ساخت و ساز و اعتبار یک مقیاس برای اندازه گیری انگیزش توریستی برای مصرف مواد غذایی محلی

Although the importance of the role of local food in tourism has begun to form an academic debate in the last decade, little effort has been invested in understanding what tourist motivations influence consumption of local food and beverages in a tourist destination and to develop a measurement scale for those motivations. Thus, this study adopted the comprehensive procedures of measurement scale development recommended by prior studies. The scale development procedure yielded a five factor measurement scale with acceptable levels of reliability and validity. Five underlying motivational dimensions of local food consumption were labelled: cultural experience; interpersonal relation; excitement; sensory appeal; and health concern. The outcomes and applications of the developed scale are discussed both in terms of theoretical and managerial implications.

In the context of tourism, motivation refers to a set of internal psychological needs that cause a person to act in a certain way or stimulate their interest in travel and participation in a tourist activity (Crompton and McKay, 1997 and Fodness, 1994). Previous studies exploring tourist motivation have also suggested that tourists tend to choose the destination or type of holiday that can satisfy their desires or needs (Crompton and McKay, 1997, Fodness, 1994 and McIntosh et al., 1995). Therefore, McIntosh et al. (1995) emphasised that tourist motivation is fundamental to gaining an understanding of tourist behaviour, and they further indicated that improved tourist motivation theory should benefit research on both travel behaviour and travel choice. Tourist motivation, therefore, has been extensively examined in the tourism literature, however, the discussion of motivation has not been expanded to consumption of local food at a tourist destination. Consumption of food and beverages can contribute to the competitive marketing of tourist destinations and promoting tourist destinations (Boniface, 2003 and Kivela and Crotts, 2006). For instance, the Minister of Industry of Canada (2003) announced that between 1987 and 2003 tourism spending on food and dining out in Canada by both domestic and international tourists averaged 16.2% of total expenditures, amounting to 45,966 million Canadian dollars, ranked second following tourist expenditure on transportation. Additionally, the Singapore Tourism Board (2007) reported that food and beverage spending by tourists accounted for more than S$1 billion or about 12% of international tourists’ total expenditure in 2006. It is focusing on food and beverages as one of the key attractions of tourism, targeting 17 million tourists and S$30 billion by 2015. Local food and beverages have developed from being a crucial necessity for tourists to being recognised as an important part of the local culture that tourists consume (Kim et al., 2009 and Kivela and Crotts, 2006). Tasting local food is thus an essential part of the tourism experience, since it serves as both a cultural activity and entertainment. It plays an important role in introducing a tourist to flavours and different traditions at destinations (Fields, 2002 and Kivela and Crotts, 2006). Relatively little attention has been given to examining tourist motivation to taste local food and beverages in a tourist destination (Fields, 2002 and Kim et al., 2009). Despite an awareness of the need for tourist motivation theories regarding local food experiences (Fields, 2002 and Kim et al., 2009), they have not been developed to empirically evaluate tourist motivations to taste local food. Also, efforts to understand motivational factors affecting tourists’ local food consumption have been ignored in research into food choice and food preference. Accordingly, by integrating two disparate streams of research on tourist motivation and food choice, this study aims to develop a measurement scale that can be used in understanding tourist motivations to taste local food and beverages. That is, given the relatively well-established literature in tourist motivations (e.g., Crompton, 1979, Fields, 2002 and Kim et al., 2009) and food choice (e.g., Mooney and Walbourn, 2001, Pollard et al., 2002 and Pollard et al., 1998), the current study investigates nominated motivational dimensions connected with consumption of local food and develops a measurement scale for tourist motivation to taste local food and beverages. The development of a valid and reliable framework for assessing factors considered by consumers when deciding to consume local food is not only a matter of purely academic interest but also a possible contribution to tourism marketing practice. This study serves as a first step towards the development of a measurement scale that can be used by future researchers and practitioners in understanding tourist motivations to taste local food and beverages.

The current study established a reliable and valid, 26 item scale to measure the factors motivating tourists to consume local foods in tourist destinations, based on British tourists. The study adds to a growing body of literature on tourism and food, by establishing representative constructs of tourist consumption of local food at tourist destinations. This study integrated the two bodies of travel motivations and food choice research, which has also been little studied. That is, the current study identified nominated motivations, by combining literature on tourism and food research, and these were theoretically and empirically supported by both research areas. Therefore, this study not only suggests key motivations, derived from empirical evidence but also provides an example to be further examined in future research in combined research fields. In terms of the general practical and managerial implications of the present study, the findings provide useful information for marketers of tourism and the food industries. Motivations found in this study have shown why tourists taste local food and beverages on their travels. Hence, marketers should design marketing communications in a way which can motivate tourists to try local food during their holidays, based on the results showing key motivations. For example, marketers should offer opportunities related to local food, such as taking traditional cookery classes or visiting local food museums, because tourists’ desire to learn about a different culture can be realised by experiencing local food. With regard to sensory appeal, marketers should understand that in regions where consumption of regional cuisine is part of the tourist experience, consumption of local food can enrich tourist experiences by reinforcing a sense of unique regional identity and place. Hence, they should encourage cooks and chefs to develop the kitchen skills to produce better taste, smells and appearance of local foods. Also they should make an effort to emphasise the authenticity of local cuisine by appealing to the sense of the traditional taste, smells and appearance of food. ‘Interpersonal relation’ includes social interaction with other people. Thus, marketers should emphasise that attending local food events and festivals offers a means for tourists to meet local people who have a similar interest in local foods. In addition, offering fresh locally grown foods, which have not travelled great distances, may satisfy the health concern of the tourists. As expected in all research, several limitations were found and should be addressed to encourage more effective research in the future. The primary drawback of this study is its generalisability. Even though data collection was performed in different destinations, the resultant measurement scale may be limited to the British population only. Research with samples from other populations, and replications would enable the conclusions to be validated in other cultural groups and give evidence of generalisability. Thus, further testing of the measurement scale developed in this study is necessary to examine if it is applicable to other regions. Although this study attempted to cover all aspect of tourists’ motivations to consume local food and beverages by examining the literature and by conducting a broad range of research, it is recognised that some aspects of motivations to consume local food and beverages may have been overlooked. Therefore, in future research, researchers of tourist local food experiences should reveal new information about motivations to consume local food at destinations by reviewing many research areas (e.g., tourism, hospitality, food, marketing, psychology, sociology, etc). Continued refinement of the measurement scale proposed and supported in this study is certainly possible with further research. Moreover, such investigations and modifications could include the addition and/or deletion of items, or even a modification of the factor structure if so indicated. These will have to be incorporated into the scale to ensure a valid measure of factors affecting consumption of local food on holidays and trips on a continuing basis. Additionally, it would be interesting to analyse the effect of different factors, constructs or scales on local food consumption of tourists in future research.