Abstract
Although there is a growing awareness of the relationship between food and tourism, there is little empirical evidence documenting the perception and satisfaction among tourists that visit Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the destination’s food image, destination physical image and information sources with the intention to visit and revisit the same place. At the same time, this study is regarding tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty with food and culture in Malaysia. A survey was carried out via online survey and total of 250 tourists from various background and nations were obtained using a random sampling approach analysed using SPSS. Malaysia has the potential of being a food tourism destination and viewed as a melting pot of cultural food variety as well as the existence of various cultural backgrounds. The findings also show that culinary tourism has significantly effect on tourists' satisfaction and loyalty with Malaysian food as well as behavioural intention. As a result, it explains why tourists have such a deep urge to come back. Unlike previous studies, this study compares the findings of a group of revisits to suggest a more integrated tourist loyalty. The findings support the notion of returning to Malaysia to experience the country's unique food culture. Further study can be conducted more effective by using aspect of different cultures have different perception and evaluation frameworks for food as well as tourism promotion should be customized so another future research would be conducting extensive studies in country based on various cultures and background of states to identify the motivating factors.
Highlights
Culinary tourism is one of the most important tourism industries
According to the findings of studies by Chi et al (2013); Kim et al (2010), a significant and successful way to attract tourists should be an increase in terms of food, as food is an important element in the tourism industry
The positive perception of food experience among first-time and revisit tourists to Malaysia was demonstrated through local food consumption, and it can be utilized as a tool to promote other tourism items
Summary
Culinary tourism tells stories about a region's history, inhabitants, and landscape (Sotiriadis, 2015). It reflects ‘place’, which in this study is ‘Malaysia’, enriches experiences, and can be a useful tool for boosting economic, social, and community growth. Culinary tourism refers to trips to destinations where the key driving factors are local food and beverages. Culinary tourism has tremendous potential to make the tourism industry a valuable component of most countries' growth and development plans. During their journeys, a large percentage of travellers consider dining and food to be important activities. The importance of food in destination marketing has received little attention until recently, both globally and locally (Bokunewicz and Shulman, 2017)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
