvenir could potentially result in un-comprehensive dimension. This study argues that exploring the dimension of food souvenirs using a mixed method, exploratory-confirmatory factor analysis, will provide a better result. Based on the research gap identified, this research aims to scrutinize the dimension of food souvenir by applying an exploratory-confirmatory factor analysis approach. In the competitive tourism industry, understanding the dimension of food souvenirs is critical for both retail managers as well as tourism destination managers to develop a proper marketing strategy to satisfy tourists’ need of food souvenir
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