Gastronomic Experience by Understanding Tourist Satisfaction and Advocacy

Abstract

Effective gastronomic management is pivotal in shaping the tourist experience and subsequent advocacy. This study employs a Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (SEM PLS) approach to assess culinary experiences' impact on tourist satisfaction and advocacy. The research involved 320 tourists as respondents. The findings reveal that sensory experiences and behaviors significantly influence tourist satisfaction, highlighting the importance of engaging and immersive culinary encounters. However, these factors do not directly impact tourist advocacy. Conversely, intellectual and affective experiences emerge as influential predictors of tourist advocacy despite their limited impact on satisfaction. Notably, satisfaction itself does not exhibit a direct influence on tourist advocacy. These results underscore the intricate relationships between various dimensions of culinary experiences, satisfaction, and advocacy within the tourism context. The study provides valuable insights for gastronomic managers, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to enhance tourist satisfaction and encourage positive advocacy. Considerations for the nuanced influences of different experiential dimensions on satisfaction and advocacy are discussed, offering practical implications for tourism industry stakeholders.

Keywords

• culinary experiences
• tourist satisfaction
• advocacy
• sem-pls analysis
• gastronomic management