Culinary tourism as a destination attraction: An empirical examination of the destination's food image and information sources

Scope and method of study. The objectives of the study were to: (1) explain the relationship between a destination's food image and the travelers intention to visit; (2) examine the influence that sources of information have on travelers' intention to visit a destination; and (3) identify the moderating effect of demographic characteristics on: (a) the relationship between a destination's food image and the travelers' intention to visit; (b) the relationship between information sources and the travelers' intention to visit. A cross-sectional sample survey was conducted. The population of the study was all members of online travel and food groups in Yahoo and MSN. A convenience sampling procedure was employed in this study. Descriptive Statistics, Factor Analysis, Multiple Regression and Hierarchical Regression were performed for the data analysis.; Findings and conclusions. There were two major findings in this study: theoretical and managerial implications. First, from a theoretical perspective, the study enriched the body of literature in culinary tourism. The results indicated that each destination has its own unique images that characterize the destination. Second, in terms of the managerial implications of the study, it was expected that this study would be used as a foundation in developing culinary tourism strategies for destination rich countries with culinary heritage. Specifically, the findings of this study could help destinations to formulate the type of food image they want to establish. Managers could also use the different sources of information recommended in this study to maximize their marketing efforts. By projecting suitable destinations' food image and utilizing an appropriate marketing strategy, culinary tourism could be a crucial segment of the tourism industry.