IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i12p3437-d242107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Authenticity, Quality, and Loyalty: Local Food and Sustainable Tourism Experience

Author

Listed:
  • Tao Zhang

    (Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Taipa 999078, Macau, China)

  • Junyu Chen

    (Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Taipa 999078, Macau, China)

  • Baoliang Hu

    (School of Management, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China)

Abstract

The sustainability of rural development, both economic and environmental, has been increasingly linking to local food, which plays an indispensable role by preserving traditional culture, attracting tourists, and supporting the regional economy. However, the authenticity and quality of local food have not been fully convinced as competitive advantages by most practitioners. Little is known about how authenticity affects quality attributes, tourist satisfaction, and tourist loyalty. Thus, this study examines the role of authenticity in the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework. The field research was performed in Shunde County, Guangdong Province, China. The results challenge the traditional view of quality attributes by highlighting that authenticity is a key antecedent to the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework of food tourism. In contrast, the relationships among quality attributes, tourist satisfaction, and tourist loyalty are contingent on the extent to which food tourists perceive the authenticity of rural local food.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao Zhang & Junyu Chen & Baoliang Hu, 2019. "Authenticity, Quality, and Loyalty: Local Food and Sustainable Tourism Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3437-:d:242107
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3437/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3437/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akhoondnejad, Arman, 2016. "Tourist loyalty to a local cultural event: The case of Turkmen handicrafts festival," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 468-477.
    2. Jang, SooCheong (Shawn) & Namkung, Young, 2009. "Perceived quality, emotions, and behavioral intentions: Application of an extended Mehrabian-Russell model to restaurants," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 451-460, April.
    3. Michael B. Beverland & Francis J. Farrelly, 2010. "The Quest for Authenticity in Consumption: Consumers' Purposive Choice of Authentic Cues to Shape Experienced Outcomes," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(5), pages 838-856, February.
    4. Yi Shan Yu & Min Luo & Dong Hong Zhu, 2018. "The Effect of Quality Attributes on Visiting Consumers’ Patronage Intentions of Green Restaurants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-14, April.
    5. Mason, Michela C. & Paggiaro, Adriano, 2012. "Investigating the role of festivalscape in culinary tourism: The case of food and wine events," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1329-1336.
    6. Chang, Richard C.Y. & Kivela, Jakša & Mak, Athena H.N., 2011. "Attributes that influence the evaluation of travel dining experience: When East meets West," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 307-316.
    7. Tanford, Sarah & Jung, Shinyong, 2017. "Festival attributes and perceptions: A meta-analysis of relationships with satisfaction and loyalty," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 209-220.
    8. Sohyun Bae & Lisa Slevitch & Stacy Tomas, 2018. "The effects of restaurant attributes on satisfaction and return patronage intentions: Evidence from solo diners’ experiences in the United States," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1493903-149, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muhammad Hasnain Abbas Naqvi & Yushi Jiang & Mishal Hasnain Naqvi & Miao Miao & Changyong Liang & Shafaqat Mehmood, 2018. "The Effect of Cultural Heritage Tourism on Tourist Word of Mouth: The Case of Lok Versa Festival, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Tao Zhang & Huijun Wen & Xi Li, 2018. "A Tourist-Based Model of Authenticity of Heritage Sporting Events: The Case of Naadam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Jian Yang & Jian Ming Luo & Ivan Ka Wai Lai, 2021. "Construction of Leisure Consumer Loyalty from Cultural Identity—A Case of Cantonese Opera," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Jiamin Liu & Eusebio Chiahsin Leou & Chaozhan Chen & Xi Li, 2023. "Can Trust Bring Satisfaction to the Festival Under Pandemic?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    5. Ryohei Yamashita, 2021. "Saving tradition in Japan: a case study of local opinions regarding urban university students’ participation in rural festivals," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 125-147, February.
    6. Rosa Maria Fanelli, 2019. "Seeking Gastronomic, Healthy, and Social Experiences in Tuscan Agritourism Facilities," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Gannon, Martin & Taheri, Babak & Olya, Hossein, 2019. "Festival quality, self-connection, and bragging," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 239-252.
    8. Weiling Cheng & Hsientang Tsai & Hsiuhui Chuang & Paohui Lin & Tzuya Ho, 2020. "How Can Emerging Event Sustainably Develop in the Tourism Industry? From the Perspective of the S-O-R Model on a Two-Year Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-18, December.
    9. Michela C. Mason & Andrea Moretti & Francesco Raggiotto, 2017. "Service Quality, Behavioural Intentions and Lipstick effect. Evidence from a Masstige context," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2017(2), pages 123-147.
    10. Ana Mᵃ Castillo-Canalejo & Sandra Mᵃ Sánchez-Cañizares & Luna Santos-Roldán & Guzmán Antonio Muñoz-Fernández, 2020. "Food Markets: A Motivation-Based Segmentation of Tourists," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-13, March.
    11. Saeid Abbasian & Anna Lundberg, 2020. "Between Fire and Ice: Experiences of the Persian Fire Festival in a Nordic Setting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Yong-Guang Zou & Fang Meng & Ningqiao Li & Enling Pu, 2021. "Ethnic minority cultural festival experience: Visitor–environment fit, cultural contact, and behavioral intention," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(6), pages 1237-1255, September.
    13. Tanford, Sarah & Jung, Shinyong, 2017. "Festival attributes and perceptions: A meta-analysis of relationships with satisfaction and loyalty," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 209-220.
    14. Bilgihan, Anil & Madanoglu, Melih & Ricci, Peter, 2016. "Service attributes as drivers of behavioral loyalty in casinos: The mediating effect of attitudinal loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 14-21.
    15. Getz, Donald & Page, Stephen J., 2016. "Progress and prospects for event tourism research," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 593-631.
    16. Alvaro Rodriguez-Valencia & Jose Agustin Vallejo-Borda & German A. Barrero & Hernan Alberto Ortiz-Ramirez, 2022. "Towards an enriched framework of service evaluation for pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure: acknowledging the power of users’ perceptions," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 791-814, June.
    17. Sirieix, Lucie & Lála, Jan & Kocmanová, Klára, 2017. "Understanding the antecedents of consumers' attitudes towards doggy bags in restaurants: Concern about food waste, culture, norms and emotions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 153-158.
    18. Gwarlann Kerviler & Nico Heuvinck & Elodie Gentina, 2022. "“Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Effects of Indexical and Iconic Authenticity on Perceived Brand Ethicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 89-110, August.
    19. Sangeeta Peter & Victor Anandkumar, 2016. "Deconstructing the shopping experience of tourists to the Dubai Shopping Festival," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1199109-119, December.
    20. Bian, Qin & Forsythe, Sandra, 2012. "Purchase intention for luxury brands: A cross cultural comparison," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1443-1451.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3437-:d:242107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.