Understanding Tourists’ Perception Toward Local Gourmet Consumption in the Creative City of Gastronomy: Factors Influencing Consumer Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions

Abstract

ABSTRACT Restaurants in tourist destinations, particularly Phuket’s Creative City of Gastronomy, are essential to the tourism sector as food substantially influences tourists’ satisfaction. Here, we analyzed tourists’ online review sentiments toward restaurants recognized by Michelin in a UNESCO City of Gastronomy using Naïve Bayes Modeling. We identified four main attributes of the tourists’ experience: food quality, service, ambience, and price fairness. Additionally, we integrated the results from big data analysis into importance – performance analysis, strongly demonstrating that improving price fairness and service attributes in local food restaurants enhanced the perceived image of a gastronomic destination. Moreover, local food could be an essential factor that attracted tourists, and tasting local food was among the most crucial tourist experiences in Phuket. Promoting local identity and cuisine, as well as enhancing food-related tourism activities, can improve tourists’ experiences and increase positive reviews and customer satisfaction.