Features, drivers, and outcomes of food tourism

Purpose This study aims to examine the perceived value of service digitalization in fine-dining restaurants in France. No study exists on this topic, and its aim is to address this research gap. To do so, a conceptual framework of the perceived benefits and costs of the service digitalization was developed. This study also provides actionable recommendations for fine-dining restaurant managers to create and manage an optimized fine-dining experience for their customers. Design/methodology/approach To obtain in-depth information, the authors opted for a qualitative research approach. The authors interviewed 24 fine-dining restaurant managers (listed in the Michelin Guide) and 29 customers of fine-dining restaurants using a video titled “The Restaurant of the Future.” Findings The findings underline the perceived benefits and costs of service digitalization for both restaurant managers and their customers. This study highlights that fine-dining restaurants are highly experience-centric compared to other types of restaurants and recommends which services should be digitalized and which should not be to create and manage experiences throughout the customer journey. Practical implications This research provides restaurants with actionable recommendations in terms of service digitalization to enhance customers’ fine-dining experiences. Originality/value This research fills a gap by proposing a conceptual framework to examine the digitalization of services in fine-dining restaurants.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The service digitalization in fine-dining restaurants: a cost-benefit perspective

Vo‐Thanh

Zaman

Hasan

et al. 2022

“…The psychometric quality and parsimoniousness of the TAGES will encourage more advanced research designs, such as qualitative mixed with quantitative, multi-source, multi-level, longitudinal approaches, among others. These research designs will support more in-depth theoretical explorations of food-related travel experiences, an important future research direction suggested by Mariani and Okumus (2022). A high-quality gastronomy tourism experience scale like the TAGES may change the situation of fragmented findings across various disciplines, and facilitate the integration, consistency, and comprehension of the relatively novel gastronomy tourism research (Mariani and Okumus, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Moreover, even just one or two memorable food experiences during the trip are believed to still significantly affect tourists’ behavioral intentions in the future (Dedeoğlu et al , 2022). It is hoped that an increased understanding of customers’ food-related behaviors resulting from the wide application of the TAGES will help tourism, hospitality and foodservice industries “to see, seize, and exploit the opportunities brought by food” (Mariani and Okumus, 2022), and conquer the operational challenges during and after COVID-19.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective components of gastronomy tourism: measurement scale development and validation

Hsu

Liu

Lin

2022

Purpose Our knowledge of what emotions are elicited explicitly from food consumption and gastronomy experiences in the travel destination and how these emotions establish a relationship with tourists’ behavior is limited. Thus, this study aims to enrich the current knowledge in the gastronomy tourism field from the affective experience perspective and develop a scale to measure tourists’ affective gastronomy experiences (TAGES). Design/methodology/approach Both qualitative scale development and quantitative scale validation were conducted to ensure the psychometric properties of TAGES. Findings With the focus group’s contributions and experts’ validation, 12 gastronomy experience affects were identified in the first stage. In the second stage, a quantitative data collection involving 650 samples helped refine the scale. Finally, a reliable and valid scale with five items measuring TAGES was successfully developed. Originality/value This study provides a novel perspective by viewing tourists’ gastronomy experiences through an affective lens. Moreover, this study successfully provides evidence for the psychometric properties of the newly developed TAGES by systematically applying item response theory (IRT) and classical test theory (CTT). This study enriches the gastronomy tourism domain by developing the TAGES and presenting a rigorous and exhaustive investigation of its psychometric properties based on an integration of IRT and CTT. A valid and reliable scale that measures the TAGES fills the gastronomy literature gap and proposes an effective tool for future gastronomy experience studies.

“…First, we conceptualize a luxury gastronomic business ecosystem, or LGBE, as a business ecosystem that bases the entire package of products and services it offers on quality local cuisine. Such ecosystems connect firms and local institutions in a geographic area by using their cuisine as the main attractor for the destination (Batat, 2021; Mariani and Okumus, 2022). We contribute to the literature on the development of destination management by highlighting the importance of creating collaborations between private and public organizations (Mariani and Giorgio, 2017; Mariani and Kylänen, 2014) in the culinary field as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Luxury hotels as orchestrators in gastronomic destination development and management: the case of Borgo Egnazia and the Itria Valley

Franco

Presenza

Petruzzelli

2022

Purpose The aim of this paper is to uncover the main capabilities that a luxury hotel needs to develop when functioning as the orchestrator of a local gastronomic business ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach Given the limited attention previous literature has placed on the role of luxury hotels as orchestrators in luxury gastronomic business ecosystems, this paper adopts a qualitative approach, i.e. the exploratory analysis of a single case study: the Italian high-end hotel Borgo Egnazia. Findings The paper highlights the main capabilities developed by the orchestrator: relational, combinative and promotional capabilities. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is among the first studies to explore what capabilities are needed by a company to orchestrate a destination that builds its product and service offerings upon the local food culture.