Influence of local food attributes and perceived benefits on post-tasting responses through tourists' local food consumption

This study aims to identify experience of international food tourists in Hong Kong. More specifically, it was to analyze the functions of local food attributes and benefits from local food consumption on satisfaction, behavioral intention, and destination familiarity. The adopted methods used to achieve the objectives were impact-range performance analysis (IRPA) and impact asymmetry analysis (IAA). After undertaking a survey using a sample of international tourists in Hong Kong, a total of 1,184 questionnaires were employed for data analyzes. Results of exploratory factor analyzes generated three domains of local food attributes and two domains of benefits sought from tasting local foods. Unlike multiple regression analyzes, IRPA and IAA produced various results for marketing implications. For example, epistemic benefit was classified as a “satisfier,” whereas food novelty attribute, emotional benefit, and food quality attribute were labeled as “dissatisfiers.” In addition, restaurant quality attribute was considered a “frustrator.” Thus, the three dependent variables have different roles in explaining local food attributes and consumption benefits.