Why Do Local Foodscapes Matter in Building Tourist Trust and Loyalty?

Jae-Jang Yang,Yong-Ki Lee,Rajesh Iyer

doi:10.3390/su14042029

Abstract

This study examines local foodscapes and their dimensions, namely, eco-friendly environment, tradition, infrastructure, accessibility, and price/value, on trust in a store and local food, which in turn impacts loyalty and identified full mediating roles of trust in a store and local food in the relationship between local foodscapes and loyalty. Data were collected from visitors (tourists) who had experienced local foods over the last three months and were analyzed with SmartPLS 3.3.3. The findings show that the dimensions of price/value and eco-friendly environment influence trust in the local store, whereas the history or the tradition along with the eco-friendly environment has an impact on local food consumption—both the local store and the local food influence the level of loyalty among tourists. Implications for theory and practice are discussed within the context of local foodscapes.

Highlights

As local foods contribute to the growth and differentiation of the local economy, local food tourism is attracting attention from scholars and practitioners
This study identified five dimensions—eco-friendly environment, tradition, infrastructure, accessibility, and price/value—that represented local foodscapes and examined how these cues influence trust in a store and local food and, in turn, loyalty
The findings indicated that local foodscapes marketers should establish a resource allocation strategy according to the relative importance of the five local foodscapes cues to increase trust and increase loyalty

Summary

Introduction

As local foods contribute to the growth and differentiation of the local economy, local food tourism is attracting attention from scholars and practitioners. Local foods help enhance the travel experience [1]. Studies on local foods have primarily been being conducted in the areas of destination foodscapes [2], local food consumption [3,4], food/gastronomic experiences in tourism [5,6,7]. Eighty percent of the travelers research food and drink options while traveling to a new destination (World Food Travel Association 2021) [15]. According to Technavio, a market research firm out of the UK, the compound annual growth rate for food tourism is expected to increase by 9% between 2019–2023.

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