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Asia-PacificJournal of

Innovation inHospitality and

Tourism

APJIHTVol 6 No 1 2017 (March)

PP 17711/04/2013 (032291)

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism

(APJIHT)

Vol 6 No 1 2017 pp. 1-120

Abstracted and Indexed in CABI, CIRET, UDL Edge and MyCITE

Published byTaylor’s University Sdn Bhd

Research PapersGastronomic Heritage in Tourism Management 1Ruhet GencTurkish-German University (TGU), Turkey

My Vegetarian Experience: An Autoethnographic Approach 15Mayukh Dewan Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Mediating Effect of Tourist Country of Origin on Relationship between Factors Affecting Satisfaction of Foreign Tourists in Goa 33S.P. Bansal Indira Gandhi University, India; Himachal Pradesh University, IndiaPurva Kansal Panjab University, IndiaSandeep WaliaChandigarh University, India

Representation of Reality and Local Visitors’ Sense of Attachment: The Case of the George Town Festival in Malaysia 51Farhad FakhrianUniversiti Sains Malaysia, MalaysiaGelareh AbooaliUniversiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

Understanding Destination Images of Tourism Stakeholders: A Destination Branding Perspective 65 Suman Sharma and Vikrant KaushalCentral University of Himachal Pradesh, India

Sustainable Medical Tourism Model - A Case Study of Kerala, India 77 Sindhu Joseph GPM Government College, India

Profiles of Gastronomic Tourists Visiting Malacca and George Town, World Heritage Site(s) of Malaysia 99Leong Quee-Ling, Muhammad Shahrim Ab. Karim, Khairil Wahidin Awang and Ainul Zakiah Abu BakarUniversiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism(APJIHT)

Taylor’s University Sdn Bhd

ii Ahmad Rasmi AlBattat, Ahmad Puad Mat Som & Chiang, Li-Ting

APJIHT Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT

About the JournalThe aim of the journal is to promote and enhance research development and innovation in the field of hospitality and tourism. The journal seeks to provide an international platform for hospitality and tourism educators, postgraduate student and researchers, to debate and disseminate research findings, facilitate the discussion of new research areas and techniques, and highlight best practices for industry practioners. The articles published in the journal take a multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approach to study the marketing, finance, economics and social aspects of hospitality and tourism. Papers dealing with theoretical, conceptual and empirical aspects of the subject matter will be considered for publication.

Article Categories

•Annualreviewoftrends •Managementstyles•Appliedresearch •Methodsandprinciples•Empiricalresearch •Shortresearchnotes•Techniquesandinnovations •Bookreviews

The Review ProcessAll articles are reviewed (double blind) by at least two academic experts in the particular field of the submitted paper prior to acceptance. A maximum of 45 days/1.5 months is envisaged for the completion of the blind review process.

Paper ContributorsPapers are accepted from public and private institutions of higher education, the industry, non-governmental organizations, research centres and associations.

FrequencyIt is a bi-annual journal with the issues being published in March and September of each year.

AssociationThisjournalisofficiallyassociatedwithASEANTourismResearchAssociation(ATRA)since2015.

Sponsor and PublisherThe journal is sponsored by the Center for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, and published by Taylor’s University Sdn. Bhd.

iiiHospitality Emergency Management and The Dirty Twelve:A Dozen Reasons for Failure


Editorial Board

Editor-in-ChiefPaolo Mura, School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts, Taylor’s University, Malaysia

Founding Editor-in-ChiefProfessor Muhamad Muda

Board Members

Dimitrios Buhalis, Bournemouth University, UKKaye Chon, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong KongKadir Din, Universiti Utara Malaysia, MalaysiaDogan Gursoy, Washington State University, USAMicheal C.Hall,UniversityofCanterbury,NewZealandAmran Hamzah, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, MalaysiaPerry Hobson, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaBadaruddin Mohamed, Universiti Sains Malaysia, MalaysiaFevzi Okumus, University of Central Florida, USAJean-Pierre Poulain, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France John Tribe, University of Surrey, UKBihu (Tiger) Wu, Peking University, China

Advisory Members

Nuraisyah Chua Abdullah, Universiti Teknologi Mara, MalaysiaFaizan Ali, Florida State University, USALevent Altinay, Oxford Brookes University, UKNima Azarakhsh, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaNeethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaNorman Au, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong KongFrederic Bouchon, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaAhmet Ozturk Bulent, Central Florida University, USAChristina Geng-Ging Chi, Washington State University, USAChong Li Choo, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaAllan de Guzman, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, PhilippinesYusel Ekinci, Oxford Brookes University, UKSmitha Geetha, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaFaridah Hassan, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaSotiris Hji-Avgoustis, Ball State University, Indiana, USAStanislav Ivanov, International University College, Bulgaria

iv Ahmad Rasmi AlBattat, Ahmad Puad Mat Som & Chiang, Li-Ting


Christian Kahl, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaJay Kandampully, Ohio State University, MalaysiaSuresh Kannan, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaWoody Kim, Florida State University, USAAzilah Kasim, Universiti Utara Malaysia, MalaysiaSonia Khan, H.P. University, IndiaCatheryn Khoo-Lattimore, Griffith University, AustraliaCyrille Laporte, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France Emily Ma, Griffith University, AustraliaParikshat Singh Manhas, University of Jammu, IndiaPaul J. McVety, Johnson and Wales University, USAElise Line Mognard, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaSalleh Mohd Radzi, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaPaolo Mura, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaHalil Nadiri, EasternMediterraneanUniversity,NorthCyprusPradeep Kumar Nair, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaVikneswaran Nair, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaRuben Mediona Nayve, JR,CouncilofEconomicsEducators,PhilippinesAlexandru Nedelea, Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, RomaniaChristy Ng Yen Nee, Institute for Tourism Studies (Macao), ChinaRosmini Omar, Universiti Teknologi MalaysiaNor’ain Othman, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaMicheal Ottenbacher, Heilbronn University, GermanyRadesh Palakurthi, University of Memphis, USARamachandran Ponnan, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaSushila Devi S. Rajaratnam, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaSridar Ramachandran, Universiti Putra Malaysia, MalaysiaScott Richardson, Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, AustraliaHeike Schanze,AucklandUniversityofTechnology,NewZealandRegina Schlüter,UniversidadNacionaldeQuilmes,ArgentinaMohit Shahi, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaAhmad Shuib, Universiti Putra Malaysia, MalaysiaMarianna Sigala, University of the Aegean, GreeceVineetha Sinha,NationalUniversitySingapore,SingaporePimtong Tavitiyaman,SPEED,HongKongToney K. Thomas, Taylor’s University, MalaysiaLaurence Tibere, University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, FranceMuzaffer S. Uysal, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USAPaul Williams, Staffordshire University, UKAtila Yuksel, Adnan Menderes University, Turkey

vHospitality Emergency Management and The Dirty Twelve:A Dozen Reasons for Failure


Research PapersGastronomic Heritage in Tourism Management 1Ruhet GencTurkish-German University (TGU), Turkey

My Vegetarian Experience: An Autoethnographic Approach 15MayukhDewanTaylor’s University, Malaysia

Mediating Effect of Tourist Country of Origin on Relationship between Factors Affecting Satisfaction of Foreign Tourists in Goa 33S.P. Bansal Indira Gandhi University, India; Himachal Pradesh University, India

Purva Kansal Panjab University, India

Sandeep WaliaChandigarh University, India

Representation of Reality and Local Visitors’ Sense of Attachment: The Case of the George Town Festival in Malaysia 51Farhad FakhrianUniversiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Gelareh Abooali Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia

Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017

Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT

vi Ahmad Rasmi AlBattat, Ahmad Puad Mat Som & Chiang, Li-Ting

Understanding Destination Images of Tourism Stakeholders: A Destination Branding Perspective 65 Suman Sharma and Vikrant KaushalCentral University of Himachal Pradesh, India

Sustainable Medical Tourism Model - A Case Study of Kerala, India 77Sindhu Joseph GPM Government College, India

Profiles of Gastronomic Tourists Visiting Malacca and George Town, World Heritage Site(s) of Malaysia 99LeongQuee-Ling,MuhammadShahrimAb.Karim,KhairilWahidinAwang andAinulZakiahAbuBakarUniversiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia


Gastronomic Heritage in Tourism Management 1Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017 pp. 1-14

ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper

Gastronomic Heritage in Tourism Management

Ruhet Genc Turkish-German University (TGU), Turkey

© The Author(s) 2017. This article is published with open access by Taylor’s Press.

Abstract: One of the factors that affect tourists’ value of experience is the value of consumption where food experience plays a crucial role. While gastronomic tourism had always been in existence, its popularity is very much on the rise nowadays. It is not considered unusual to travel long distances for food tasting and smart businesses are taking the best advantage of this demand. Even if the main purpose of travel is not gastronomy-related, food experience is still highly significant for building a strong experience value. This paper focuses on the gastronomic heritage, its role in creating value in consumption and how the optimal food experience can be achieved in today’s tourism. A true gastronomic experience requires not only good taste but also a harmony of visuals, presentation and service. Therefore, gastronomy will be analysed as a whole process from presentation to service and taste. Creating value in the consumption of food is also a matter of good and fitting representation. As gastronomy is a key element of culture, it is essential to represent the related cuisine if cultural tourism is intended. Thus, related topics will be covered in this paper. The sense of taste and its role in creating an emotional platform for the customer will also be examined alongside value creation in consumption. The paper does not claim the importance of gastronomy only. Due importance is also given for history, heritage, the consumption behaviour of the tourist and stakeholders’ management skills. The reader will, step by step, come to understand the importance of gastronomy. All in all, the paper intends to establish a good understanding of the core aspects of food experience and its place in tourism.

Keywords: Gastronomy, hospitality, food value, food experience, gastronomic heritage.

Suggested citation: Genc, R. (2017). Gastronomic heritage in tourism management. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 1-14.

Introduction

Human beings need to eat for survival; it is an indispensable necessity to maintain bodily functions. However, this is not the only kind of relationship humans have with food. Since the beginning of human history, people have gathered together for

Correspondence: Ruhet Genc, Turkish-German University (TGU), Turkey. Email: [email protected]


2 Ruhet Genc

food and eating practices. As a matter of fact, our relationship with food is one of the things that differentiate us from other animals on the planet. The pleasure and satisfaction from eating food which we enjoy implies that this instinct for survival has more importance in our lives than just being a basic need (Genç, 2014). Food is as much a cultural and social element as it is a basic need. It is one of the main components of a tradition. Whether food is art or not is debatable. However, when taken into account all the preparation and presentation, the concept of food does involve artistic production.

Apart from its significance for life and position as a social and artistic element, food is also increasingly “becoming a central decision-making factor in travellers’ choice over a destination” (Surenkok Kesimoglu, 2011). Nowadays, quality gastronomic experience for customers is not only a challenge for restaurants or cafes but has become very competitive amongst tourism destinations.

The food experience is frequently present in daily life. Isn’t it interesting not to philosophize and think about an activity that people do a couple of times in a day? This is perhaps due to the fact that it has been considered a highly integral element of everyday life and the tourist experience (Surenkok Kesimoglu, 2011). It is included in mostly every touristic activity because it is an activity in our daily life too (Genç, 2014).

By managing needs, wants, desires and resources, the subject of gastronomy has developed to the extent that a dozen other sectors could benefit from it. In addition, it has paved way for new industries or disciplines that are beneficial, for example, molecular gastronomy. This paper intends to explore and analyze the food experience extensively. First, the paper looks at the history of food and its evolution throughout centuries, i.e. the gastronomic heritage. It will provide a fundamental understanding about the stages that led the food service sector to its current stage and the turning points in the approach to gastronomy. Then, food experience and consumer behavior will also be examined.

Gastronomic Heritage

The art of gastronomy has been evaluated for different purposes and from different perspectives for thousands of years. Gastronomic heritage can be defined as the art of food & beverage production, combination and consumption. Studies have been very helpful for our understanding of food as a significant part of the culture on earth. Therefore, it is highly important to provide a basic foundation on the history of food.

Traditional and Modern Food Systems

The distinctive factor in making food is the cooking techniques. After humans started cooking the food they found or hunted, food became much more than just fuel for their bodies. The transformation of food into a social phenomenon and the centre


Gastronomic Heritage in Tourism Management 3

of rituals marked the second revolution. The third revolution was the domestication of animals and the fourth, the onset of agricultural activities. The fifth revolution began when food entered the process of becoming a tool of social differentiation among humans. The sixth revolution marked the development of food mobility. In this stage, food products can be transported over long distances and become known to other cultures. This cultural exchange brought about a process of interaction and change. The seventh revolution, which is ecological, started with the discovery of America. The eight and current stage started in the 19th century and is still ongoing.

There are a lot of archival findings that prove the long history of food services. For instance, the figures in ancient Egyptian temples and tombs demonstrate that people used to prepare and serve meals for mass feeding. Ancient wall paintings or sculptures show that prepared meals were sold in street markets. It is not hard to deduce that there were exceptional cooks famous for their meals, even in those ancient times (Gürsoy, 2013).

In the Chinese archives dating back to B.C., it is mentioned that travellers used to find accommodation in roadside inns and ate there. In major Chinese cities, various kinds of food and beverages, especially pilaf and alcohol, were sold and businesses resembling today’s restaurants were in operation. China has one of the most untouched and preserved food-beverage cultures in the world (Gürsoy, 2013). Although it is very conservative and untouched, you can find Chinese restaurants in most places today.

Romans

When Romans founded the Roman Empire, they carried on the food culture and famous cooks of the lands they conquered, thus creating a rich-cuisine culture. Romans were extremely fond of feasts, to the extent that some of the emperors brought their empire to the edge of collapsing because of their festive passions. The word “tavern” comes from the Roman Era. The early version “tavern” referred to small diners serving food and wine (Gürsoy, 2013). Some sources cite that the oldest known cookbook was written during the rule of the Roman Empire, by the famous gourmet of that time, Apicius. It was called De re Coquinaria (On Cookery) (Morgan, 2006).

Middle Ages

After the fall of the Roman Empire, feasts and the tradition of eating outside lost its glory for a while. Only inns that were located on safe and busy routes could maintain business. However, the tradition of eating en masse continued in monasteries among priests and monks. Famine and epidemics probably had a big role in this; in addition, it is possible that the clergy also strictly discouraged the sin of gluttony (Gürsoy,


4 Ruhet Genc

2013). It should be noted that the Middle Ages was a religious period in Europe and “gluttony” is considered one of the seven deadly sins. However, even if the Roman Empire had fallen and the festive scene had changed, Italy remained as the centre of gastronomic experience.

Renaissance

After the Middle Ages, Europe entered a period called Renaissance where the gloomy atmosphere of the previous period slowly dissipated and religion was replaced with refined taste. Along with amazing developments in the arts and transformations of the way of thinking, the cuisine culture showed tremendous advancement too. As rulers, aristocrats and clergy got richer and richer, extravagant feasts regained their glory again in this period. Aristocrats were the leaders in developing gastronomy, as in art. The renaissance of food started in Italy and then spread to France, where it flourished (Gürsoy, 2013).

New ingredients were brought to Europe during Renaissance as a consequence of Christopher Columbus’ discoveries over the seas and food like turkey, corn, cocoa, potato, tomato, new types of pepper and coffee were also brought in from other Middle East and Asia expeditions. The arrival of these new ingredients marked a milestone in changing and shaping a new food culture.

French Cuisine: Birth of the Restaurant

Before the meaning that is known today came to be, the word “restaurant” meant “healing broth”. There are plenty of different restaurant recipes inherited from centuries ago, using ingredients brought together akin to alchemy. They were actual works of alchemy, because alchemists put valuable stones in the recipes. Renowned French dictionaries still describe restaurant as a type of semi-medicine in the 17th and 18th centuries, while Diderot and d’Alembert categorised it as a medical term in their encyclopaedia (Spang, 2000).

The restaurant today which refers to a socializing venue where food is served came from this medical broth. In fact, the first restaurant owners rarely sold solid food. Hence, the first restaurants were places where people went for sipping food to heal their bodies. The aspects that separated them from taverns, inns or food banks were individual tables, variable meal times and medical broths. Even after the mid-nineteenth century, restaurants were very scarce in France and one would only encounter them in the capital city of Paris. They were considered a characteristic of the city, and foreign travellers were astonished with this innovation. It was not only foreign travellers like British and American people who were fascinated with the restaurants of Paris; those who came to visit from rural areas of France were also bewildered by these places (Spang, 2000).



The opening of the first restaurants which could be described as both an interesting cookery enterprise and a scientific innovation was a quest for health as much as an attraction of the 18th century’s distinguished culture to food. In that period, all merchants, intelligentsia and the court were obsessed with physical pleasure and finding earthly, scientific ways to reach it. The hype was so immense that it became a common hobby to read medical brochures. This was the context within which the first restaurants opened in France, and it is not surprising that the first restaurant owners defined their positions as providers of health care and physical pleasure. The 1760s’ and 1770s’ restaurants presented a platform of diet that addressed sufferers of very different sensitivities, combining conservative science and pastoral plants. They claimed they were simplifying nature with the help of science and technology (Spang, 2000). Eventually, with the accelerated innovations in medical science, medical doctors separated themselves from this line of work and restaurants evolved on their own.

Evolved Restaurants

Approximately 20 years after the first restaurants opened, they were no more specializing in only serving healing soups to sensitive customers. Instead, restaurants were focused on providing immaculate services to individual tastes. While diners served masses with standardized meals, restaurants were serving small and customized meals at cosy tables. The service type called “au restaurant” represented customized food service to a customer who came alone at any time of the day. Thanks to their superb furniture, varied menu and flexible working hours, restaurants presented their customers with entertainment to revive their souls and the kind of hunger satisfaction that traditional inns and diners could provide. The work of inns and diners was closely tied to their set of regular customers, while restaurants were the places where unexpected customers came to satisfy their individual needs (Spang, 2000). Therefore, it could be proposed that these restaurants were the places that gave birth to the notion of experience value. Unlike local inns and diners, restaurant owners were very much interested in gaining a wide reputation for the experience they provide, as their line of work was not restricted to a small area. People would not travel relatively long distances to visit local inns or diners, as they were only picked for their convenience. However, if a restaurant had a reputation, it could draw customers from faraway places.

In the traditional table d’hôte style applied elsewhere, all customers would be served food together sitting at a big table, and the meals were standard. Restaurants, however, introduced the à la carte style, which means “according to the menu”. Simply put, table d’hôte refers to the table of the home owner, and customers would eat what they found, not what they wanted (Spang, 2000) whereas in restaurants,


6 Ruhet Genc

customers could demand what they wanted. Restaurant customers could look at the menu and choose whatever they like and could also customize it with requests related to the cooking style and ingredients. The à la carte style of serving could be considered as the milestone of creating the food experience value. It not only changed the experience of customers, but also transformed the format of kitchens and the way cooks and kitchen staff worked. The table d’hôte style did not require the use of menus as the clientele knew the standardized meals and the setting allowed the prepared meals to be seen. On the other hand, in à la carte restaurants, meals were prepared in a separate kitchen and cannot be seen by customers. Therefore, they used menus with prices for every meal. As the mealtimes were not set in stone and customers could come at any moment to order any dish, the kitchen staff was required to be ready with the necessary ingredients all the time. This made the restaurant business as much toilsome and expensive as it is sophisticated.

In French, la carte means more than just menu. It also refers to the map of a nation or a city. Just like the image of a boot is the symbol of Italy and a hexagon is the symbol of France, menus are symbols that define the features of a restaurant, making it distinctive with the organization, language and items particular to it (Spang, 2000). Menus started to become one of the most important aspects of the food experience value.

It was Marie-Antoine Carême and then Georges Auguste Escoffier who modernized the French kitchen. In the early 19th century, Carême refined culinary principles, organized techniques and put recipes and menus in a system. After Carême, Escoffier “streamlined the commercial kitchen into the arrangement that is still used in major restaurants today”. His planning is known as the brigade system, and will be discussed later (Morgan, 2006). It might come as a surprise that today’s restaurant system did not exist until recent times and it took the human race such a long time to invent it. However, after restaurants started their journey, they made progress very fast and it is now a part of daily life.

The history of food and the transformation of gastronomy into an art form has been briefly covered. It is important to understand the history of techniques, traditions and ingredients to understand the gastronomic scene of the present and improve it with better knowledge. Today, food experience is a significant part of tourism and is creating its own field. In the next section, the food experience value in tourism will be explored in detail and the creation of value in consumption will also be discussed.

Basics of Food Experience

Human beings cannot survive without food and wherever they travel, they need to eat. Food is also “a common language and, above all, a universal right. As any language,



it is spoken to communicate, to share emotions, feelings, sensations” (Buiatti, 2011). Therefore, the food experience is not only about taste but also provides a social link between people.

When people share food, they take pleasure in sitting at a table together and contemplate about their pleasures related to the service; hence, a good food experience is closely related to hospitality. The word hospes has two meanings in languages derived from Latin; it means both the person who welcomes and the one who is welcomed (Buiatti, 2011). The host and guest relationship is a significant part of the gastronomic experience and the best way to explore it is by focusing on the “slow food experience”. That is not to say that fast food does not require good hospitality; however, its practices are very different and do not reflect the kind of experience we would like to delve into as it lacks some important dimensions.

Food experience has always been an essential part of the tourist experience, as wherever people travel, they need to eat, and their expectations change according to the itinerary planned. The tourism industry creates value in an essential service such as food by “making experiences memorable”. The experiences are designed in a way that take into account the tourist’s means, time and space. Pleasure and convenience are merged together. On the other hand, culinary tourism is a relatively new field. In culinary tourism, food is the spotlight. People focus on food when they make their plans. This might be as simple as making a reservation in a restaurant or as complex as travelling long distances and organizing itineraries around wineries, restaurants, cooking schools, local farms, food festivals etc. (Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, 2004). It becomes even more crucial for those working in tourism to provide an immaculate service and create higher value for people who seek food experiences.

Staff Organization

Organized staff is one of the basic tenets of the food experience. Nobody wants to go to a restaurant where they cannot find anyone to bring the menu or take food orders. There would be chaos in the kitchen and the serving area, if the staff is not aware of their own job descriptions and that of their colleagues. Hence, the restaurant system must work flawlessly in order to provide a pleasant experience to the customer.

Two of the most important qualities to look for in a chef are skilfulness and cleanliness. In today’s world, chefs must also have an open mind and be creative enough to follow the latest trends which spread quickly in this digital era. An example of a trend from Turkey is “triliçe”. It spread all over Istanbul’s food scene in a very short period of time, and one can find it in many places ranging from small, local cafes to major restaurant chains. It is important to have specialties in the menu that define the legacy of the restaurant, but chefs should present new alternatives, too.

The headwaiters or maître d’hôtel also play a significant role in providing a good


8 Ruhet Genc

food experience. Chefs usually stay in their kitchen and rarely come out to converse with customers, but as headwaiters are responsible for the whole waiting staff, their management skills determine the quality of the hospitality service. Headwaiters have different job descriptions depending on where they work. Being a headwaiter means different things in restaurants, bars or night clubs. In order to create value in food experience, a headwaiter should possess what is called “people skills” along with management skills. Being seated at the right table in the right manner matters to the customers and their perception of the experience. Some customers might be easy to serve, but others may make special requests, and the headwaiter must be able to deal with ordinary situations as well as extraordinary ones.

Waiters come next after headwaiters in the hospitality hierarchy; however, they are the ones whom customers see and converse with the most. Therefore, their skills and attitudes are highly important for the food experience. Waiters should possess the necessary knowledge and are able to provide quality service. For instance, they must know the content of the menu by heart and be ready to make suggestions to the customer if necessary. They must pay attention to the food orders given to avoid any misunderstanding. Also, it goes without saying that waiters should be polite, respectful and attend to the needs of the customers sufficiently, without being a nuisance.

The roles of chefs, headwaiters and waiters in creating the food experience value have been examined thus far. There are other roles in the food service industry like bartenders, bus boys and sometimes musicians, entertainers, valets and bodyguards. Their roles and services have a significant part in the whole food experience, too. However, for now, only the most basic roles will be looked at. However, it is equally important that even small or local businesses follow the general rules in food service. Customers take notice of little things and it might change the memory of their experience for better or worse.

Safety and Hygiene

Safety and hygiene is another important subject in providing valuable food experience to customers. This aspect should not be taken lightly just because customers cannot see the kitchen area or the preparation of food. Customers would not remember their experience fondly if they leave with an allergic reaction, food poisoning or find hair in their meal, no matter how tasty their food was. Different countries or states have different regulations on safety and hygienic requirements for commercial food service operators, but some general rules are applicable everywhere.

Safety is as important to customers as it is to workers; hence, slow food premises should pay attention to the well-being of their employees. Morgan (2006) defined food-borne illness as “any sickness resulting from food contamination”. Biological, chemical or physical contamination in the workplace can lead to this type of illness.



Biological contamination occurs when harmful microorganisms like certain bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi reproduce in food. In order to avoid food contamination, food must be stored at the right temperature, kept dry and not used after a certain period of time. Chemical and physical contaminations are more obvious as they refer to pesticides, cleaning agents, toxic metals like lead, zinc, copper and antimony found in kitchen utensils or foreign objects that accidentally make their way into food.

Some of the customers might be allergic to the ingredients on the menu. It is the business’ responsibility to point out these allergens and warn them. For a better gastronomic experience, menus should include a variety of food that can be eaten by customers with different conditions. For example, nut allergy is very common and if all the items on the menu have nut or its derivatives, a customer may leave the place dissatisfied.

By ensuring the hygiene of the workplace and staff, food-borne illnesses can be kept away (Morgan, 2006). Therefore, it is fundamental to pay attention to the cleanliness and maintenance of the kitchen utensils and equipment as well as the customer dining area. The staff should also maintain their personal hygiene in the kitchen and service area.

Creating Value in Food Experience and the Role of Tourist Behaviour

In order to come up with ways to add value to the food experience, it is important to understand its construction first. Value is an abstract concept and is related to many aspects of tourist behaviour such as motivations, perceptions and perspectives (Zins, 2000). Different academics view the definition of value differently, as Zins (2000) summarizes below:

– a relation or trade-off between all advantages received and disadvantages taken into account (e.g. Monroe & Krishnan, 1985) or similar

– a weighted comparison between give- and get-characteristics (Sawyer & Dickson, 1984) or

– the tourist’s overall assessment of the utility of a product based on the perceptions of what is received and what is given (Zeithaml, 1988)

– value is not to be reduced to its functional aspects but extends to social, emotional and epistemic components as well (Sheth, Newman & Goss, 1991).

A notion as multidimensional, abstract and relative as value requires a rather sophisticated approach to measure in gastronomic experience. In an age where things grow, change and are consumed very fast, people continually seek the optimal experience among countless alternatives and do not settle for anything less than the experience they demand. Therefore, competition is fiercer than ever. As some examples of high-end establishments, the Breakers Hotel boasts 17,000 staff and the Crystal Symphony serves with a crew of 550 for up to 940 guests. The Burj Al


10 Ruhet Genc

Arab greets guests at the airport in chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, and wine glasses are never less than half full on the Seabourn Spirit. On the Crystal Symphony, which claims that no request is outrageous, private butlers clean and press clothes, shine shoes, pack for guests and do just about anything else you can imagine. As for fine dining, “at the Four Seasons, personnel actually wait until a fish dish is ordered before they catch it from their on-site ponds” (Bowen & Santos, 2006).

The examples above set out the scene for today’s tourism where customers are entitled to demand the experience they want, or even the ones that they have yet to imagine.

Postmodernism and Its Influence on Culinary Consumption

Postmodernism brought with it a major transformation in consumer behaviour. Perhaps not the remaining part of the world per se, but the developed world consists of consumer societies. The word “consumer” does not refer just to customers buying tangible products from retail outlets, anymore. In consumer societies, “any form of service, whether in the commercial or public sectors, should adopt an explicit ‘customer orientation’,” because the scope of the term consumer has been widely expanded (Sloan, 2004).

As such, it is not a surprise that culinary tourism is flourishing as a separate field, moving away from being a part of the general tourism. In the postmodern society, individuals form their own self-identities through consumption (Sloan, 2004). The manner in which people consume demonstrates which group or groups they belong to in a society. It reflects their socio-economic class, the trends and social conventions they follow and the method they use to seek social acceptance. Culinary taste might seem to be an individual preference, but it is more so about social acceptance (Sloan, 2004). Hence, providers of food service should take into account the social context and profiles of their customers so as to excel in the food experience they provide. What customers prefer might sometimes differ from their taste.

Authenticity

Authenticity means being true to the original state of something. In the case of food experience, it requires being true to the food itself and its origin. Inundated by competitive alternatives, today’s customers are on the look for the most genuine experience. Food is a way of experiencing another place, without necessarily being there physically. In order to achieve this experience, a restaurant should be true to the food it provides and present it in the right atmosphere. It is in stark contrast to the way global food chains like McDonalds and Burger King operate. Gourmet travellers often seek the original. In a way, these modern tourists are searching the purity of the past, a time before market forces adulterated the gastronomic scene (Scarpato & Daniele, 2003).



Today, food suppliers do business on an international scale. Therefore, they need to ask themselves whether they want to provide customized experience to people from different cultures with different tastes, in an age where people travel long distances to satisfy their taste bud cravings (Scharf, 2011). A good example of meeting halfway the issue of standardizing chains and the demand for authenticity can be seen in Wetherspoon pubs in the UK. They have branches scattered all around the country; yet, they pay special attention in customizing each pub according to the town’s history and specialties.

It is also important to note that an increasing number of food service destinations are “employing locally produced food and beverage products to strengthen their tourism products” (Boyne & Hall, 2003). This is a crucial approach in creating authentic dishes as well as keeping true to the original recipes.

Authenticity is essential to the food experience; as in culinary tourism, people find the opportunity to test and push the limits of the unfamiliar. Unpredictability is the root of novelty and it creates the context where one could escape from daily life routines and have an authentic experience (Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, 2004).

Motivation

Although the main motivation for visiting a food service facility is for eating, there are other underlying motivations. It is important for a business to observe and analyse these motivations to create value in their food experience.

Swarbrooke and Horner (1999) categorized tourist motivations into personality, lifestyle, past experience, past life, perceptions and image. Personality traits often observed may include “gregarious or loner? Adventurous or cautious? Confident or timid?” In the same manner, the lifestyles of customers affect their decisions immensely. Someone seeking a healthy lifestyle will have a different motivation compared to those who put their taste first. Past experience and past life are related to previous experiences, whether good, bad or nostalgic. Perceptions are also built based on these past experiences and the world view of the customer. Image is also crucial, as where one eats and the kind of service one receives affects the perception of others of them. These motivations come in various combinations for everyone.

Memory

Customers’ memories, referring to their recollections about their past experiences are highly important for creating value in food experience. The memory of an experience is in fact more important than the experience itself, as memories will result in return customers (Wright, 2010).

To create good memories, the food service businesses must appeal to the sensory system of the customers. It is obvious that a restaurant should offer delicious meals


12 Ruhet Genc

that satisfy the palate of their customers. However, they should not forget that the sensory system includes visual, sense of touch, hearing and the sense of smell. Ideally, a gastronomic experience should include all of these senses in a positive way to achieve an unforgettable and cherished memory. Therefore, businesses must organize their work in a way that appeals to as many of these senses as possible. Gibbs and Ritchie (2010) proposed to consider the restaurant as a theatre stage where every detail and move is integrated in harmony to help the business excel in providing a valuable and memorable food experience.

Conclusion

This paper explored the creation of value in food experience, in particular in the slow food service industry. The field of gastronomy has a long history dating back to ancient times, with ancient Greeks and Romans considered as pioneers. The evolution of gastronomic experiences has been astonishing and in the 1700s, the French established the grounds for “restaurant” that spread around the world and became a staple component of our society today. Today, customized and authentic experiences are highly valued in a world of competitive alternatives. Therefore, culinary tourism has flourished as a field of its own.

Food service operators need to add value to the experiences they provide to their customers, in order to be competitive. This could only be achieved by creating a multi-faceted business that takes into consideration all dimensions of tourist behaviour and integrating them into quality service. A restaurant should pay close attention to its staff organization, safety and hygiene as a rule of thumb. However, these alone will not lead to success. The authenticity of the experience, motivations of different customers and appeal to the sensory system of customers to create memorable experiences are the key to a successful food experience.

It cannot be denied that the future is bright for food service operators who understand the sophisticated nature of food experiences, follow local and global innovations closely and raise the value in the right manner.

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0) which permits any use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.

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Gibbs, D. & Ritchie, C. (2010). Theatre in restaurants: Constructing the experience. In M. Morgan, P. Lugosi and J.R. Brent Ritchie (Eds.), The tourism and leisure experience: Consumer and managerial perspectives (pp.182-201). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.

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Scharf, A. (2011). Sensory marketing research – Identification of the ideal sensory product profile. In K. L. Sidali, A. Spiller, B. Schulze (Eds.), Food, agriculture and tourism (pp.180-197). Heidelberg, Germany : Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Wright, R. K. (2010). ‘Been there, done that’: Embracing our post-trip experiental recollections through the social construction and subjective consumption of personal narratives. In M. Morgan, P. Lugosi and J.R. Brent Ritchie (Eds.), The tourism and leisure experience: Consumer and managerial perspectives (pp.117-136). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications.


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Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52, 2-22.

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My Vegetarian Experience: An Autoethnographic Approach 15Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017 pp. 15-32

ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper

My Vegetarian Experience: An Autoethnographic Approach

Mayukh Dewan Taylor’s University, Malaysia


Abstract: Food consumption around the world makes up the basis of human ecology as we eat foods based on our cultural, religious and moral beliefs. Ethical and spiritual concerns have motivated many Greek philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato, Plutarch, and Porphyry to abstain from meat consumption. There has been an increase in the meat abstinence and vegetarian lifestyle due to recent philosophical world views put forth for anti-speciesism, anti-carnism, ethical issues about killing of animals, animal rights, and communal feeling and identification with the animal world. Scientific arguments for the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle and diet are quite recent. Vegetarianism as a lifestyle is difficult to quantify and study, primarily because there are so many interpretations of the word “vegetarian”. This confusion on the term “vegetarian” has presented problems for empirical research. There has been a lot of research with regard to motivations of people turning vegetarian; from environmental concerns, ethical concerns, religious concerns, animal rights concerns and health but little to no research on the experience of being a religious vegetarian. The motivation to understand the experiences of a Hindu religious lacto-vegetarian in a predominantly meat-eating society prompted me to undertake this study. For this purpose, I became a vegetarian for a month and noted down my experiences in an autoethnographical study. I discovered how my culture, my reflexivity and my past life experiences influence who I am and how I choose my food. The loneliness and fears that I faced during the study will also be discussed. The second reason for this research was to understand and experience the challenges of autoethnography as a research methodology and to try to legitimise it as a credible genre of scholarly work.

Keywords: Autoethnography, Hinduism, vegetarianism, cultural food habits, lacto-vegetarianism

Suggested citation: Dewan, M. (2017). My vegetarian experience: An autoethnographic approach. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 15-32.

Correspondence: Mayukh Dewan, Taylor’s University. Email: [email protected]


16 Mayukh Dewan

Introduction

Food consumption around the world makes up the basis of human ecology. We all eat different foods around the world based our cultural, religious and moral beliefs. Ethical and spiritual concerns have motivated many Greek philosophers like Pythagoras, Plato, Plutarch, and Porphyry to abstain from meat consumption (Spencer, 1993). The meat abstinence and vegetarian lifestyle has picked up in the western world over the last century. This is caused by recent philosophical perspectives put forth for anti-speciesism (Singer, 1976), anti-carnism (Joy, 2010), ethical issues about killing of animals (Rozin, 2004; Twigg, 1979), animal rights (Regan, 1984), and a feeling of community and identity with the animal world (Clark, 1984). The scientific arguments for the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle and diet are quite recent (Whorton, 1994). Vegetarianism as a lifestyle is quite hard to quantify and study, primarily because there are so many interpretations of the word vegetarian. There are self-identified vegetarians who abstain completely from any animal product; others take milk and milk products, eat egg, eat fish or eat white meat. All of them claim to be a vegetarian of some sort. The confusion on the term “vegetarian” has presented problems for empirical research (Weinsier, 2000). According to many polls around the world, it is estimated that 3% of the UK population are vegetarians (UK Food Standards Agency, 2009), 1–2% in New Zealand (Bidwell & Alexander, 2002), and 3% in Australia, with quite high rates of 6% in Ireland, 9% in Germany, 8.5% in Israel, and 40% in India (”How many veggies…?”, 2008). There has been a lot of research with regard to motivations of people turning vegetarian; from environmental concerns (Gupta, 1999; Beardsworth & Keil, 1992; Fox & Ward, 2008), ethical concerns (Ruby, 2012; Beardsworth & Keil, 1992; Fox & Ward, 2008), religious concerns (Nath, 2010; Beardsworth & Keil, 1992), animal rights concerns (Beardsworth & Keil, 1992) and health (Ruby, 2012; Fox & Ward, 2008; Beardsworth & Keil, 1992) but little to no research on the experience of a religious vegetarian. My motivation to understand the experiences of a vegetarian in a predominantly meat-eating society in Klang Valley, Malaysia prompted me to undertake this research. For this purpose, I became a vegetarian for a month and noted down my experiences in an autoethnographical study. Malaysia does have a sizeable Indian population which is made up of an eclectic mix of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh populace. They eat a variety of Indian foods from meat, fish, seafood, chicken and vegetarian fare. The cooking styles are even more varied from coconut and seafood-heavy South Indian fare to breads and roasted meat of north Indian to the oily and fatty Indian Muslim curries. The availability of mock meats which are predominantly prevalent in the Chinese cuisine in Malaysia are also included in the realm of vegetarian food but is not considered or accepted widely in the vegetarian Hindu community.


My Vegetarian Experience: An Autoethnographic Approach 17

My other motivation for this research is that I am a Hindi meat-consuming man married into a predominantly Hindu vegetarian family. Vegetarian meals on a regular basis were also a part my life before marriage as we had many regular days where we shunned meat and alcohol due to religious reasons. Eating vegetarian foods for long periods of time is therefore not overly stressful to me. The problem arises when there is a lack of foods that my family and I consider as “pure-veg”. My reflexivity in accepting vegetarian foods in a predominantly non-vegetarian restaurant is also different from my family who would not even have an Indian bread (roti) that has been broiled on a pan where a similar egg-filled bread (roti telur) was cooked. For this study, I put myself in my wife’s frame of mind while choosing vegetarian dishes and meals during the course of research period. As there are no studies on the religious vegetarian experiences in a high-meat consumption country, this research is unique and innovative as it lays the path for future researchers to understand and further advance the religious vegetarian’s behaviour outside their comfort zone.

Literature Review

The choice for vegetarian food and meat abstinence has been steadily increasing across the world. In his book, The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times, Stuart (2006) mentions that vegetarianism has its roots in ancient India. Indeed, presently most the world’s vegetarians are Indians and there are more vegetarians in India than in any other country in the world (Stuart, 2006). International and local brands have customised their products to suit the Indian diaspora who want to consume western favourites like burgers and pizzas but still follow their vegetarian lifestyle. Some major brands have overhauled their entire concept to suit local tastes. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), which is synonymous with its “finger-lickin good” tagline, altered it for India to “So veg, So good” to promote its paneer zinger burger and veg twister at the beginning of 2014. The change was implemented because they saw a huge potential in the vegetarian customers who make up the bulk of the Indian population. Since then, the fast-food chain’s sale of its vegetarian items in the country has shot up significantly (Bhushan, 2014). A recent survey on pizza sales by food delivery portal, foodpanda.in showed that a large portion of pizzas sold in Delhi are vegetarian (Bhushan, 2014). A change in vegetarian food consumption can be seen in many parts of the world with trends of vegan, gluten-free and healthy vegetarians increasing as vegetarianism becomes more glamourous. The world’s biggest fast-food chain, McDonald’s bestseller product in the Indian market is the McAllu Tikki Burger (potato patty) in spite of other innovative and interesting chicken and egg preparations (Bhushan, 2014). The latest trend predicted for 2015 in America is that restaurants and hotels will serve at least one vegetarian dish for every meal, especially those with an international clientele as guests increasingly become more health, ethical, environmental and religiously


18 Mayukh Dewan

conscious (Simon, 2014). The American fast-food chain White Castle, has started offering vegetarian sliders to its customers since December 2014. According to its Vice President, James Richardson, the 93-year-old company was committed to “keeping up with changing tastes” (Press, 2014). According to a survey in UK, it was estimated that vegetarians and vegans now make up 3.7% of the adult population (Social Surveys Gallup, 1990). This is an increase of 23% since the previous survey in 1988. It is also a 76% increase since the first survey in 1984. The survey also shows that an additional 6.3% avoid read meat and its products from their daily diet. This is also an increase of 15% from the 1988 survey and a whopping 232% increase from the 1984 survey. The survey also revealed that the combined number of vegetarians and those avoiding meat made up 10% of the total population of UK. The survey also showed that women in the 16-24 age brackets have the highest tendency to eat a meat-free diet. They were also more concerned about the financial, ethical, moral and health aspects of meat consumption. For those who avoid meat products, the upper socio-economic group cited health reasons while the lower socio-economic group stated financial reasons (Beardsworth & Keil, 1991).

There are many reasons for becoming vegetarian ranging from ethical, health, ecological, religious, financial to philosophical reasons (Leitzmann & Hahn, 1996; Messina & Burke, 1997; Key, Davey & Appleby, 1999; Rajaram & Sabaté, 2000). If we look at the ecological/environmental effects of food production, the damage done by the meat production industry is startling (Giehl, 1981). The average meat protein production requirements are 10 times more in terms of land requirements compared to plant protein. More than a third of the world’s grain harvest is used to feed the animals needed for meat production. Just a fifth of this grain would be enough to feed all the hungry people in the world (Leitzmann, 2003). In addition, the animals’ waste and manure seeps into the soil causing high levels of potentially carcinogenic nitrates in potable drinking water and vegetables grown in and around the animal farms. The meat production industry requires a lot of electricity, fossil fuel and other forms of resources like water and also leads to overgrazing of land and deforestation to make way for more farmland (Pimentel & Pimentel, 1983; Pimentel, 1999; Pinstrup-Andersen & Pandya-Lorch, 1998).

Many social anthropologists have analysed in detail the high value placed on meat by human societies (Harris, 1986; Farb & Armelagos, 1981). The founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847 in UK was an important step in the emergence of vegetarianism as a new social movement (Dietz et al., 1995). Vegetarianism is the opposite of the conventional food hierarchy models with red meat at the top, exuding power and vegetables as the undesirables at the bottom (Twigg, 1979a; 1979b). Modern vegetarianism is divided into many categories from the very strict vegans to the ovo-vegetarians who consume milk and eggs to “pseudo-vegetarian” or also known as “semi-vegetarian” like pescatarian vegetarians who



consume occasional fish and crustaceans but shun farmed meats (Beardsworth & Keil, 1992).

In the last 50 years, we have seen a long-term decline in red meat consumption since the early 1960s along with pork and pork product consumption since the early 1980s. Poultry consumption on the other hand, seems to have risen progressively since the mid-1950s (Beardsworth & Keil, 1997). According to a research by the Institute of Food Research in Reading, it was observed that nearly a third of its sample of 1,018 UK residents considered themselves as reducing their meat consumption (Richardson, Shepherd & Elliman, 1993).

According to a survey by the Vegetarian Society in 1991 in UK, it was also observed that the female respondents indicated a higher rate of vegetarianism compared to that of the males (Beardsworth & Keil, 1997). Another survey in the US showed that there were 3% to 7% vegetarians in the USA (Beardsworth & Keil, 1997). Similarly, in a survey in Fairfax County, Virginia, it was found that people who turned vegetarian had higher “altruistic or philanthropic” values compared to non-vegetarians who portrayed higher “traditional or conventional values” (Dietz et al., 1995). Many other research (Beardsworth & Keil, 1992; Neale, Tilston, Gregson & Stagg, 1993; Santos & Booth, 1996; Mauren, 1995) also suggest that the motives for a person to convert to vegetarianism are basically ethical considerations rather than the usual taste, health or ecological reasons.

The Hindu vegetarians are basically lacto-vegetarians (Dugan, 1994), which means they consume milk and milk products along with a plant-based diet. Milk, butter, Indian fresh cheese (paneer) is considered to be an integral part of their vegetarian lifestyle and is in fact, seen as the highest and purest form of vegetarianism. Vegetarianism in Hinduism entails eating Satwik food which is pure vegetarian in nature with an emphasis on milk and milk by-products like butter and ghee. Milk fat (ghee) is used to light the ceremonial lamp in all Indian homes and temples and sweets made out of milk are offered to gods as a homage after which the same are distributed between family members and children (Symmons, 1998).

Methodology

Autoethnography is an approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyse (graphy) one’s personal experience (auto) in order to understand a cultural experience (ethno) (Ellis, 2004; Jones, 2005). The criteria for the evaluation of personal writing as sociology is still relatively very new and has just started developing (DeVault, 1997). The personal descriptions in many cases may simply be rejected as self-indulgent in the absence of alternative ideas on how to go about appraising them (Atkinson, 1997; DeVault, 1997; Sparkes, 2002).

Duncan (2004) informed and warned budding autoethnographers against emotional writing styles, lacking personal motivations about the motivators behind the research,


20 Mayukh Dewan

and a failure to connect your personal experiences with the theory. Her advice is that we need to deal openly with the validity, reliability, and legitimation of autoethnography within the prevailing research culture around the world. For this research, I plan to analysis my personal experiences of being a vegetarian whilst living in a predominantly meat-eating society in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This study is a precursor to a wider study which I have undertaken to investigate the food consumption trends of religious vegetarian tourists while on holiday. By analysing myself in the Hindu vegetarian cultural set-up, I strive to understand the experience of Hindu religious vegetarians when they are outside their comfort zone and need to make food choices on a daily basis. Autoethnographies “are highly personalized accounts that draw upon the experience of the author/researcher for the purposes of extending sociological understanding” (Sparkes, 2000, p. 21). Autoethnographers vary in their emphasis on auto- (self), -ethno- (sociocultural connection), and -graphy (application of the research process) (Reed-Danahay, 1997). While many consider autoethnography to be a personal narrative (Ellis & Bochner, 2000), other researchers use autoethnography as a way to link the literary concepts with the personal experiences of the researcher (Holt, 2001; Sparkes, 1996). These researchers also support this approach as rigorous and justifiable as any other forms of inquiry (Duncan, 2004).

Autoethnography can be considered as more of a philosophy than a well-defined method (Wall, 2006), so there remains a considerable creative latitude in the production of an autoethnographic text (Ellis & Bochner, 2000). The examples of autoethnography show that it is used mainly as a storytelling method which builds a personal connection of the reader with the researcher (Frank, 2000). It also explores issues of personal importance within an explicitly acknowledged social context (Holt, 2001; Sparkes, 1996), evaluating a person’s actions (Duncan, 2004), or critiquing existing literature on a topic of personal importance (Muncey, 2005). The autoethnographic form of writing would allow my readers to feel my dilemmas, think with my story rather than about it and join actively with my decision points (Ellis & Bochner, 2000). I plan to become a co-participant who engages with the storyline morally, emotionally, aesthetically, and intellectually (Richardson, 1994).

While undertaking this autoethnographic study, I had to understand that in order to write it, one cannot feel completely at home in our discipline (Burnier, 2006) as this could hamper my observation of the glaring truth right in front of me. The discomfort I experienced while stepping outside my own perceived frame of mind was part of the autoethnographic task (Denshire, 2014).

Telling a story in the first-person perspective can run the risk of too much attachment to self and a certain set of memories (Denshire, 2014). While this can be a problem because we may be seen as being too self-indulgent, we also have to realise that our stories and experiences are not solely ours, but rather that they also represent the group we are autoethnographically representing. Sparkes (2013) proposed and



argued that in the process of writing about our own story, we are also writing about the others around us. There are also tensions existing between autoethnography and literary traditions, with stories being put together using complex characters and sources (Clough, 1999).

As an ethnographic and autoethnographic researcher, I can use many devices such as fictionalizing (Clough, 2002) and the use of symbolic equivalents (Yalom, 1991) to protect the participants’ identities in autoethnographic accounts. Protective writing styles like nom de plume (Morse, 2000), composite characterization (Ellis, 2007) and pseudonyms (Chang, 2008) can be used to protect the privacy of the chosen subjects. Now this may not be possible while doing an autoethnography, as my reader knows that I am discussing about myself and my experiences in an autoethnography. I have to try to present an authentic write-up of myself and my experiences but I also realise that if I am too honest about my feelings, my readers may think badly about me because of my real thoughts. This thought is reinforced by Clough (1998) when he expressed that no subject can be a fully self-identified, fully-aware, or fully-intentional author because unconscious desire makes fully intentional subjectivity impossible. Ellis (1999) understood the helplessness experienced by the autoethnographer in revealing his true feelings and identity and how he would be seen by his peers and readers. The fear of not knowing others’ interpretations and having your own life laid out bare in front of others is a scary thought. All these feelings make me think whether I would be able to put down my thoughts on paper; and if yes, would my words accurately describe how I actually feel? Echoing the words of Kraus (2003), “reducing a person’s story to words on a page robs it of complexity”.

Clough (1998) stated that the realist ideology in ethnography makes us expect that the ethnographic copy will stay true to the original studied life. But this is challenged as it is impossible for anyone to ever finalize a perfectly accurate story (Wall, 2006). As I strive to write my thoughts and experiences in this autoethnographic essay, I will try my level best to express all my thoughts and emotions into words.

In my earlier research efforts to avoid emotion and to achieve objectivity in my analyses, I used to shun personal emotions and resisted autoethnographical writing. My tendency towards a distanced observer role continues to exist within my ethnographic writings, presumably because we ethnographers have a need to reassure ourselves that we are behaving like “real” researchers (Wolcott, 1999). In the world of traditional science objectivity, distance seems to protect researchers and readers from the emotional and intimate details of human lives (Muncey, 2005). The assumption of objectivity being totally possible has been challenged in the last two decades and the classical standards of objectivity in social science research has been weakened (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). It is now believed by postmodernists that the methods and procedures that are employed in research are eventually and continually tied to


22 Mayukh Dewan

the values and presumptions of the researcher (Bochner, 2000). Ellis (1999) made it clear that in autoethnography, the writer tells a story that allows readers to enter and feel part of a story which includes emotions and intimate details that examine the meaning of the human experience. Any efforts to attain objectivity are cut off from the beginning because ethnographers already have an idea of what they want to do and how to go about doing it (Wolcott, 1999). These ideas are set in a “set of intellectual assumptions and constitutive interests” (Stivers, 1993, p. 410).

Autoethnography should therefore be written in the first-person perspective (Ellis & Bochner, 2000). There is also the problem of the self that may appear to others as a performing character, a public self, attending standardized social obligations while concealing its true desires (Goffman, as cited in Hastrup, 1995). I see my vegetarian experience as my way of seeing things, which includes my fears, emotions and paradigms. This has caused me problems in the past as I was not seen as a real researcher by traditional researchers who come from a different paradigm of thought.

My data collection methods included diary writing (mostly on my phone), taking photos of foods, face-to-face and online discussions with fellow vegetarians and family and my own headnotes and memory. My reason for using my memory and headnotes is justified because many ethnographies (Marshall, as cited in Sanjek, 1990) and autoethnographies (Yang, 1945) have been produced from memories and headnotes, at least in the last half a century. Duncan (2004) used an extensive reflective journal as well as e-mails, memos, and sketches to support an evaluation of her professional work. I mostly rely on my memory more than my fieldnotes as I feel that the fieldnotes sometimes confuse and contradict our memory and may contradict the recollected voices of people from the field (Lederman, 1990). Reviewing the fieldnotes and diaries may also make us doubt and can sometimes distort the memory of the actual event (Sanjek, 1990). Even Margaret Mead used headnotes to perceive and record her life experiences while doing her anthropological research as she believed that her long familiarity and her consciousness of her field of research made her perceive and record aspects of lived experience that nobody else could (Mead as cited in Sanjek, 1990).

Findings

My Culture

I am a Hindu by birth, born in a middle class North Indian family. I had the privilege of growing up all over India because my father was in the Indian armed forces and his work required him to move around the country every couple of years. These postings were sometimes in the “field area” and sometimes in the “peace area”. Now these field areas were stations which were sometimes near sensitive border zones of the country. India is a big country which borders Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east,



China, Nepal, Bhutan at the northern front and Pakistan and Afghanistan towards the western side. I have had the privilege of staying in many areas in the north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and northern areas like Jammu and Kashmir. The peace area postings are usually in the heartland of the vast country with a relatively peaceful and mundane lifestyle. I grew up in places like Calcutta (Kolkata) in the east of Bangalore in the south; the metropolitan capital of India, Delhi and Amritsar in the north, the Jaisalmer city in the western desert state of Rajasthan and Jabalpur in the heartland of India in the state of Madhya Pradesh. All these states have their own culture and a myriad mix of religions in every state from largely Hinduism to Sikhism, Islam and Christianity along with smaller but very significant religious beliefs of Jainism and Buddhism. My father was quite open towards trying out new food and assimilating them into our daily food consumption patterns. I could see a lot of my Hindu Punjabi foods like Indian flatbreads (Roti), various curried lentils and beans (dals) and various curried vegetables (subji) infused with lots of influences from every part of India. I saw occasional thukpas (Nepal/Tibetan meat and vegetable stew), western variations like homemade pizzas, daal baati (atta flour balls cooked on fire and served with lentil curry) along with a myriad mix of noodles, meats and vegetables cooked together in a mix of various cooking styles. In addition, hunted meats like wild boar, venison, pigeon and partridge were also on the menu occasionally as my father used to go on hunting expeditions, sometimes with me and my younger brother in tow to the jungles wherever possible. Many years of my life were also spent in a hostel environment in the southern part of India where I experienced southern Indian cooking styles and ingredients very similar to Malaysian Indian food cuisine. Meat consumption, therefore, was an integral part of our family life. I would also like to point out the fact that many of my family members, especially my grandmother and paternal aunts were all vegetarian by birth and I had also been eating Indian vegetarian food for extended periods of time. During those times with my extended family, I do not remember myself missing any meats as it would be readily provided by my father as and when it was possible outside the home. The reason for me staying with the extended family was due to the fact that I lost my mother as a child and was brought up along with my brother solely by my father; who had to sometimes leave us to go for various field area postings where family was not allowed. It is really important to understand my background so that the reader can understand where I came from and how my choices were made based on my cultural background.

Why I Tried Vegetarianism

Vegetarian food is a part of the North Indian, Punjabi culture in which I was born into. I have travelled with my family members from both sides of the family (many of whom are vegetarians) and have seen first-hand how they struggle with their food


24 Mayukh Dewan

choice behaviours when they are on vacation in a predominant meat-consuming country. The reasons for them being vegetarian are quite different from the reasons given by westerners which revolve around ethics, animal welfare or environmental issues. The depth of reasons in the various sects of the Hindu culture for choosing a vegetarian lifestyle also differs.

My understanding of vegetarian food includes milk and milk products because of my religious and cultural background in Hinduism. Most of the time, it was easy when I was home and when I was with my family as I had access to a large variety of Indian vegetarian products. I faced a tough time when I was at work as I had to make food choices which were otherwise, just a question of me deciding where to eat and how much time I had for lunch. Now a recurring question that I ponder over is whether I missed meat and also whether I like a vegetarian lifestyle? The answer is in the affirmative for both choices. I did miss meat because of various reasons. The primary one being that there are not enough options for a full vegetarian meal at my workplace as well as in other restaurants on the way home. I also missed the “chew/bite” feeling which I get when I eat chicken. I agree I did get almost similar feelings when I had mock meat curries at restaurants but it is somehow not the same. Vegetarian meat alternatives are supposed to be unhealthy and fattening according to various researchers (Daniel, 2005). Furthermore, the higher cost of these mock meats puts me off them for regular consumption.

My Experience

My first couple of days started off easy. I have been vegetarian for a few days every now and then for all my life. I find it easy to be vegetarian at home as I can cook what I want and my family is also not fussy about meat products. I planned in advance for my week ahead and cooked food for my work lunch too. Going out for family meals was easy in the first few days. We generally preferred north Indian restaurants as it gave us a higher variety of vegetarian dishes for me and meats for my wife and child. The lack of proper vegetarian restaurants was a big hindrance for me while at work. There were very sporadic vegetarian food choices in most of the restaurants and even those that had variety felt not being enough for me. I could see frustration building as I progressed towards the end of my first week. On one occasion when I accidently ate a supposedly vegetarian fried snack which later turned out to contain a quarter of a boiled egg, I stopped myself. While sitting there looking at the half eaten curry-puff, I asked myself whether to leave the food or continue consuming it. I have been brought up in a military household where my father reinforced the practice of finishing the food on your plate. This was, in my opinion, because food items were much more costly 25 to 30 years ago (Drewownski & Specter, 2004), and the fact that my father was brought up in a middle-income group family which consisted of six siblings. Reminding myself, that the purpose of this small personal experiment



was to record my experiences of meat avoidance, I ate the remainder of the curry-puff without any feelings of guilt or shame for not following my plan.

I also realised over the next couple of days that I was leaving office more often whenever I did not bring food from home. This was a frustrating as well as a rewarding experience for me. It was sometimes infuriating to me even a simple thing like mushroom soup contains meat stock in many of the restaurants. This dish could be made entirely without the use of meat-based food additives, without sacrificing the taste or consistency of the soup. I also noticed that I had to let go my medical issues (diabetes) and was ordering more high carbohydrate food like vegetarian pizzas, fried vegetable fritters and cookies. I did not do this in the past and was trying to avoid the same for this period. I attribute this action of mine to the scarcity of vegetarian foods and also to my lack of willpower. There were other times when I slipped from my task and ate an occasional piece of French toast which was left over by my daughter. On one occasion, I also had some frozen fish fingers at home with a salad and only halfway through the meal did it occur to me what I had done.

On the other hand, as the weeks progressed, I threw away some frozen meats from my freezer and chiller. My justification was that the meat was going stale. It was a frozen chorizo sausage, my favourite variety.

Having a Chinese New Year break in the middle of the month was a real relief as I had taken leave and stayed home for most of the days. I made whatever vegetarian meal I liked and did not have to go out searching for a vegetarian meal. However, the search did go on for appropriate vegetarian ingredients for me to make my meal. Being home in my comfortable environment, without anyone judging me, I made some wild combination dishes. Leftover black chickpea curry with pasta was one such dish which came out really good.

My Loneliness

Undertaking a specific lifestyle seems lonely and unpredictable. This is because there is no one around you who is going through the same feelings as you. I felt left out while I was under this self-imposed vegetarian lifestyle as I felt that I could not burden my colleagues or family members with my food choices. I felt it was not fair for me to impose my food choice beliefs on others. This seemed to take place as I caught myself indirectly imposing my food consumption patterns on them. My friends and family had to choose their restaurants taking into account my specific food consumption habits. This led me to eat my lunches alone; most of the time, at my office desk. My breakfasts were usually consumed at my desk too but that was the case even when I was on a meat-eating lifestyle. Sometimes due to time constraints at home, as both my spouse and I are working full-time, my meals at office would be a fruit and a raw carrot. Other times, I ate a cucumber and an apple for my brunch. Alternatively, I also felt great at times when I went to the sole restaurant which served


26 Mayukh Dewan

some vegetarian options of lentil curry (dal) and boiled rice for lunch. I was happy as I was getting an opportunity to meet lots of new people while I was there. This would not have had been possible if I was sitting in office for my meals.

My Fears

My fears stem from the fact that I am a Hindu by birth and that as practicing Hindus, we are prohibited from eating beef. This translates into a fear when I eat out as I have to make sure that I do not accidently consume beef. It is not that I have not done so in the past, both knowingly and unknowingly. My first recollection of accidently consuming beef was during my school life in the southern part of India in Bangalore. I felt guilty when I realised that I had consumed it but kept eating it as and when I had the pocket money to do so. I told my father about it but did not get a very stern or bad reaction. His reaction to the whole episode was that we should only kill to eat and not for entertainment and if I had beef, it was also considered a food. He told me to avoid it though, because of our religious beliefs and I adhered to what he said for most of my life.

My vegetarian family also suggested to me to go vegetarian and shun meat products completely. As many of them realised that I still consume meat, I was then suggested to remove meat from my diet on certain days of the week and on certain periods during the year due to our Hindu religious beliefs. I have been doing this for a number of years now and try to ensure I do not accidently eat meat products on these days. This is for me to satiate my family’s cultural and religious beliefs rather than my personal religious beliefs.

I also seem to have a fear that I may actually turn into a full vegetarian as I have a growing interest in the subject. The fear stems from the fact that I may get left out from my social groups as most of my friend circle consume meat and I stay in a predominantly meat-consuming country. My food choices may turn me into an outsider within my group of peers and this may negatively affect my life. I also contemplate what would I do if I don’t get my chosen vegetarian diet; would I succumb to a meat-based diet on a particular occasion and then later return to a vegetarian lifestyle. Would I still be justified then to call myself a vegetarian?

Another fear which crops up is the fact that my upbringing, my cultural and religious background and my food habits being quite similar to the ones I am researching. There is a possibility that my food consumption fears may not let me observe the obvious in my research subjects when I undertake further research on vegetarians. This could happen as I may not see myself as an outsider observing a particular group and things which may seem queer to an outsider but normal to Hindu religious people like me. I could face potential problems asking the right questions because I myself may not be ready to hear and assimilate the answers. I call this fear of my fears.



Making Sense of It All

According to Coffey (1999, p. 127), “Ethnography is an act of memory” because fieldwork and the resulting texts cannot be separated from the memories that shaped them. Even when interview transcripts and field notes (or, in the case of autoethnography, diaries and journals) exist, these become combined with headnotes, which are memories and recollections from the field (Coffey, 1999). I wrote a simple blog about my one month experience. I also posted some photos which I shot throughout the month at various times. These were usually of foods that I had during the study month. While writing this autoethnographical article, I did refer to some of my photos and my blog on some occasions but I mostly relied on my memories of the lived experience. I rationalised my memories for this article based on an example by Sparkes (2000) where he told a story about his undergraduate class refusing to accept his autoethnography as research. Conversely, when the same students were asked whether they would accept his autoethnography as research if someone else had interviewed a man named Andrew Sparkes, collected his medical records, diary excerpts, and newspaper stories; analysed the collection, and written it up, the students replied in the affirmative. From this example and various other questions that I had faced from colleagues and friends about my experiences, as a vegetarian, it seems that if someone else had interviewed me and analysed my experiences, it would be deemed valid, even when both the researches come from the memories which I have had and relayed to them.

Conclusion

I spent one month reading intensely about vegetarianism from all around the world. I also tried to follow a vegetarian lifestyle for the whole month. I enjoyed the vegetarian lifestyle and if I have the right support from family and restaurant menus, I don’t see why I cannot opt for a much better meat-free lifestyle if need be. I undertook this project because I felt that it was important for me to share my insights and experiences of being a vegetarian. This research was not to indulge myself or do self-introspection about my food choices. Just the fact that I learned something new while I undertook this little project was an added bonus as it is a scholarly contribution. The purpose for this mini autoethnographical study was two-fold. Firstly, it was undertaken to understand the challenges for a Hindu religious lacto-vegetarian in a predominantly meat-consuming country. The second was to understand and experience autoethnography as a research methodology. I do understand that many autoethnographers before me have continued to face significant challenges and issues with regard to the legitimacy granted to autoethnography along with the credibility of this genre as scholarly work (Holt, 2003; Muncey, 2005; Sparkes, 2000). Autoethnography is a very personalised research method which has been


28 Mayukh Dewan

much sidelined and marginalised because it emphasises on the researcher thoughts and feelings since the researcher sees himself as a subject. The established research specialists see these autoethnographies as merely good stories but lacking theoretical construction as well as conceptual explanations. These reservations show that there is a deep fear and suspicion of “personal accounts” (Sparkes, 2000, p. 24). Even well-established qualitative methods face resistance from the older and well-recognised research method practices, “use of narrative as a source of empowerment and a form of resistance to counter the domination and authority of canonical discourses” (Ellis & Bochner, 2000, p. 749). These qualitative practices are seen as being inferior than quantitative methods because they do not obey the traditional philosophies of objectivity, reason, and truth (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994).

I hope that over time, conventions may change as the boundaries between literature and science become increasingly blurred (Richardson, 2000). Due to the deep personal nature of my research, I contemplate whether it clouds my judgement when it comes to the ethical considerations of the topic. If I now go out to observe, interview and record a group of religious vegetarians like the Hare Krishna Hindu sect, will I misread and misjudge their food habits and intentions because of my cultural and religious background and values? Will my close affinity towards religious vegetarians cloud my judgement and stop me from observing the obvious? Eventually, similar to Ellis & Bochner’s (2000, p.276) predicament, “does the contribution of the story outweigh conceivable ethical dilemmas and pain for characters and readers?”. I feel uncertain about the answer to this question and maybe I would leave it for my readers to decide and advise me. In the end, I feel that I need to understand the vegetarian lifestyle based on the Hindu vegetarian food preferences before I embark on an ethnographic study about their food habits while on holiday. As stated by Van Maanen (1988), understanding the cultural features of the group in question – their beliefs, their reasoning and communication remains necessary in writing any form of ethnography. Auto-ethnography continues to occupy “an intermediate space we can’t quite define yet, a borderland between passion and intellect, analysis and subjectivity, ethnography and auto-biography, art and life” (Behar, 1996, p.174). Autoethnography “opens us to the possibility of seeing more of what we might ignore in both ourselves and others, asking why it is ignored, and what we might need to do about it” (Dauphinee, 2010, p.818). I hope that my foray into this new research collection and analysis method helps us to understand the world of vegetarians from a very different perspective as well as highlight the risks associated with autoethnography.




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Mediating Effect of Tourist Country of Origin on Relationship between Factors Affecting Satisfaction of Foreign Tourists in Goa

33Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017 pp. 33-50

ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper


S.P. Bansal Indira Gandhi University, India; Himachal Pradesh University, India

Purva KansalPanjab University, India

Sandeep Walia Chandigarh University, India


Abstract: The current study was undertaken to study the perceptual differences across factors affecting value for money and satisfaction across three main clusters of foreign tourists visiting Goa i.e. USA, UK and Europe. Data was collected from 300 foreign tourists in Goa. The results of the study indicate that the traditional model of perception of experience and ease as two significant variables which influence the value for money perception and satisfaction, was valid for the UK and Europe cluster samples. However, the traditional model was not valid in the case of US respondents. The results suggest that experience had a significant impact on perception of ease; which had an effect on value for money perception and in turn, satisfaction. The model when tested for UK and Europe indicate that the relationship of the variables improved by changing the causal paths in the model. The validity of the model is further supported by removing the experience dimension from the proposed model which decreased the effect of ease on value for money and satisfaction. The study highlights the need for the Goa government to consider changing its positioning strategy to better fit the changing mix of foreign tourists visiting Goa.

Keywords: Perception, foreign tourists, satisfaction, Goa.

Suggested citation: Bansal, S.P., Kansal, P. & Walia, S. (2017). Mediating effect of tourist country of origin on relationship between factors affecting satisfaction of foreign tourists in Goa. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 33-50.

Correspondence: Sandeep Walia, Chandigarh University, India. Email: [email protected]


34 S.P. Bansal, Purva Kansal & Sandeep Walia

Introduction

Marketing literature, over the past decade, has concentrated on understanding the consumer purchase decision-making process. One of the aspects of this process highlighted in recent literature is brand personality congruence. This concept states that a customer purchases a product when the image portrayed by the product/ service matches that of the image the customer wants to portray i.e. there is self and brand congruity (Govers & Schoormans, 2005; Kressmann et al., 2006).

In tourism, brand congruity is referred to as two variables i.e. self-image and destination image. Destination is a combination of both individual product and experience that combine to form the total experience of the area visited by the tourist (Murphy, Pritchard, & Smith, 2000). Destination image is also similar to brand image and is referred to as a cluster of attributes and associations that consumers connect to the destination (Biel, 1993). In other words, it is the positioning strategy adopted by the marketer. These attributes are based on personal experience, word of mouth or accumulation of communications from various sources. Therefore, tourism purchase only happens when the destination image portrayed in the media matches that of the customer’s.

Extending the argument, it can also be argued that marketers need to be cautious about the positioning and personality strategies that they adopt for a destination. It is possible that inadequate research might lead to a destination positioning strategy which stresses on dimensions which are not sufficient to convince the tourist or achieve marketing goals. When this happens, the destination would experience decreased sales.

Statistical analysis shows that Goa as a destination has seen a steady increase in the inflow of foreign tourist arrival from 1995 to 2015; however, the rate of increase has been steadily decreasing since 2010. Although the state government has been taking action to renew the tourism industry, it has not been able to attract foreign tourists. The rate for domestic tourists has gone up but not for foreign tourists. Therefore, researchers felt that there was a need to test the destination image perception among foreign tourists visiting Goa across their country of origin to understand if there was a gap in the personality congruence. In order to test this, marketing literature states that it is important to study perceptual differences across specific group(s) (Payne, 1993). Based on these lines to help the government and find the reasons for the decline, the current study was undertaken to study the perceptual difference across different clusters of foreign tourists visiting Goa. More specifically, the study aimed to explore the perceptual differences across factors affecting value for money and satisfaction across clusters of foreign tourists visiting Goa.

The study will help practitioners develop an understanding about the perceptual differences across country of origin of the foreign tourists and how to increase their perceptions of value for money and satisfaction. It will facilitate the state and national



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governments in formulating and implementing strategies to better position and sell Goa as a destination. Also, it will add to the limited literature on value for money in tourism and hopefully help academicians understand the critical factors affecting value for money. The paper is divided into a few sections. It starts by discussing model development for research, followed by research methodology and in the end, the paper discusses the implications of the study.

Foreign Tourism in Goa: Countries of Origin

Goa has traditionally taken full advantage of its cultural heritage (Portuguese and Indian influences) and positioned itself as a destination which offers a unique hippie experience to globetrotters, artists and musicians. This personality acted as an attraction for adventurous tourists who like day-long dolphin-watching, bird-watching and backwater cruises.

With its attractive personality that can attract foreign tourists, Goa saw a steady increase in the inflow of foreign tourist arrivals from 1995 to 2010 (Figure 1). An in-depth analysis indicates that the country of origin of these foreign tourists are Russia and UK. The statistical analysis also indicates, that in addition to UK, in the past few years, two more countries have become a source of foreign tourists for Goa i.e. USA and Europe (Figure 2).

Series 1

0

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Source: Department of Tourism, Goa Tourism (13 March 2016)

Figure 1. Inflow of foreign tourist arrival in Goa

Based on a secondary statistical analysis, the three groups chosen for the study are USA, UK and Europe.



350000

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Source: Department of Tourism, Goa Tourism

Figure 2. Inflow of foreign tourists based on nationality

Theory Building: Review of Literature

Value for Money & Customer Satisfaction

Our literature review showed that the focus of empirical studies has been on customer satisfaction. In studies on customer satisfaction as a dependent variable, the researchers collected data for their study by imposing a sampling restriction in terms of either satisfied customers or very dissatisfied customers (Peterson & Wilson, 1992; Söderlund, 1998). Research conducted on such skewed data can lead to somewhat biased results. Understanding the nuances of the customer satisfaction construct, many researchers have suggested the use of alternate constructs like value of money to better understand consumer behavior especially in the service industry (Davis, 1993; Kansal, 2016).

Our literature review showed that in the context of the service industry, value proposition was most important for the consumer (Oliva & Kallenberg, 2003). Value for money refers to consumers’ perception of utility of the product or services vis-a-vis the opportunity and acquisition cost of the product or service (Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003; Turel, Serenko, & Bontis, 2007). Therefore, it was decided to study effect of ease and experience on value for money. However, keeping in mind the past trend of customer satisfaction and acceptance of the construct in the practical industry, the literature review for relationship between value for money and customer satisfaction showed that in the context of service marketing, perceived value for money has a significant influence on customer satisfaction and their behavioral intentions (Hu, Kandampully & Juwaheer, 2009; Sweeney, Soutar, & Johnson, 1999). Therefore, in order to increase the practical implications of the present study, it was proposed that foreign tourists’ perceived value for money from Goa will have a significant effect on their satisfaction making value for money as the mediating variable.



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Proposition 1: foreign tourist’s perceived value for money from Goa will have a significant effect on their satisfaction.

Ease & Experience

Literature review also showed that factors which influence consumer satisfaction were mainly infrastructure (Khadaroo & Seetanah, 2007; Provenzano, 2015), culture (Singh, Naya, & Bala, 2014; Weiermair, 2000), the experience being offered (Haahti, 1986; Selby, 2004) and hygienic conditions (Barber & Scarcelli, 2010; Kozak, 2001). The infrastructure of a country for tourism refers to the essential economic and organizational foundations of a country (Buhr, 2003). Culture refers to the richness and uniqueness of the destination’s culture (Bruinsma, Kourtit, & Nijkamp, 2011). It is one the most inimitable resource a destination can have and therefore, is a good resource to base its image on. The experience offered by a destination refers to the positioning strategy adopted by the destination i.e. the selling proposition/personality of the destination extended by its marketers. Some destinations position themselves as an adventure sport destination like Dehradun, while others support religious and spiritual activities like Varanasi. Lastly, hygienic factors as defined by tourism literature refer to cleanliness, water, sanitation etc. The importance of this factor is such that it has been added as a dimension to the service quality construct in tourism (Narayan, Rajendran, & Sai, 2008).

In their paper, Kansal and his colleagues applied factor analysis on these variables and gave a two factor solution i.e. ease and experience which influenced value for money in perception of tourists (Kansal, Walia, & Goel, 2015). These researchers used factor analysis to refine the dimensions of factors influencing customer perception in terms of value for money in Goa. Similar supporting works of other researchers showed the experience could also originate from cultural or adventure activities, souvenir, safety, standard of living, nature or lively nightlife, etc. (Cohen, 1972). Researchers have explicitly researched the kind of experience offered by a destination like Dubai and value for money perceptions (Peter & Anandkumar, 2011).

Therefore, based on literature review and the above discussion, it is proposed that both ease and experience will have an effect on value for money and in turn, on customer satisfaction.

Proposition 2: foreign tourist’s perception about the ease of visiting Goa will have a significant effect on their perception of value for money.

Proposition 3: foreign tourist’s perception about the experience being offered by Goa will have a significant effect on their perception of value for money.

Country of Origin for Tourists and their Expectations

Our literature review showed that there has been some research, although limited, regarding the impact of tourists’ origin country on their expectations and perceptions.



In general, culture has been defined as the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms and traditions among members of an organization or society, and the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes members of one group or society from those of another (Solomon, 1996). Therefore, logically, the expectation and consumption patterns of the consumers would be influenced by culture i.e. country of origin of the tourist. Some support for this notion has been found in tourism marketing literature. One of the earlier studies on differences in the expectation of hotel service quality across tourist origin showed that there was a significant difference in the expectations of guests from UK, USA, Australia and Taiwan (Mok & Armstrong, 1998). Similarly, a study estimating visitors’ image of Toronto against visitors’ country of origin showed that there were some important differences in the attributes seen as important (Joppe, Martin, & Waalen, 2001). Hui and his colleagues analyzed multiple factors and found that there was no single factor that appealed to all the groups of travellers when analyzed across European, Asian and North American customers visiting Singapore (Hui, Wan, & Ho, 2007). Similar support for the relationship between nationality of a tourist and various factors affecting their perception was found in works of Kozak and colleagues (Kozak & Nield, 1998) and McCleary and colleagues (McCleary, Weaver, & Hsu, 2007). Therefore, based on above discussion, it was proposed that the perception of both factors i.e. ease of money and experience offered by the destination will have different causal relationships with value for money and customer satisfaction.

Proposition 4: foreign tourist’s perception about the ease of visiting Goa will have a differential effect on their perception of value for money.Proposition 5: foreign tourist’s perception about the experience offered by Goa will have a differential effect on their perception of value for money.

Research Model

Based on the review of literature and conceptual development, the proposed research model is presented in Figure 1. The research model proposed that the relationship of both variables i.e. ease and entertainment with customer satisfaction is mediated by value for money and is moderated by the country of origin of the tourist visiting Goa. The countries of origins studied in the present study are USA, UK and Europe. UK is part of Europe, however, since a large number of respondents were from UK and identified themselves as being from UK rather than Europe, it was decided to treat these two as separate clusters for the study. The original model had four independent variables i.e. Infrastructure, Culture, Experience and Hygiene. However, for validation and dimension reduction purposes, the data was put through exploratory factor analysis. The result produced two factors and based on the items loading on each factor, these were named ease and experience. The following model was constructed after the exploratory factor analysis (discussed in the scale construction section of research methodology).



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Customer satisfaction

Country of Origin of the TouristUSAUKEUROPE

Ease

Experience

Value of Money

Figure 3. Conceptual model

Research Methodology

A descriptive research design was developed to test the proposed model. To test the conceptual model, a survey method of data collection was used. Data was collected from 300 foreign tourists at Goa’s popular destinations and also by obtaining referrals from these foreign tourists i.e. snowball sampling. This method of sampling was used to ensure responses, improve quality of data and to reduce the risk of dishonest and socially desirable responses (Kirkman & Law, 2005). After screening, the total usable questionnaires totaled at 298.

Data was collected using a structured non-disguised questionnaire. The questionnaire had 7 sections dealing with independent and dependent variables and an additional section for collecting data on demographic variables.

Scale Construction

Infrastructure: Jochimsen, Nijkamp and Tinbergen defined the concept of infrastructure as material public capital (roads, rails, air and pipelines) and supra-structure (communication, quality of guides, knowledge networks, education and culture) (Jochimsen, 1966). Therefore, this definition was used to construct items for infrastructure to measure visitor perception of Goa.

Culture: Singh and his colleagues have outlined culture in their research as variables for engagement and curiosity (Singh, Naya & Bala, 2014). This definition was used to develop items to understand foreign visitor’s perception of richness and uniqueness of Goan culture.

Experience: Cohen in his early research defined experience as either culture or in the form of adventure activities, souvenir, safety, standard of living, nature or good night life, etc. (Cohen, 1972). Items were phrased to understand foreign visitor’s perception of the kinds of experience offered by Goa.



Hygiene: Kozak in his study defined cleanliness at the place of stay, restaurants, tourist spots and food hygiene as matters of great concern for tourists (Kozak, 2001). Items were constructed to understand foreign visitors’ perception of hygiene factors in Goa.

Three simple item constructs were used to measure value for money and customer satisfaction. There were five items for infrastructure, five items for experience, three items for culture and four items for hygiene constructs. As these scales were self-formulated in the first stage, data was prepared for data analysis by conducting an exploratory factor analysis. Based on the results of the exploratory factor analysis, the independent variables were grouped into two variables i.e. ease and entertainment based on an earlier study (Kansal et al., 2015).

Psychometric Properties of Scale

Following previous research, the analysis of the psychometric properties of the instrument included an analysis of its content validity, face validity and reliability. The face validity of the questionnaire was tested through pilot testing. The survey instrument was written in English and was pre-tested on a small sample of 20 respondents. The face validity and content validity of the instrument and its items were concluded by various researchers who are experienced in conducting surveys.

Reliability Cronbach Aplha: The internal consistency and reliability of the scale was measured using Cronbach coefficient alpha. According to Nunnally, for the purpose of basic research, a Cronbach alpha of 0.70 or higher is sufficient (Nunnally, 1978). The Cronbach alpha for the adopted scale met this limit and the value for both the constructs was higher than .70.

The sample consisted of 298 respondents. Among them, 25.8% of the total respondents were under 25 years of age, 48% were in the age group of 25-40, 22.5% were between 40-60 years old and the rest of the respondents were in the age group of more than 60. Among the respondents, 54% were males and the remainder 46% were females. The majority of the respondents were from United Kingdom (approximately 36%). The remainder were from around 28 different countries like USA, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, Denmark etc. However, the raw data was cleaned and the respondents from three clusters i.e. Europe, UK and USA were retained to form the final 298 respondents. In terms of education qualification, the majority of the respondents had degrees (30.2%) and postgraduate qualification (30.2%), those who had completed only high school (7.4%), 10+2 (19.8%) and those with degrees above post grad (7.3%). The sample further indicated that majority of the respondents were earning in the income bracket of $4000-8000 US per month. The diversity and descriptive statistics of the sample allowed it to be used for the cross cultural study.



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Data Analysis

To test the hypothesis, the proposed model was tested with structural equation modeling in AMOS 20.

The initial structural model was defined in terms of variables as a reflective construct to test the convergence and model fit (model 1). The model tested the relationship of two independent variables i.e. ease and experience on customer satisfaction while being mediated by value for money. In the first step, the overall convergence of the model was tested before interpreting the results across the moderating variable i.e. country of origin (UK, USA and Europe). The overall model fit was tested because as per literature when moderators are introduced in a model, and comparison is made between groups (as is the case in the current study), the model is fit to one group’s data and posited to either be numerically identical or qualitatively the same with the second group (Iacobucci, 2010). Therefore, it was decided to test the overall model for fit indices before analyzing the results across cultures.

1 overall_face1

1 accm_face5

1 good_beach 1e11

1 won_hrtgee3

1 good_foode7

1 good_guidee13

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e16

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overallsat

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Ease

Experience

Figure 4. Model 1



The model fit indices (Table 1) indicated that the normed chi square (2.313) was found to be within the acceptable limit of 1 to 5. Normed chi square is not sensitive to sample size and therefore, has been referred to as a better indice for judging model fitness by some (Hooper, Coughlan, & Mullen, 2008). Therefore, the model was acceptable as per parsimonious indices. As per absolute indices, the RMSEA was at (0.07) which was well within the acceptable limit while GFI was at 0.87. Therefore, the absolute fit indices were moderate. Incremental fit indices indicated moderate to good fit for the model as CFI was 0.80 and AGFI was 0.83. Standardized RMR was 0.19 which was beyond the acceptable limit of 0.08 (Hu & Bentler, 1999). However, a model can be accepted if it passes at least 3 fit indices (Jaccard & Choi 1996). Therefore, this model was accepted to test the hypothesis.

All hypothetical links of the model were tested. The results indicated that while the model itself was significant, all the paths were not significant and there was a difference in the relationship between factors determining value for money across the three cultures.

For the USA group, the results of the study indicate that the path coefficients for the ease → value for money, experience → value for money and value for money → satisfaction were not significant. For the UK and EUROPE groups, the path coefficients for the ease → value for money, experience → value for money and value for money → satisfaction were significant.

Table 1. Regression estimates for Model 1

USA UK EUROPE

P Estimate P Estimate P Estimateval_money_1 ← Ease 0.379 0.17 0.035 0.173 0.037 0.209val_money_1 ← Experience 0.331 0.484 *** 0.616 *** 0.532overall_fac_1 ← Ease 0.654 0.442 0.54true_hol_1 ← Ease 0.007 0.685 *** 0.661 *** 0.667won_hrtge_1 ← Ease 0.006 0.7 *** 0.587 *** 0.537tour_frndly_1 ← Ease 0.003 0.79 *** 0.778 *** 0.507accm_fac_1 ← Ease 0.01 0.649 *** 0.562 *** 0.643reach_easy_1 ← Ease 0.043 0.49 *** 0.487 *** 0.677good_food_1 ← Ease 0.063 0.445 *** 0.669 *** 0.595safe_dest_1 ← Ease 0.012 0.622 *** 0.6 *** 0.599souvenir_1 ← Ease 0.03 0.529 *** 0.614 *** 0.667adventure_1 ← Experience 0.189 0.561 0.578good_beach_1 ← Experience 0.314 1.096 *** 0.629 *** 0.708



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Table 1 (con’t)

clean_dest_1 ← Experience 0.362 0.348 *** 0.599 *** 0.637good_guide_1 ← Experience 0.314 0.698 *** 0.61 *** 0.564night_life_1 ← Experience 0.346 0.403 *** 0.761 *** 0.777local_info_1 ← Experience 0.335 0.462 *** 0.804 *** 0.604overallsat ← val_money_1 0.102 0.331 0.021 0.195 0.037 0.207

Therefore, for USA, neither ease nor experience influenced the value for money while for UK and EUROPE, the two were significant predictors for value for money and satisfaction. Furthermore, the results for these two groups indicate that other things being constant, in the case of UK respondents, a 1 unit enhancement in the experience provided by a destination (GOA) led to 0.616 units increase in the respondent’s perception of value for money. A 1 unit increase in the value for money led to 0.195 units increase in customer’s satisfaction. In the case of Europe respondents, the relationship was found to be a little different. The results indicate that a 1 unit enhancement in the experience provided by a destination (GOA) led to 0.532 units increase in the respondent’s perception of value for money. A 1 unit increase in the value for money led to 0.207 units increase in customer’s satisfaction. Therefore, the model dictates that GOA should strategise towards being a tourist destination which offers great and unique experience especially when targeting UK and Europe tourists. It seems that this strategy worked in the past and if the customers from USA were neglected, the effect was not much as they only made up 1% of the total tourists while those from UK and Europe made up more than 50%.

Of the total visitors who visited GOA in 2012, 119,891 were from UK while 8970 from USA. In the case of UK, this figure increased to 145,431 in 2013 (Tourism, 2015). A collective figure for EUROPE was not provided on the website but as of 2013, the statistics indicated that 162,746 were from Russia, 46,472 were from Germany, 20,618 were from France; this reveals that the majority of tourists to GOA were from UK and Europe.

However, there are problems in Goa’s positioning strategy as the market share from both UK and Europe is declining (Sequiera, 2015) and GOA needs to target new markets and countries like USA. However, the government of Goa can still increase its market share by continually promoting safety and cleanliness in the state, offering attractive offers during the monsoon season and marketing Goa as a destination with multiple holiday options. The confusion in marketing terms means that Goa as a destination is moving away from UK and European customers but is unable to appeal to the other groups of customers. Customers have simply moved away from GOA to much cheaper and cleaner destinations (Bundhun, 2015; “Over 8500..”, 2015).



Destination image is a positioning strategy adopted by marketers of a destination to attract customers. It is a term which is used to portray the attributes of a destination. The attributes which are listed in the marketing campaign should be such that it appeals to a wide and varied customer base. This is one asset for which huge investments in terms of resources and time is required and hence planning for this strategy is of utmost importance. For this specific reason, the respondents and model for USA were analyzed.

1 overall_face1

1 accm_face5

1 good_beach 1e11

1 won_hrtgee3

1 good_foode7

1 good_guidee13

1 true_hole2

1 reach_easye6

1 clean_deste12

1 tour_frndlye4

1 adventuree10

1 safe_deste8

1 night_lifee14

1 souvenire9

1

e16

val_money1

e17

overallsat

1 local_infoe15

Ease

Experience

Figure 5. Model 2

The model fit indices and modification indices proposed an additional path between the experience and ease dimensions. However, the path between experience and value for money was not significant. Therefore, it was decided to add a path between the experiences and ease dimensions and delete the path between experience and value for money. Marketing literature showed that in searching for information, one evaluates the experience or benefits being offered by a product or service to



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shortlist the possible choices of the product or service (Newman & Staelin, 1972; Shim, Eastlick, Lotz, & Warrington, 2001). Some findings in tourism literature also agree with this. Researchers indicate that the purpose of searching for information itself depends on the purpose of the visit and the perception of the experience (formed on the basis of information search) further influences purchase behavior and satisfaction; however, there are intervening variables (Fodness & Murray, 1999). Therefore, it was decided to test the refined model across the three groups (Model 2).

The model fit indices indicate that the normed chi square improved and was reduced to 1.5. As for absolute indices, the RMSEA was reduced to 0.055 and GFI was at 0.88. Incremental fit indices indicate moderate to good fit for the model as CFI was 0.80 and AGFI was 0.83. The standardized RMR again dropped to 0.07. Therefore, the overall model fit indices improved on making the change in the model for all three groups.

Table 2. Regression estimates for Model 2

USA UK EUROPE

P Estimate P Estimate P EstimateEase ← Experience 0.047 0.78 *** 0.70 *** 0.84val_money_1 ← Ease 0.018 0.555 *** 0.646 *** 0.618overall_fac_1 ← Ease 0.675 0.429 0.503true_hol_1 ← Ease 0.009 0.613 *** 0.565 *** 0.7won_hrtge_1 ← Ease 0.003 0.721 *** 0.512 *** 0.541tour_frndly_1 ← Ease 0.005 0.673 *** 0.697 *** 0.452accm_fac_1 ← Ease 0.007 0.645 *** 0.503 *** 0.621reach_easy_1 ← Ease 0.047 0.459 *** 0.475 *** 0.627good_food_1 ← Ease 0.076 0.409 *** 0.612 *** 0.546safe_dest_1 ← Ease 0.019 0.55 *** 0.633 *** 0.642souvenir_1 ← Ease 0.008 0.625 *** 0.696 *** 0.649adventure_1 ← Experience 0.46 0.627 0.611good_beach_1 ← Experience 0.47 0.659 *** 0.676 *** 0.655clean_dest_1 ← Experience 0.044 0.701 *** 0.515 *** 0.644good_guide_1 ← Experience 0.172 0.36 *** 0.599 *** 0.617night_life_1 ← Experience 0.164 0.369 *** 0.665 *** 0.678local_info_1 ← Experience 0.048 0.619 *** 0.74 *** 0.612overallsat ← val_money_1 0.09 0.341 0.014 0.206 0.026 0.27



A comparison of the regression path coefficients indicate that for the USA group, experience → ease, ease → value for money, value for money → satisfaction were significant. For the UK and EUROPE groups, the path coefficients of experience → ease, ease → value for money, value for money → satisfaction were significant as well; indicating that the model was a better fit when compared across the three groups. Interestingly, the impact of value for money on satisfaction also improved in all three cases. Implications of these results are discussed in the following section.

Discussion

The results of the study indicate that, other things being constant, with one unit investment in increasing the tourist or consumer’s perception of value for money, the overall satisfaction could improve by 0.341 for USA; 0.206 for UK and 0.27 for Europe. The results further indicate that, other things being constant, one unit investment in enhancing the experience perception of the tourist would lead to 0.78 units enhancement in the perception of ease for USA; 0.70 for UK and 0.84 for Europe. Further to relate experience and value for money, ease was the mediating variable and therefore, other things being constant, one unit increase in ease could increase value for money perception by 0.555 for USA; 0.646 for UK and 0.618 for Europe (Table 2). Therefore, the results of the study indicate that the relationship between experience and overall satisfaction was mediated by ease and then value for money. These results contradict previous results which imply that experience and ease are variables which affect the value for money and satisfaction of customers from Goa; which was the base of Model 1, tested in the study. The implication of model 2 is that it supports a strategy concentrating on experience to influence ease and value of money and in turn, satisfaction.

To further test the need for experience dimension in the model, the path from experience to ease was removed. The results of the study suggest that the impact of ease on value for money and of value for money on satisfaction decreased in all three clusters. This implies that practitioners and policymakers need ease for money and experience. Policymakers in Goa need to focus on experience in their strategy and then ease in order to increase the perception of foreign tourists for Goa as a destination worth the value.

Conclusion & Managerial Implications

The results of the present study were slightly different from previous similar studies. Traditionally, models indicate that perception of experience and ease were two significant variables which influence the value for money perception and satisfaction in terms of foreign tourists. This model was found to be valid for the UK and Europe cluster samples. The results indicate that the Goan government strategy to attract



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tourists by concentrating on friendly destination, with good food and true holiday experience works for these two clusters.

However, the results of the study also highlight that the mix of foreign tourists to Goa is changing and one of the rising clusters is from USA. The results of the current study indicate that the traditional model was not valid in case of its US respondents. The results show that experience has a significant impact on the perception of ease; which in return, had an effect on the value for money perception and in turn, satisfaction. The model when tested for UK and Europe suggests that the relationship of the variables improved by changing the causal paths in the model. Furthermore, the removal of the experience variable reduced the validity of the model. Therefore, the results of the study suggest that policymakers need to target experience in their strategy and then ease in order to increase the perception of the foreign tourist for Goa as a destination worth their money. Furthermore, within the dimension of experience, the government of Goa should stress on only three variables i.e. ease of availability of information about Goa, Goa being a clean destination and having clean beaches, Therefore, the current study recommends that Goa’s policymakers should consider changing the positioning strategy of GOA for sustained tourism. The results of the study also indicate that the refined model can help government of Goa develop a strategy which would help better position itself not only for the UK and European tourists but also for its USA and other targeted segments.

Future Areas of Research

The current study is based on foreign tourists visiting Goa and the study sample was limited to USA, UK, and European tourists. The generalization of the results is affected by the absence of tourists from other countries. Therefore, we recommend that similar studies be conducted with a more diversified base of country of origin for foreign tourists.

Furthermore, based on the percentage of sample respondents self-identifying themselves as belonging to UK or Europe and for more in-depth analysis, UK and Europe were treated as separate clusters. UK is a part of European Union and as such, this separation might be perceived as a limitation for the study.


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Representation of Reality and Local Visitors’ Sense of Attachment: The Case of the George Town Festival in Malaysia


ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper


Farhad Fakhrian Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

Gelareh Abooali Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia


Abstract: This study investigated the role of a cultural festival in creating a sense of attachment among local visitors towards the George Town World Heritage site through the artistic representation of neglected outstanding values. This study particularly focused on two issues: the absence of investigations on the success of the George Town Festival (GTF) in creating a sense of attachment toward the George Town World Heritage Site, and the lack of empirical studies on the ability of a representational medium, such as photography, to draw more attention towards a cultural heritage or reality itself. The study employed a qualitative approach whereby a total 43 local visitors were interviewed. Results show that the roles of GTF and photography as a cultural festival and a representational medium, respectively, are vital in creating a sense of attachment toward the George Town World Heritage site.

Keywords: Representation, sense of attachment, cultural festivals, photography

Suggested citation: Fakhrian, F. & Abooali, G. (2017). Representation of reality and local visitors’ sense of attachment: The case of the George Town Festival in Malaysia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 51-64.

Introduction

Ever since the declaration of George Town in Penang, Malaysia, as a UNESCO World Heritage site on 7th July 2008, its ability to boost the local tourism market has increased tremendously. The cultural heritage of Penang, specifically George Town, has been introduced as an alternative tourism theme a long time ago (Hamzah, 2004). Nevertheless, after nomination, the state government exerted considerable

Correspondence: Gelareh Abooali, Universiti Utara Malaysia. Email: [email protected]


52 Farhad Fakhrian & Gelareh Abooali

effort in promoting cultural tourism. The key players in Penang’s cultural tourism and conservation are governmental agencies, NGOs and the private sector. Governmental agencies, such as Penang Global Tourism, along with federal and state tourism bodies have effectively promoted cultural tourism while keeping an eye on conservation issues. Meanwhile, NGOs (e.g., Penang Heritage Trust) have focused on conserving and preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as creating public awareness (Abooali, Mohamed, Chuin & Hassan, 2016).

One of the bodies that actively work with organizations and agencies to promote George Town as a center for arts and culture is George Town Festival (GTF). Since 2010, GTF has been held annually in honor of George Town’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This festivity aims to showcase the connections between the past and the future of arts, culture, heritage, and the community.

For many years, the objectives of several projects developed and implemented by the GTF organizers have revolved around transforming the inner city into a vibrant heritage area and raising locals’ awareness of both the tangible and intangible heritage of George Town. For example, several old walls of George Town were painted with a number of paintings as part of GTF 2012, which highlighted the local culture. This project brought attention to the site from locals and tourists—albeit with a misplaced motive (Chin, 2015). This is because the wall murals shifted away visitors’ attention from the heritage buildings. In addition, massive unauthorized graffiti artworks painted all over the area prompted the town’s heritage authority to create a committee that would securely protect the outstanding universal values (OUVs) of the site (Mok, 2015). For this reason, the GTF organizers attempted to raise awareness regarding OUVs and a sense of attachment among locals during the festival.

The importance of local attachment to the tourism market and conservation of heritage sites has been highlighted by many scholars (Poulios, 2013; Raymond, Brown & Robinson, 2011) and have been elaborated further in literature. Hence, the current project was designed as a response to this missing element raised by authorities. The objective of the GTF is to focus on the arts and culture of the community. Consequently, photography was selected as the artistic medium to fulfill the aims of this project due to its specific character and because photography, as a representational medium, has a unique characteristic that can frame and emphasize the neglected parts of tangible and intangible heritage among visitors (Bonnie & Hanno, 1999).

Using Art Practice as research, this project proposed a street photo exhibition in the core zone of George Town World Heritage Site as a part of GTF 2014. The photos represented walls as part of the heritage buildings within the site, with the aim of fulfilling two objectives. First, it investigated the success of GTF in increasing the sense of attachment among local visitors toward the George Town World Heritage



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Site. Second, this study aimed to determine whether representational medium (in this case, photography) could draw more attention towards reality itself.

Place Attachment and Festivals

“Place” has several definitions. Geographical boundary, which has additional connotations for a particular group of people living in an area, probably provides the basic definition of “place.” The codes of this meaning are detected by those who belong to a place and/or to the place they identify themselves with. In this context, Low and Altman (1992) described “place” as a space enriched with meaning. A degree of doubt exists on how people’s bond with a place should be defined. Considering the abundance of concepts used to define people’s relations with places, place attachment is hypothesized to predict people’s attitudes toward the history of their residential places (Lewicka, 2008). Cross (2015) suggested that the definitions of place attachment help us to further understand this concept. Continuing from Hidalgo and Hernandez (2001) and Low (1992), Cross defined place attachment as “a positive, affective bond people with particular places where they feel comfortable and safe and desire to maintain their connection” (2015, p. 2).

Place attachment emphasizes on two qualities, “affect” (attachment) and “environmental setting” (place), both of which address people’s emotional and cultural attachment to a specific place (Low & Altman, 1992). This concept refers to people’s connection to a certain place (Giuliani, 2003; Pretty, Chipuer, & Bramston, 2003). However, along with certain factors, such as residence length and social ties, tangible features encompassing a symbolic meaning of a place can also influence place attachment (Stedman, Beckley, Wallace, & Ambard, 2004). The attachment to a specific place increases people’s interest towards their roots and the history of that place (Lewicka, 2005). For this reason, and compared to modern architectures, people desire historical places more because they forge a connection with the past and the related traditions as well as accelerate place attachment (Low & Altman, 1992).

The cultural place attachment could be studied via different angles. According to Low (1992), cultural place attachment can be classified into six types, namely, genealogical, narrative, loss and destruction, economic, cosmological, and celebratory cultural events. In general, these types of attachment explain the process of place attachment, and each of them describes specific links between individuals and a place. Genealogical attachment occurs through links to a place of origin and family. Narrative attachment is aroused through storytelling and place identification, whereas loss and destruction links a person to a place via migration or disaster-related events. Economic attachment is made through the ownership of property or workplaces. Cosmological attachment is shaped via links to hallowed sites or religious pilgrimages, whereas celebratory cultural events attachment is shaped by attending cultural events, such as religious ceremonies or sports.



The sense of attachment to a place can be enhanced and reignited through cultural festivals, which are considered a link between the past, the present, and the future and are enhanced through celebratory events. Festivals in particular, bring intuition into people’s sense of their place and strengthen their attachment to it (Jaeger & Mykletun, 2013). Cultural festivals illustrate the values and identities of communities through creative artistic representations (Azara & Crouch, 2006). Previous studies confirmed that cultural festivals induce positive effects on creating and raising a sense of place attachment among visitors (Lee, Kyle, & Scott, 2012; Stedman, 2002).The local communities’ participation and support for a festival also predict how strongly attached they are to a specific place (Derrett, 2003). This function of cultural festivals is more important for a destination, in which tourism is an important pillar. The manner in which a community is attached to the surrounding landscape and cultural heritage may influence how inhabitants see the potential effects of a developing tourism industry. Moreover, it is considered to be a vital determinant of effective concurrence amongst inhabitants and the tourism business (McCool & Martin, 1994; Sheldon & Var, 1984; Um & Crompton, 1987).

Attachment and attention to the surrounding and its cultural heritage are inevitable. As a common phenomenon, local people who live and are in continuous contact with their heritage tend to be accustomed with them, but mostly fail to give adequate focus on the details although they are proud of them (Jenkins, 2003). A considerable number of studies have reported that people tend to focus more on visual media and the representation of reality than on real objects (Baudrillard, 1988; Kozloff, 1987; Wells, 2009). In other words, cultural festivals generate opportunities to represent the cultural wealth of a community that, for example, can be expressed through photography or any other artistic representation.

Role of Visual Media (Photography) in Influencing the Public Mind

Visual forms of media are the most powerful tools for shaping public opinion. As the pioneer of modern visual media and the base of all means of communication, photography has tremendous power in influencing people’s minds through its intrinsic characteristics and its ubiquity (Wells, 2009).

Photography is the reality through which the real object is experienced. A photograph is not only similar to its subject, it is also a tribute to that subject as well. Photographs are part of and extensions of subjects as well as serve as a potent means of acquiring or gaining control over them. The production of images furnishes a ruling ideology, and photographic reality dominates a perception of reality as a medium. People have generally become accustomed to their perceptions of the world around them in the form of photo-packs. For example, people are accustomed with the idea of sunset through sunset photos (Sontag, 1979).People sense that the world depicted through photography is absolutely real, but it is not. Photographs are only



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an aspect of reality (Lacayo, 2006). Consequently, photos can attract more attention than other subjects. This aspect of photography is addressed in the current research.

Research Method

A qualitative approach was employed to fulfill the objectives of this study. Qualitative research generally focuses on the experience of the people or on the phenomena being studied, thereby obtaining the study participants’ perspectives of such an experience. This type of research adopts a systematic method to describe or investigate a certain phenomenon. Walker (1987) and Creswell (2013) discussed the strategies associated with qualitative research, including Ethnography, Grounded Theory, Case Studies, Phenomenological research, Phenomenological research, Narrative Research, and Art Practice as Research. The current study matches that of Art Practice as Research. This strategy is defined as the visual arts research practice that inquires into the procedures and creations of an artistic perceptive. Studio methodology and art-based practice as research are extensions of a qualitative model (Creswell, 2013).

Practical Project

The practical project of this study was an art street photo exhibition during GTF 2014. The subjects of this art project were the weather-beaten walls found within the George Town Heritage Site. The study was also the main subject of the art practice studio methodology as research. Art Practice as Research is an especially valuable strategy for research projects targeting to describe, explore, or discover a phenomenon (Leavy, 2009). Considering that an artwork is a form of human representation, it can be considered as a place where knowledge is created and meanings are made. A study on works of art shares new perceptions into how objects carry meaning regarding ideas, themes, and issues. As an object of research, an artwork is an independently and ethnically created form and can, therefore, can be regarded as a mine of knowledge (Sullivan, 2010).

Photo-based approaches may offer an advantage for understanding such multifaceted constructs. Visual anthropology and sociology use photographs for assessments and comparisons. Photographs are “…cultural documents offering evidence of historically, culturally and socially specific ways of seeing the world” (Rose, 2012, p. 556). Goin (2001) recommended that researchers need to move beyond considering photos as “supportive” of data, and instead, see stand-alone images as expressions of the ideas themselves. Methodologically, these approaches frequently analyze previously taken collections of photos to understand phenomena (Rose, 2000) or entail researcher-taken photos as objects for research participants. Qualitative, semi-structured face-to-face interviews and pre-determined open-ended questions were employed to cover the basis of the current research.



Sampling

In this research, non-probability purposive sampling (judgment sampling) was applied. This type of sampling obtains information from a specific target group who can give the desired data based on the criteria set by the researchers. Judgment sampling approaches subjects who can provide the required information based on the objective of the study (Sekaran & Bougie, 2010). A sufficient sample size for a qualitative research varies between 12–60 or 20–50 participants. A sample larger than 50 can be difficult to manage in terms of ensuring the quality of data collection and analysis (Ragin, 2014; Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls, & Ormston, 2013). The other justification for the sample size is guided by theoretical sampling (Jennings, 2005), which is also considered for data collection and analysis in qualitative research. This approach denotes when to end sampling. Interviews should be stopped when the data reaches saturation level (Seidman, 2012) or when a qualitative informational “isomorphic” is achieved (Ford, 1975). Based on previous discussions, this study interviewed 43 individuals. Although the qualitative information “isomorphs” were obtained early and data collection was saturated after 15 to 20 interviews, the researchers continued the interviews to guarantee data validation.

Data Collection and Analysis

Qualitative, semi-structured face-to-face interviews and pre-determined open-ended questionaires were employed to cover all aspects of this research.The data were collected during a month-long, one-man street photo exhibition during GTF 2014. A total of 43 local visitors were interviewed.

To apply Art as Research in Practice, high-quality photos were taken with precise and firm composition from the eroded walls of George Town. The photos were enlarged to the maximum allowable size. After frameless mounting, the photos were installed right beside the photo frame on the original wall (Figure 1). Given that all the pictures were taken from the walls located in the core zone of the George Town World Heritage Site, the rules and regulations of UNESCO for such a heritage site were considered. For project implementation, all the required permits from the George Town authorities, George Town World Heritage Site Incorporated, and private owners of the premises were acquired. After the approval of the proposal, the GTF office provided all the necessary permits.

The data gathered for this research were analyzed using the qualitative approach. This method is employed when data are presented in words and remain in words during analysis (Blaikie, 2003).The present research applied the thematic analysis technique to analyze the data. This technique is defined as “a method for identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data” (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 80). According to Braun and Clarke (2006), thematic analysis grants a reachable and theoretically versatile



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approach, through which to analyze qualitative data. Using this technique, interview transcriptions were studied to obtain the essence and extract content. The motivating features of the data across the whole data set were then coded in a methodical manner.

Figure 1. Ah Quee Street Photo, GTF, 2014. Source: Farhad Fakhrian (Researcher)

Research Findings and Discussion

Place Attachment and Cultural Events

The local respondents admitted that the GTF has been successful in raising the public’s sense of attachment and belonging towards the George Town World Heritage Site. Considering the locals’ further attachment to the heritage and their sense of pride, the local interviewees made the following comments:

“These events made me more attached to the George Town Heritage Site.” “I think art brings more attention and creates attachment to the heritage.”“I think this kind of projects for the local people make sense of pride or at least attachment.”“We locals at least should know and care about old things that we have.” “I think we locals should take part to such things and try to show what we have here.” “It was another way to show how we can preserve our city and enjoy it.”



“That is the complex which can make people feel more attached.” “I got the point, practice to see what is there, how valuable they are and we should feel proud of them.”“It was my pleasure to see them as a Penangite.”“There would be a high chance of positive influence sourced by images on the local perspective of the show case.”

All the locals stated that they had previously seen the heritage sites hundreds of times, but have failed to notice the details. Therefore, art events can create a qualitative change in the perception of details as a valuable but ignored, neglected, or unseen part of the heritage. This result confirms the interpretation of Jenkins (2003) that local people living in and are in continuous contact with their heritage commonly tend to be accustomed with them but mostly fail to notice the details. Nevertheless, these individuals are proud of having them, as evidenced by their statements below.

“We locals at least should know and care about old things that we have.” “That is the complex which can make people feel more attachment.” “I got the point, practice to see what is there and how valuable they are and we should be proud of them.”“There would be a high chance of positive influence sourced by images on local perspectives of the show case.”

The local respondents believe that the GTF and its events, particularly photography projects involving the George Town Heritage Site, can increase the sense of pride and attachment among locals. This observation is in line with the findings of previous studies, which posited that cultural festivals yield positive effects on creating and raising a sense of place attachment among visitors (Lee et al., 2012; Stedman, 2002).

Effect of the Representation of Reality

With regard to the second research objective, that is, to determine whether the site’s representation of reality through the representational medium can draw the attention of visitors to reality itself, several responses were captured.

“The representations lead us to pay more attention to our city.”“What [they] have installed on the walls is not real, but catches more attention than the real one.”“These representations cause you to rethink what we have seen before.”“Of course, the representation is more eye-catching because it has frame.”“In this case, representations caught my eyes more, because they are different from reality and it is fantastic.”



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One statement from a particular respondent is highly incisive. She emphasized that pictures vary from reality, whereas the general belief argues that photos are a representation of reality. This same respondent commented that this interplay between reality and photographic reality is fantastic.

“I never noticed and paid close attention to the walls until [I observed] these pictures.” “If the picture was not there, I would not notice the wall.” “I do not think that without pictures I would pay attention to walls.” “Of course, the photo caught my eyes, I would not have paid attention to the walls if there were no photos.”

The respondents asserted that the photos allowed them to see the real objects, that is, the existence of these images (as an artistic medium) prompted them to notice the original reality (first objective). Therefore, a photograph seems to have a particular power to transform common objects into something important, precious, fantastic, valuable, or something else, which exists in relation to today’s communication and people’s taste, education, and experiences.

Well-known critics Siegfried Kracauer and Andre Bazin have both emphasized the ontological relationship between photographs and reality (Bazin, 1967; Kracauer, 1960). Walter Benjamin was among the thinkers who argued over the effectiveness of the photograph in this matter, disputing that the duplicates of the surface facade of places and things can only convey minimal information on the socio-political contexts affecting and confining actual human experience (1972). From Benjamin’s viewpoint, a photo cannot be the object that can extend the knowledge and experience of the public. The current study’s findings, however, contradict Benjamin’s theory, because the statements prove that a photo can extensively extend human knowledge and experiences.

“I looked at the photos as an art form, and then I noticed the walls precisely.”“At this moment, the picture caught my eyes, because we do not see the picture after reality all the time.”

Practically all of the participants emphasized that they focused on the walls after noticing the photos. In fact, the photos have framed their limited visual context, which in turn, influenced and circumscribed the participants’ actual experiences.

“These art works caused me to see the walls and think that they could be so inspiring.” “These are such art works, which have come out from gallery and would attract lots of people’s interest with art work.”



According to Benjamin, a mechanical reproduction of an image shifts one’s attitudes toward arts. Singularity, a special place to show, and “aura” as a concept attached to artworks, are factors that are commonly lost among the mechanically reproduced images (Benjamin, 2008). These photographs seem to capture the “aura’” that formerly belonged to unique artworks and moved the role from museums and galleries to public sites. People no longer care about the singularity of photographs by appropriating the reality and representing it in a manner that only photography can afford.

“I can see the difference between a piece of art and reality.” “It is like [the] creation of [a] new reality.”

The remarks of the respondents regarding the second research objective bring to mind the prominent statement of Bazin, who asserted that “[A] photograph is not an image of reality […], but rather a true imprint of reality, a kind of luminous mold […].There is [an] ontological identity between the object and its photographic image”(Bazin, 1967).

“In fact, these photos attract [the] attention of viewers to the historic walls.”“This representation of reality made me to look at things around [me] very carefully.” “I do not look at the walls regularly, this (representation) caused me to see them and think that they could be so inspiring.” “I am staring [at] the walls much more now than before. I can see the difference between a piece of art and the reality.”“This project has done its job very well to drive [audience] attentions to hidden values.”

This research verified that people initially focus more on the photographic reality than the reality itself (i.e.,objective reality).Nevertheless, extremely few participants believe that the objective reality catches their attention more than the photographic reality. The direct observations of the exhibition’s visitors and the significant number of participants who believe that photos catch the eye more than actual objects provide ample evidence in proving this.

This finding is supported by the discourses of several thinkers, including Susan Sontag (1977), Allan Sekula (1982), Mary Price (1997), Max Kozloff (1979), Victor Burgin (1982), Bazin & Gray (1960), and Roland Barthes (1981). Considering that photographs act as an index that can be occasionally iconic, they not only add an aura of authenticity, they also appear reassuringly familiar. Articulating the familiar-looking subjects through settled aesthetic traditions further nurtures realist notions linked with photography (Burgin, 1982).



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The locals interviewed admitted that despite seeing these images a hundred of times already, they have never seen the walls in detail (as works of art). Furthermore, this phenomenon occurred after observing the photos beside such images. This finding demonstrates that simulated reality has the power to improve people’s perception and observation when it is located beside an objective reality. This proposition is supported by Stanczak, who claimed that “to a certain degree, visual representation is already a staple behavioral science” (2007).

The street photo exhibition was successful in raising the sensitivity of the people to perceive visual aesthetics and discover unseen or neglected beauty around them. The significance of the findings may indirectly lead us to conserve the heritage site by influencing the mind of every single person noticing every tiny detail of his/her heritage in this collective responsibility and commitment. In fact, photographic representation acts as a beacon light to draw one’s attention to things that have previously existed and have inspired lives, but never noticed properly. Thus, this feature of photographic representation can relatively increase the public’s awareness of their heritage while enjoying its aesthetic elements.

In addition, this type of realistic representation can optimize onlookers’ opportunities to discover otherwise neglected artistic values. The research participants emphasized that the exhibition inspired them to rethink several things that they have previously failed to detect regarding the George Town Heritage Site. These individuals further believed that the show has made realistic representation highly comparative and allowed them to think of both the medium and reality.

This study also showed that the local people have begun to consider preserving parts of the unseen heritage or those that are assumed unimportant. Therefore, this type of artistic representation may serve as a strong motivation to raise public awareness of their heritage and attach these artworks to their heritage more than before. Another significant implication is that, with photographic representation, it becomes possible to direct the public’s general attention to the unknown values of the heritage site.

This vital capability lends to a sense of extra attachment, at least for the locals, to their heritage in return. Conserving and preserving the neglected parts of the heritage site may be considered a product of this capability while raising the general aesthetics among people to gain a sense of attachment and pride after visiting the exhibition.

Conclusion

The research findings demonstrate the vital roles of the GTF as a cultural festival and photography as a representational medium in creating a sense of attachment among locals toward the George Town World Heritage Site. The respondents highlighted that the GTF, particularly the photo exhibition, directs their attention to neglected



values. The representation of reality catches more attention compared to reality itself; moreover, such representations build and increase a sense of pride among local visitors, heightening their attachment to their heritage, specifically to the George Town World Heritage Site. Furthermore, this capability leads individuals to think about preserving and conserving the neglected parts of the heritage sites/destinations and can result in sustainable heritage tourism development. On the other hand, the role of cultural festivals/cultural events as a way of place-making could be a topic for further study.


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Understanding Destination Images of Tourism Stakeholders: A Destination Branding Perspective 65Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017 pp. 65-75

ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper

Understanding Destination Images of Tourism Stakeholders: A Destination Branding Perspective

Suman Sharma & Vikrant Kaushal Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India


Abstract: Although a number of studies on destination image and destination branding have focused on the entities at the receiving end, i.e. tourists, the dearth of supply side analysis has been frequently pointed out. This paper aims to analyse four key stakeholders in tourism business in terms of their destination images and destination branding. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data and samples were drawn from the four tourism-rich districts of the Uttarakhand state in India. The results show some significant differences in relation to brand awareness and destination image aspects among these stakeholder groups. The need for similar studies are highlighted and implications are also discussed.

Keywords: Destination image, destination branding, Uttarakhand, stakeholders, perceptions

Suggested citation: Sharma, S. & Kaushal, V. (2017). Understanding destination images of tourism stakeholders: A destination branding perspective. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 65-75.

Introduction

Brand image is the manifestation of the overall brand perceptions (Aaker, 1991). In leisure studies, destinations are treated as the brands of tourism (Pike, 2009) and destination image perceptions are often analysed from the demand side viewpoint of tourists visiting the places. It is however important that supply side perspectives in destination branding and image studies are given due attention as well. Scholars (Pike, 2009; Wagner & Peters, 2009) have highlighted the limited empirical research in destination branding studies oriented towards stakeholders. In a typical tourism destination, heterogeneous stakeholders abound (Pike, 2005), which pose consistent challenges in destination branding (Virgo & de Chernatony, 2006) because of their

Correspondence: Suman Sharma, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India. Email: [email protected]


66 Suman Sharma & Vikrant Kaushal

diverse interests and self-images of the destinations. Branding of places has become crucial and Virgo and de Chernatony (2006) summarise some factors that necessitate branding of places with tourism potential including dynamic global environment, effects of temporal image decay and evolution, increased competition, funding, self-sustained governance, multiple stakeholders with different roles, changing target markets, and limited control of destination management over places’ experience. Given the dearth of studies from stakeholders’ viewpoint, this paper aims to analyse their perceptions of destination image and destination branding. Another significant gap that this study attempts to fill stems from the argument made by Pike (2005) that tourism stakeholders are not just heterogeneous entities but also possess diverse business interests. Despite this, stakeholders are expected to work in harmony for the converged provisions for tourists, which in turn results in a valuable and memorable destination experience for the visitors. Diversity in the stakeholders’ group also signals at the likelihood of differences in opinions and perceptions about the destination brands and images.

Literature Review

Several categories of tourism stakeholders have been considered in destination branding and image studies. For instance while proposing a destination branding model based on destination stakeholders, García, Gómez and Molina (2012) proposed a range of stakeholders including local residents of the destination, employees, investors, tourists, and travel intermediaries like airlines, travel agencies, and so on. Similarly in the context of destination promotion, Sheehan Ritchie and Hudson (2007) reflected on the set of three pertinent destination stakeholders – the city or government, hotels and the DMOs. Among Vasudevan’s (2008) three categories of stakeholders termed vital for destination branding, the first category involves travel intermediaries, hotels, resorts etc. Sartori, Mottironi and Corigliano (2012) studied destination brand equity from the viewpoint of destination stakeholders, in that they focused on entities involved in food, wine and beverage provision, tourism boards and associations. This is perhaps one of the very few studies in destination brand equity literature with empirical assessment from stakeholders’ frame of reference. Guided by Vasudevan’s (2008) classifications and studies presented here, the typology used for the present analysis entails select destination stakeholders involving travel agencies, restaurants, hotels and tour guides. This can also be attributed to the possibility of higher interactions between these entities and tourists who visit a specific destination.

Due to the diversity of stakeholders in the tourism system (Tasci & Kozak, 2006; Gartner & Ruzzier, 2011), business models may primarily depend on tourists’ movement, yet market interests still vary among these entities (Pike, 2005). In circumstances like these, the expectations and personal business interests oftentimes manifest in conflict-like situations (Gartner & Ruzzier, 2011). Merrilees, Miller


Understanding Destination Images of Tourism Stakeholders: A Destination Branding Perspective 67

and Herington (2012) also reiterated on adopting a comprehensive look at tourism stakeholders rather than studying tourists’ perspectives alone. Amongst the many factors that determine the success of destination brands, the ability to stimulate associated stakeholders is termed significant (Morgan, Pritchard & Pride, 2002). Destination brand image for tourism stakeholders is akin to a montage of associations related to their businesses (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre, 2008). Sartori et al. (2012) considered internal brand image as the agreement on the communicated identity of a place by authorities of the tourism industry and stakeholders. A stronger system of associations with destination stakeholders would eventually result in increased financial gains (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Sartori et al. (2012) empirically analysed the stakeholders of tourism by extending the focus from a mere association analysis to a more comprehensive concept of stakeholders’ based brand equity, while analyzing dimensions like brand associations, image, awareness and satisfaction. Table 1 summarises some pertinent studies that have contemplated stakeholders’ stance from different viewpoints.

Table 1. Other studies that looked at stakeholder focus

Authors Stakeholder focus RelevanceBitsani & Kavoura, 2014

Tourism host community including locals who are also tourism entrepreneurs

Rural tourism marketing for Croatia

Simpson, 2008 Government, private sector, NGOs and communities

Vital role of community benefit tourism initiatives (CBTI)

Palmer & Bejou, 1995

Multiple small to independent stakeholders, visitors and convention bureaus

USA and UK stakeholder alliances

Dodds & Ko, 2012 Multiple primary and secondary tourism stakeholders

Rural and island destination of Prince Edward County, Canada

Hult, Mena, Ferrell & Ferrell, 2011

Significance of stakeholder marketing and improved understanding of stakeholder theory

Extensive review of literature on stakeholders in marketing

Merrilees et al., 2012 Insights of different brand meanings held by various stakeholders

Brand meaning exploration of residents and business owners of Gold Coast, Australia

Yau et al., 2007 Development and validation of stakeholders’ orientation scale development

Identified four key dimensions: customer, competitor, shareholder and employee orientation



Table 1 (con’t)Byrd, 2007 Stakeholders’ role in sustainable

tourism development Consolidated aspects of stakeholder participation, policy implications, and different sorts of tourism stakeholders

Morgan, Pritchard & Piggott, 2003

Identification, crafting and value implementation for New Zealand brand

Focused on New Zealand’s surge as a tourism destination by leveraging various factors, particularly stakeholder partnership

Baloglu & Mangaloglu, 2001

US-based travel intermediaries- agents and operators

Travel agents and tour operators’ perceptions of four international destinations

Method

Sample

For the present study, a sample of four vital tourism stakeholders, namely travel agencies, restaurants, hotels and the tour guides from the Indian state of Uttarakhand was used. Tourism is a dominant industry and is an important source of income for a large number of people in the state. The state is broadly divided into two geographical divisions, namely Garhwal and Kumaon. There are 13 districts in the state, seven of which fall in the Garhwal division and the remaining six in the Kumaon division. For the purpose of sampling, two districts from each division were selected based on the highest tourism arrival figures. Within these districts, the most prominent tourism destinations were located and random samples of stakeholders were obtained. This sampling technique is known as multistage area sampling and is a type of cluster sampling (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). It was considered appropriate for this research in order to generate representative samples. A total sample size of 121 respondents was obtained from the four districts of the state that received the highest tourists’ inflow, namely, Dehradun (20), Haridwar (36) from the Garhwal division and Nainital (42), Almora (23) from the Kumaon division, respectively. Uttarakhand is a mountainous state that receives a wide range of tourists with diverse motivations, and the most prominent travel purposes include pilgrimage, leisure and wellness. All the four places chosen for data collection are renowned natural and cultural destinations in the state, whereby the district of Haridwar receives abundant religious tourists, and the other three districts receive mostly leisure tourists in addition to religious and cultural enthusiasts.



Measurement

Survey questionnaires were used to gather responses and the scale development was predominantly guided by the works of several authors including Merrilees, Miller & Herring (2009), Merrilees et al. (2012), Sharma (2011) and Sartori et al. (2012). It should be noted that the standardised scales for measuring stakeholders’ perceptions remain elusive in destination branding studies and measurement scale sources are a composite of works in destination and city branding literature. Table 2 highlights the list of constructs and related indicators. Overall, 14 items were used to measure three constructs, whereby the brand awareness and commitment constructs were used to measure brand perceptions and the destination image construct was utilised to determine perceptions of stakeholders’ images of destinations. All the items were measured using a five-point Likert scale anchored from 1 for “strongly disagree” to 5 for “strongly agree”.

Table 2 . Constructs and indicators

Constructs & indicators

Destination Brand Awareness

I know the department and people in charge of marketing and promotion for this destinationI am aware of the promotional initiatives that are taken to make this destination more attractive to touristsBrand Commitment

This destination brand ensures quality for touristsThis destination brand increases the loyalty of touristsThis destination brand is appealing and stimulating for my business/workI am very satisfied with this destination brandDestination Image

This place has attractive natural landscape and environmentThis place has a unique Cultural/Natural identityThis place has a modern day design and appealThere are a wide range of leisure activities available hereQuality transport facilities are available hereSufficient accommodation facilities to meet the tourist rush are available hereFacilities like tourist information centre, medical facility, and security services are available for touristsThis place is a year-long tourist destination



Results & Discussion

The demographic profile of the destination stakeholders is presented in Table 3. The majority of the stakeholders identified themselves as being engaged in hotel operations (38%), followed by restaurant (24%), travel agency (16%) and tour guides (12%). In addition, the majority of the stakeholders have considerable experience in the business as more than 60% responded that they have been involved in business for more than 5 years. Furthermore, most of the stakeholders held some sort of educational degrees, implying better educated people in travel and hospitality-related businesses at the studied destinations. The most common form of business was sole proprietorship and family businesses, making up to almost 60% of the total respondents. Of the remaining respondents, 24% were involved in restaurants, and the percentage of other stakeholders like travel agencies, tour guides and hotels were 16, 11.8, and 38.7, respectively.

Table 3. Demographic profile of respondents

Stakeholder Demographic Categories Frequency Age Group (n = 121) 15- 24 16.2

25-34 40.235-44 25.645-60 12.860 or above 5.1

Duration of Business Less than 2 years 8.32-5 years 17.46-10 years 33.911-15 years 12.4More than 15 years 28.1

Level of Education Post-graduation 32.5Bachelor Degree 37.5Intermediate 22.5High School 4.2Below High School 3.3

Form of Business Sole Proprietorship 35.3Family Business 24.1Private Limited Company 21.6Government Agencies/Public Company 4.3Partnership Firm 8.6Other 6



Table 3 (con’t)

Type of Operations Restaurant 24.4Travel Agency 16Tour Guide 11.8Hotel 38.7Other 9.2

Table 4 presents the mean scores reflecting differences among the stakeholders’ perceptions on destination brand awareness, brand commitment and destination brand image. Brand awareness was measured using two indicators: the first sought information about the stakeholders’ awareness of the department or people that are involved in the provision of marketing and promotion of destinations; secondly, the awareness of the initiatives taken for making destinations more attractive. The well-aligned commitment of stakeholders toward the destination brand may assist in achieving the objectives set by destination organisations (Sartori et al., 2012). Alternatively, the image of stakeholders has also been termed vital for destination branding. Heding et al. (2008) described the images of destination stakeholders as the mosaic of brand associations possessed by them, and such associations may go a long way in engendering brand sustenance. Scholars like Heding et al. (2008) also stressed on the need for developing some mechanism for interpreting stakeholders’ brand images.

Table 4. Mean scores reflecting differences among stakeholders’ perceptions on destination brand awareness, brand commitment and destination brand image

Dehradun(n= 20)

Haridwar(n= 36)

Nainital(n= 42)

Almora(n= 23)

Destination Brand Awareness

I know the department and people in charge of marketing and promotion of this destination

3.67 3.19 2.74 3.19

I am aware of the promotional initiatives that are taken to make this destination more attractive to tourists

3.65 3.17 2.60 3.17

Brand Commitment This destination brand ensures quality for tourists

4.17 3.83 3.67 3.43

This destination brand increases loyalty of tourists

4.11 3.72 3.52 3.28



Table 4 (con’t)

This destination brand is appealing and stimulating for my business/work

3.90 3.51 3.60 3.25

I am very satisfied with this destination brand

3.80 3.54 3.34 3.28

Destination Image This place has attractive natural landscape and environment

4.61 3.97 4.52 3.65

This place has a unique Cultural/Natural identity

4.63 4.06 4.34 3.57

This place has a modern day design and appeal

4.30 3.97 3.83 3.57

There are a wide range of leisure activities available here

3.85 3.46 3.50 3.30

Quality transport facilities are available here

3.50 3.69 3.17 3.10

Sufficient accommodation facilities to meet the tourist rush are available here

4.15 4.06 3.33 3.09

Facilities like tourist information centre, medical facility, and security services are available for tourists

4.10 3.72 3.31 3.09

This place is a year-long tourist destination

3.94 3.47 3.55 3.87

Table 5. Results of ANOVA

Constructs Dehradun (a)

Haridwar (b)

Nainital (c)

Almora (d)

Sig.

(n= 20) (n= 36) (n= 42) (n= 23)Destination Brand Awareness

3.650 c 3.167 2.667 3.174 0.013*

Brand Commitment 4.013 3.660 3.518 3.304 0.599Destination Image 4.125 c, d 3.788 3.691 3.402 0.000**

*Significant at 0.05, **Significant at 0.01Note: a, b, c, and d indicate differences in the mean scores (detected by Gabriel’s test) for Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Almora, respectively



The results of ANOVA have been summarised in Table 5. The post hoc analysis was carried out using the Gabriel procedure as the sample sizes among the groups were slightly different (Field, 2009). It may be noted that awareness among destination stakeholders was found to be significantly different between stakeholders in Dehradun and Nainital. This may be attributed to the lower awareness of destination promotion initiatives by concerned authorities, and also points at the reduced familiarity with the organisations and people involved in destination marketing and promotion, among the stakeholders in Nainital. Although the mean scores of Nainital and Almora stakeholders for destination image were marginally higher, they were considerably lower when compared to Dehradun. Besides, the differences were statistically significant between the former two and the latter. Furthermore, the mean scores for destination brand commitment were comparatively lower for all three destinations except Dehradun, yet no statistically significant difference was observed among all the four set of stakeholders. In summary, all the scores were above 3 except for questions pertaining to awareness implying generally positive responses. Image-wise, the scores on indicators were mostly favourable, reflecting positive perceptions about destination landscape, cultural and natural identity, modern appeal and provisions of diverse activities for tourists. In addition to these aspects of image, positive responses were recorded for the accommodation, transport and availability of support services. The results also showed that the destinations were overall considered as year-long tourism destinations by stakeholders.

Conclusion

The study focused on analysing the image and brand perceptions of destination stakeholders. The tourism industry functions with myriad stakeholders that are expected to work seamlessly to provide a quality destination experience to visitors. The branding of tourism destinations also utilises the images held by various players involved in the holistic tourist experience. The objective of this study was to analyse the perceptions of destination stakeholders toward the destination image on two aspects of destination branding, namely destination brand commitment and awareness. This line of research remains nascent and there is certainly a dearth of valid scales for studying varied stakeholders. Based on previous literature, four categories of stakeholders including hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and tour guides were considered for the analysis. These stakeholders are known for impacting the tourism industry directly. The picture of a destination held by destination stakeholders, apart from tourists, can contribute toward effective destination branding. The branding component in this study’s context evaluated respondents’ brand commitment and brand awareness, whereas destination image was analysed with a host of attributes ranging from destination landscape to accommodation provision. The implications for destination managers include improving communications with destination



stakeholders in deciding and implementing marketing campaigns. Tourism authorities should also realise that while destination images held by the stakeholders were mostly positive, yet the image perceptions were significantly different within the groups when compared internally. This study is also subject to certain limitations, one being the sample size, which could be increased and may consider more stakeholders. A quantitative study supplemented with qualitative data may also bring more insights into the perspectives of stakeholders. There is also a serious need for carrying out exploratory research in order to develop valid scales for stakeholder analyses in the context of destination image and destination branding.


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Sustainable Medical Tourism Model - A Case Study of Kerala, India 77Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismAPJIHT Vol. 6 No. 1 March 2017 pp. 77-98

ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper

Sustainable Medical Tourism Model - A Case Study of Kerala, India

Sindhu Joseph GPM Government College, India


Abstract: Medical tourism is a term used to portray a current booming industry which is viewed optimistically by media practitioners, researchers and the health care industry. Along with its enormous scope and potential, the issues and problems that may arise due to the promotion of medical tourism at a destination should be taken seriously and addressed tactfully. These sustainability challenges and dimensions can be acquired from medical tourists. This article establishes a possible relationship between the different components of the medical tourism industry and thereby, proposes a sustainable medical tourism model while incorporating all the variables which directly and indirectly influence destinations both in terms of medical and tourism features.

Keywords: Medical tourism, sustainable medical tourism outcome, hospital service quality, destination factors, medical factors, level of experience.

Suggested citation: Joseph, S. (2017). Sustainable medical tourism model - A case study of Kerala, India. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 77-98.

Introduction

Medical tourism is related to the modern phenomenon of transnational journeys in search of advanced and cheaper medical care. It is a paradigm shift from the earlier trend of travelling to developed countries for excellent health care. According to Memon, Bajaj, Dadhich & Patel (2014), in a study for FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), medical tourists are people from different countries who travel overseas to receive some form of medical aid or treatment. Medical tourism is emerging as a unique and readily identifiable kind of journey that is deliberately linked to direct medical intervention, and the outcomes are probably high and long-term (Connell, 2006). Medical tourism offers patients in dire

Correspondence: Sindhu Joseph, GPM Government College, India. Email: [email protected]


78 Sindhu Joseph

conditions the ability to escape and recuperate (Solomon, 2011). For a significantly lower cost and a shorter waiting period, medical tourists can get treatment that is equivalent to, if not, even superior than what they would receive at home (Horowitz & Rosensweig, 2007; MacReady, 2007).

However, there exists a conceptual dilemma on the definitional aspects of medical tourism. Many authors (Bookman & Bookman, 2007; Connell, 2006; Dawn & Pal, 2011) argued that medical tourism encompasses both medical and tourism aspects. Connell (2006) viewed the nature of medical tourism as a popular mass culture “where people often travel long distances to overseas destinations (India, Thailand, Malaysia) to obtain medical, dental and surgical care while simultaneously being holidaymakers, in a more conventional sense" (p. 1094). Medical tourism gives patients an opportunity to quickly and conveniently get medical services through travel, at reduced rates and better quality than they could in their resident nations, while patients' demands will be different according to the level and degree of treatment and tourism combination and integration (Yu & Ko, 2012). It “is an economic activity that entails trade in services and represents the splicing of at least two sectors: medicine and tourism" (Bookman & Bookman, 2007, p.1).

Despite agreeing with the dovetailing nature of medical travel and tourism, Connell (2013) observed that medical tourists might be viewed as “patient-consumers”, which is more of a medical term. An interesting argument that arises is that if patients travel abroad, he/she would be inevitably open to elements of culture, environment, food, heritage, leisure or other numerous facets of the destination’s activities (Jagyasi, 2008). Hunter and Green (1995) believed that when “a traveller is visiting (for less than one year) an unknown destination (the host community) other than the one he/she resides in, then that person may be regarded as being a tourist" (p. 2). When people travel across border and outside their usual environment to seek medical service, the travel portion of the trip is called “medical travel," and upon arrival, such a person is called a “medical-tourist" (Jagyasi, 2008, p. 9-10). Their activities include utilisation of medical care; services for the medical tourist, be it direct or indirect hospitality, cultural exposure or sightseeing is called “medical tourism" (Jagyasi, 2008, p. 9-10). Therefore, the fast-growing trend of cross-border travel looking for inexpensive and quality health care services while incorporating an extended holiday on discretion may be the apt definition for medical tourism and those who undertake this type of travel are called medical tourists (MTs).

Literature Review

Medical tourism encompasses primarily, and predominantly biomedical procedures, combined with travel and tourism (Dawn & Pal, 2011) including primary, secondary and tertiary care and may include surgeries, transplants, health check-ups, psychiatry, fertility evaluations, curing lifestyle diseases, dental care, etc. Cosmetic surgery overtakes all other forms of procedures, representing 38% of demand.


Sustainable Medical Tourism Model - A Case Study of Kerala, India 79

Globally, medical tourism is a new niche area, often considered as a prominent portfolio by many in the hospitality and other sectors which are directly and indirectly related. Medical tourism is the new catchphrase of the present globalised world which enhances the revenue portfolio of many direct and indirect sectors of the economy (RNCOS, 2011). Asian countries including Thailand, India and Singapore, have attracted a good number of patients abroad and has become prominent medical tourism destinations generating substantial income from medical services (Bookman &Bookman, 2007; Connell, 2006). Bookman and Bookman (2007) observed that the European, Latin American and Asian economies have expanded and built medical tourism on existing tourism industries and health care systems. In numerous countries, new companies have sprouted to connect patients, hospitals, potential medical tourists and destinations. The names of such companies like ‘Surgeon and Safari’ (South Africa), and ‘Antigua Smiles’, reflect the type of services provided such as relating cosmetic dentistry and visiting the Caribbean (Connell, 2006). Over 50 nations recognise medical tourism as an industry (Rad, Som & Zainuddin, 2010).

It has become a business opportunity for related stakeholders more than ever before and businesses compete at every opportunity to secure more medical tourists. The company “Nip ‘N’ Tuck Travel”, functioning in the UK, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand, focuses on packages for cosmetic surgery and proclaims in its slogan, “Go away on vacation and come home looking years younger” (Nip ‘N’ Tuck Travel, 2006). Similarly, the company “All about Beauty” in Australia acts as a mediator, organising cosmetic packages including recuperation at a resort catering specifically to post-surgical recoveries, such as “Bodyline Retreat” in Phuket, Thailand (Whittaker, 2008).

The value of the global medical tourism industry was pegged at US$10.5 billion in 2012 and is estimated to grow to US$32.5 billion by 2019, developing at a high CAGR of 17.9% during the forecast period (Transparency Market Research, 2013). Cultural similarities and geographic proximity play a central role in the development of this industry (Transparency Market Research, 2013). For 6 million patients, medical tourism may generate $45 - 95 billion in global GDP (IMTJ, 2013). In 2012 alone, the Asian region made more than US$6.4 billion for the treatment of an estimated 2 billion medical tourists (Menachery, 2015). Mexico and India correspondingly have the highest demand for medical tourism, and almost 76% of patients who have expressed an interest in medical travel are Americans (Medical Tourism Association, 2013). In 2012, an estimated 45% share of the total medical tourists’ arrival in Asia was bagged by Thailand with 2.5 million medical tourists, mostly from Western Europe.

India is known for its expertise in cardiac surgeries, Singapore for complex surgical procedures and Thailand for cosmetic treatments (Menachery, 2015). Of the nearly 10 million people who visited Singapore in 2006, (4% or 400,000) were


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medical tourists (Voigt et al., 2010). Approximately 89,000 persons accompanied them on their visits (Voigt et al., 2010). In 2010, at least 63,000 citizens of UK journeyed overseas for medical treatment, and no less than 52,000 foreigners travelled to the UK for treatment (Lunt et al., 2014). Outbound travel has been growing tremendously over the last few years. Cost saving drives the demand for medical travel by nearly 80% as medical tourists spend between $7,475 and $15,833 per medical travel trip (Medical Tourism Association, 2013).

Purpose of Study

The medical tourism industry handles human life, which requires utmost care as ignorance, negligence or malpractices will have serious repercussions. In addition, its fast development places immense pressure on the key players of this vulnerable industry. Medical tourism in Kerala is a fast-growing industry that offers ample business opportunities for stakeholders both in the medical and tourism industry but at the same time, it raises some issues as well. The study aims to identify the linkages between and among the various components of the medical tourism industry and to develop an overarching model for sustainable development to exploit the therapeutic and tourism potential of Kerala and address its issues.

Methodology

Today, Kerala tourism is a global brand and a destination with the highest brand recall (Ramesh & Joseph, 2011). In 2013, a survey conducted by BBC World News had rated Kerala as the most popular tourist spot in India among foreign tourists (IBEF, 2015). Further, with a per capita income of about 1% of that of the richest nations, Kerala has attained good health equivalent to western countries in aspects like longevity and standard of living (Pitroda, 2012; Thankappan, 2001). The high-end technology, talent pool and intellectual wealth of Kerala, its English language proficiency, moderate climate and wide variety of natural/cultural attractions have motivated many patients abroad to come to Kerala. The treatment cost in Kerala is 30-70% less, even after including expenses for air travel and accommodation (Destination Kerala, 2015) when compared to the cost in the international market. Today, Kerala is receiving a good number of medical tourists and is planning to become the health tourism hub of India by 2020, earning 15% of the market share in the Indian medical tourism industry (Menachery, 2015). Considering its potential and growth rate of the medical and tourism industry, Kerala was selected for this study. The study was undertaken for a period of eight months from October 2014 to May 2015 using questionnaire survey, and the respondents were medical tourists who primarily sought modern medical treatments in Kerala (both outpatient and



inpatient) with discretionary involvement in leisure activities. The survey includes both accredited and non-accredited hospitals.

Considering the volume of medical tourism, reliable data does not exist as no specific entity has been entrusted with the assessment of this industry and the private/corporate giants are not able to provide any reliable data. Even if private health service providers’ do compile such statistics, this data is considered confidential and not available to public (Helble, 2011). Hence, the non-probability quota sampling method was used to collect data. General medicine, dental care and eye care were identified as three categories (Quotas). A sample size of 300 was considered sufficient to represent a significant population (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2003). Hence a total of 384 samples were collected from both outpatient and inpatient respondents.

Theories and models

The Kano model can be applied to medical tourism as it provides an opportunity to satisfy all three kinds of needs such as basic needs, performance needs and excitement needs by integrating medical and tourism aspects. Further, Maslow’s theory can be adapted to medical tourism to support the conceptual level of definition. Medical tourists who want basic health care such as health checkups, dental care, will have health needs at the lowest level and they will focus primarily on tourism and then treatment. Those with a necessary medical need for surgery, certain diseases and invasive procedures will be at the second level, and they will mainly focus on medical care and other related services. With regard to the tourism element, they are more likely to take a short trip to travel destinations that are suitable with their conditions and their recuperation stage. At the third level, medical tourists need additional medical services such as LASIK, cosmetic surgery, weight loss treatment, and sex reassignment surgery. Eventually, they will consider the conditions of medical services while they arrange for tourism activities during or after receiving medical treatment. At the highest level, the need is optimum health. A medical tourist who is healthy may also wish to maintain good health or aspire for better health. These types of medical tourists seek services like spa, ayurveda, yoga, detoxification and holistic health care treatment. They plan for tourism activities and often use health care services that are located in tourist areas (Kanittinsuttitong, 2015).

Constructs and Measures

Every piece of the medical tourism industry has distinctive components influenced by the destination’s medical services, hospitality support, tourism appeal and governmental policies (Cormany, 2008). Kang, Shin and Lee (2014) proposed a medical tour evaluation model, and the major configuring factors are medical factors, tourism factors and facilitating factors. According to Kang et al., (2014), these factors determine the level of trust in service quality which will ultimately lead to the willingness to recommend.


82 Sindhu Joseph

Similarly, Darwazeh (2011) found that a medical tourism facility has some characteristics such as medical services, tourism services, facilitation services and warm hospitality with the right care, that differentiates it from a regular medical facility.

Based on the literature review and perusal of different models, this study developed ten major constructs: Hospital Service Quality, Medical Factors, Tourism Factors, Destination Factors, Patient Centeredness, Physical Integrity, Privileges Received are sustainable medical tourism enablers which are critical in developing higher Levels of Experience, Medical Quality Satisfaction eventually leading to Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome. The framework implies that tourism and medical aspects will complement each other and will determine the Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome of the destination. The framework, further, will help to focus on patients' needs and expectations which are inevitable for designing and implementing sustainable medical tourism as in the proposed model (Figure 1).

Hospital Service Quality

Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome

Medical Quality

Satisfaction

Levelof

Experience

Sustainable MedicalTourism

Medical Factors

Physical Integrity

Patient Centeredness

Tourism Factors

Destination Factors

Privileges Received

H10

H9

H11

H5

H8

H7

H3

H2

H1

H4

H6

Figure 1 Proposed model

Sustainable tourism development can only be attained through sustainable tourism practices. The literature clearly indicates that sustainable practices lead to sustainability. The sustainable outcome can be measured through satisfaction and experience of tourists (Hugo, 1998). Delivering high-quality service is the key to a “sustainable competitive advantage" (Angelova & Zekiri, 2011, p. 232). Satisfaction is an overall effective response (Oliver, 1980). Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome



reflects its sustainability. Medical tourists with higher satisfaction levels are likely to be loyal and thereby recommend and revisit the destination. These interconnected dimensions can be considered as indications of sustainable medical tourism.

Tourism Factors

A destination’s appeal will be directly affected by the area's ability to provide a pleasant, positive experience for the visitor (Cormany, 2008). Medical tourists must feel good about visiting an area that has attractions and is accessible. Beautiful sites, culture, climate, relaxation alternatives of the region, etc. provide an appeal (“Taking a pulse”, 2008). Noe and Uysal (as cited in Banyai, 2012) found that instrumental attributes, represented by those elements used by visitors to attain a certain desired outcome, and expressive attributes derived from engagement in experiences such as sightseeing, fishing or swimming, predict overall satisfaction. Research in the Alpine areas showed that touristic infrastructure is an important determinant in the decision-making process (Schalber & Peters, 2012). Beautiful natural environment and tourism attractions are 2 items included in the 18 cognitive images that will affect customer satisfaction (Bosque & Martin, 2008). In this study, this construct was measured using two nominal variables which are Variety of Tourism Attractions and Attractive Natural Environment.

H1: Level of Tourism Factors influences Level of Experience

Destination Factors

Services, particularly in related hospitals and destinations are critical in making the medical tourists at ease especially in faraway and different cultural settings. Provision of ethnic food and accommodation, basic infrastructural facilities such as good roads, air connectivity to home country and safety and security factors are often considered as primary facilitation factors (Memon et al., 2014). Several medical tourism hospitals incorporate hotel facilities within their complexes such as concierge support, land transport arrangements, expedited hotel-like check-in processes, simplified billing procedures, multi-cuisine restaurants, and own interpreters (“Taking a pulse”, 2008). Medical tourists' perception of safety at the destination hugely affects their level of satisfaction. Incidences of crime, harassment, sickness or any act which the visitor perceives to be hostile or dangerous, can ruin a trip. Ensuring good public security is a major factor in promoting a healthy image for a destination (UNWTO, 2004). Taking into account the above facts, this study used five variables such as Infrastructure, Provision of Ethnic Food, Arrangements for Accomplice, Connectivity to Home Country and Safety and Security to measure Destination Factors on a 5-point scale (1- Very Low, 2- Low, 3- Moderate, 4 - High, 5- Very High).

H2: Level of Destination Factors influences Level of Experience


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Medical Factors

When choosing a hospital, medical tourists give importance to quality care along with personal care. It would be expected that all of them will make quality health care fundamental to their destination choice (Cormany, 2008; Memon et al., 2014). The main factors they look for in quality care are the level of service quality and cost (Rad et al., 2010). According to Angelopoulou, Kangis and Babis (1998), patients' expectations are based on accurate diagnosis and treatment as well as all other services they receive throughout their stay in the hospital. This construct has four variables such as Quality care, Qualification of the Doctors and Staff, Cheaper Treatment Benefit and Waiting Time for Procedures and was measured in ordinal variables on a 5-point scale (1- Very Low, 2- Low, 3- Moderate, 4 - High, 5- Very High).

H3: Level of Medical Factors influences Level of ExperienceH7: Level of Medical Factors influences Medical Quality Satisfaction

Physical Integrity

Physical integrity is a fundamental indicator of a destination and its suitability for tourists is linked to its success as a tourist attraction (UNWTO, 2004). Some travellers may avoid a destination that has a poor reputation for cleanliness. Reaction to filthiness is very subjective and is related to the tourists' place of origin. The perception of cleanliness may figure strongly in the decision on whether to return to a destination or recommend it to others (UNWTO, 2004). Furthermore, noise level may have a direct impact on medical tourists’ opinion of the site (and of the whole destination) (UNWTO, 2004). Poor design and construction of roads will lead to substantial traffic problems and congestion which will result in wastage of resources and eventually, lead to dissatisfaction. Considering the above, the Physical Integrity construct was studied using three nominal variables which are Cleanliness and Hygiene, Noise Level and Traffic Congestion.

H4: Level of Physical Integrity Influences Level of Experience


It is important to measure the perceived service quality of hospitals from medical tourists as it has a direct relationship with satisfaction (Rad et al., 2010) which depends on many factors such as doctors' competence, accreditation, ethical concerns, cost, etc. The primary model used to assess patient satisfaction was SERVQUAL. The developers of SERVQUAL suggested that it can be adapted or supplemented to fit the required characteristics or specific research needs. Lin, Xirasagar and Laditka (2004) used SERVQUAL with related additional questions concerning future visits and demographic information which differed substantially from the original format. Reynoso and Moores (1995) argued for more generic SERVQUAL dimensions and



being flexible in adding other factors which are apt for the particular situation. In this research, the Hospital Service Quality construct was measured using 20 items modified from the original questionnaire developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) based on a 5-point response scale, to suit the context of the study. The technical, functional and corporate image qualities (Cheng, Yang & Chiang, 2003) of hospitals and various indicators proposed by Pai and Chary (2012) and many other researchers (Darwazeh, 2011; Kang et al., 2014; Mosadeghrad, 2012) were included in this study, adapting the SERVQUAL model. Various dimensions of patient satisfaction have been identified, ranging from medical care to interpersonal communication. The five dimensions of the SERVQUAL model are:

1) Tangibles: Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of hospital staff (physical facilities such as construction, standard facilities, nursing rooms, laboratory services, etc that are appealing to patients)

2) Reliability: Ability to deliver accurate and dependable service 3) Responsiveness: Willingness to help patients and provide prompt service 4) Assurance: Knowledge and courtesy of hospital staff and their ability to inspire

trust and confidence (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). 5) Empathy: Caring and individualised attention that the firm provides to its

patients (including access, communication, understanding the patient).

The above indicate some of the vital elements required for the destination and also as potential performance measures for progress towards planned goals. Trends generated through these indicators are reported as results.

H5: Level of perceived Hospital Service Quality influences the Level of Experience

Privileges Received

Aldaqal, Alghamdi, AlTurki, Eldeek and Kensarah (2012) stated that patient satisfaction is important to the health care industry as it is associated with direct financial benefits and loyalty of the service provider and provides an opportunity to identify areas of strength and weaknesses thus contributing to service quality improvement. Providing privileges is an effective way to increase patient retention levels and thereby, profits. It should be noted that getting a new patient is tougher than retaining a current patient. Giving privileges is a way of creating loyalty, and satisfied patients will become the best advocates of the destination. In addition, it saves marketing costs substantially as satisfied patients will recommend the destination to others much more efficiently than any promotional campaign. Privileges can be associated with hospitality, personal comforts, patient education, value-added products/service and a feeling of personal care. This construct was studied using a single nominal variable.

H6: Privileges received by medical tourists influences their Level of Experience


86 Sindhu Joseph


Verlinde, De Laender, De Maesschalck, Deveugele, and Willems (2012) pointed out that patient centeredness was complex and may be influenced by a physician’s communication style, patient’s characteristics, demographic features, patient’s communication, empowerment of patients, and trust. Patterson and Cicic (1995) argued that high customization and interpersonal skills are crucial. Cooper et al., (2012) stressed that knowledge-based service industries like medical tourism must meet the fundamentals of patient centeredness through rapport and patient satisfaction. When patients are comfortable with hospital employees, then, patients will be more inclined to communicate efficiently, and this will indirectly lead to patient compliance and speed up the recovery process (Yeoh, Othman & Ahmad, 2013). In this study, this construct included three nominal variables such as Answering the Questions of Medical Tourists, Communication of Diagnostic Information and Consultation Time.

H8: Level of Patient Centeredness influences Medical Quality Satisfaction


Satisfaction level is one of the key aspects of tourism research because it is dominant in any travel destination and activity and often has a big effect on the sustainability of the destination or service (Banyai, 2012). The satisfaction factor is derived from a combination of many factors such as service quality, supporting infrastructure and legislative matters as well as influenced by many other determinants. “Each destination may have different features, and therefore, tourists satisfied with one destination may differ from those satisfied with other destinations” (Andriotis, Agiomirgianakis & Mihiotis, 2008, p.223). According to Bosque & Martin (2008), there are 18 cognitive images that will affect customer satisfaction in a tourist destination: (1) variety of fauna and flora (may differ based on destination type), (2) beautiful landscape, (3) beautiful natural park, (4) pleasant weather, (5) attractive beaches, (6) hospitable people, (7) opportunity for adventure, (8) peaceful place, (9) place to rest, (10) cultural attractions, (11) interesting cultural activities, (12) nice to learn about local custom, (13) rich and varied gastronomy, (14) easy accessibility, (15) shopping facilities, (16) quality accommodation, (17) good value for money, and (18) safe place.

Patient Satisfaction

There are many studies on the various dimensions of patient satisfaction in the international and Indian context (Banyai, 2012; Cheng et al., 2003; Delgoshaei, Ravaghi, & Abolhassani, 2012; Grewal, Das, & Kishore, 2012; Lin et al., 2004; Parasuraman et al., 1985; Powell, 2001; Kavitha, 2012; Saxena, 2009; Solayappan,



Jayakrishnan, & Velmani, 2011; Verlinde et al., 2012). Linder-Pelz (1982) defined patient satisfaction as “an individual's positive evaluation of distinct dimensions of health care" (p. 14). "Patient satisfaction is the cognitive assessment of service received by patients in comparison with the patients' subjective standard, from past experiences or ideas that have been communicated to the patients" (Yeoh et al., 2013, p. 2). Patient's health status and severity of illness, patient ratings on hospitals' technical competence and physicians' interpersonal skills, patient age, gender and education, etc. are all good predictors of patient satisfaction and patient recommendation of a hospital (Cheng et al., 2003). The relationship between health care providers and patients (i.e. interpersonal skill) has been found to be the greatest influential factor for patient satisfaction (Hall & Dornan and Cleary & McNeil, as cited in Cheng et al., 2003). Linder-Pelz (1982) identified 10 elements that can be used to determine patient satisfaction: 1. accessibility/convenience; 2. availability of resources; 3. continuity of care; 4. efficacy/outcomes of care; 5. finances; 6. humaneness; 7. information gathering; 8. information giving; 9. pleasantness of surroundings; 10. quality/competence. A well-designed patient satisfaction survey will incorporate these elements as they are related to the overall patient experience (Powell, 2001).

In line with previous studies, the Medical Quality Satisfaction construct was measured in a nominal scale using three variables, namely, Satisfaction with the Treatment Received, Recommendation of Hospital and Intention to Revisit the Hospital. This research used the definition of Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome as higher levels of satisfaction and meaningful experience delivered to medical tourists by ensuring high quality care, tourism attractions and supporting services, which will eventually guarantee its long-term sustainability in the global market. Three nominal variables, Overall Satisfaction, Recommendation of Kerala MT and Intention to Revisit Kerala, were used to measure the Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome construct.

Level of Experience

Ritchie and Hudson (2009) highlighted that it is important to explore the precise nature and different kinds of tourism experience. Panjakakornsak (2008) found that patient satisfaction reflects the level of experience. When people’s expectations are met or exceeded, satisfaction is the result. An excellent patient and consumer experience is a must for sustaining any destination. As such for this research, the Level of Experience of medical tourists was measured using the ordinal scale at three levels (3=Better than Expected, 2= Met Expectations and 1= Worse than Expected).

H9: Medical Quality Satisfaction influences Level of Experience.H10: Medical Quality Satisfaction enhances Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome.H11: Level of Experience enhances Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome.


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Measurement Items

Table 1. Measurement items

Constructs Measurement Items (variables)

Researcher(s)

Medical Factors Quality Care

Cheaper Treatment

Qualification of doctors and staff

Waiting time-procedures

Smith & Forgione, 2007; Heung et al., 2010; Ye et al., 2011; Kang et al., 2012.

Jotikasthira, 2010; Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Kang et al., 2012; Pollard, 2012; Hasin et al., 2001; Cormany & Baloglu, 2011

Smith & Forgione, 2007; Connell, 2006, Kang et. al.,2012; Heung et. al., 2010; Ye et. al., 2011.

Heung et al., 2010; Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Grewal et al., 2012.


Cheng et al, 2003; Gronroos, 1994; Heung et al., 2010; Lam, 1997; Lunt & Carrera,2010; Mosadeghrad, 2012; Pai & Chary, 2012; Parasuraman et al., 1994;Saxena, 2009; Rad et al, 2010.

Destination Factors

Infrastructure

Ethnic food

Arrangements – Accomplice

Connectivity

Safety and Security

Kang et al., 2012; Pollard, 2012.

Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Pollard, 2012; Tomes & Ng,1995; Kim & Prideaux, 2005; Bosque & Martin, 2008.

Cormany & Baloglu, 2011; Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Connell, 2006; Kang et. al.,2012.

Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Pollard, 2012.

Bosque & Martin, 2008; Grewal, 2012; Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Jotikasthira, 2010; Sirakaya, Jamal & Choi, 1997; Pollard, 2012.

Privileges Received

Aldaqal, et al.,2012.

Tourism Factors Variety of Tourist Attractions

Attractive natural Environment

Connell, 2006; Kim & Prideaux, 2005; Dwyer & Kim, 2003; Bosque & Martin, 2008;Kang et al.,2012.

Bosque & Martin, 2008; Cormany & Baloglu, 2011; Pollard, 2012; Lunt et. al., 2010.



Table 1 (con’t)

Physical Integrity Traffic Congestion

Noise Level

Hygiene/ cleanliness

Bosque & Martin, 2008; Dwyer & Kim, 2003; UNWTO, 2004.

Jotikasthira, 2010; Tomes & Ng, 1995.

Kang et al., 2012, Ministry of Tourism, 2011; Hasin et al. 2001; Tomes & Ng, 1995.


Communication of Diagnostic information

Answering questions

Consultation Time

Patterson & Cicic, 1995; Verlinde et al., 2012; Cooper et al., 2012; Grewal, 2012; Tomes & Ng,1995.

Patterson & Cicic, 1995; Verlinde et al., 2012; Grewal, 2012.

Grewal, 2012; Kaspar, 2015; Pollard, 2012; Yeoh et al; 2013; Tomes & Ng,1995.

Medical Quality Satisfaction

Overall Medical Satisfaction

Recommendation of the Hospital

Intention to Revisit Hospital

Ferguson, Paulin, & Bergeron, 2010, Grewal, 2012; UNWTO, 2004; Lertwannawit & Gulid, 2011.

Angelova & Zekiri, 2011; Banyai, 2012; Oppermann, 1998; Oppermann, 2000; UNWTO, 2004.

Angelova & Zekiri, 2011; UNWTO, 2004

Level of Experience

Angelova & Zekiri, 2011; Ziemba, 2015; UNWTO, 2004; Panjakakornsak, 2008; Todd, 2015; Lunt et al., 2010.


Overall Satisfaction

Intention to Revisit Kerala

Recommendation of Kerala MT

Ferguson et al., 2010; Grewal, 2012; UNWTO, 2004

Angelova & Zekiri, 2011; Banyai, 2012; UNWTO, 2004

Angelova & Zekiri, 2011; Oppermann, 1998; Oppermann, 2000; UNWTO, 2004

Results and Discussion

A test on structural relationships was conducted using AMOS to assess the data-model fit and the hypothesised relationships between theoretical constructs. All measures of fit for the structural model indicate sound fit statistics. The overall test, Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) were used to analyse the model fit.


90 Sindhu Joseph

Table 2. Measurement Model Fit Indices

Fit Indices Value

Chi Square Statistics

Degree of Freedom

CMIN/DF

P. Value

RMSEA

CFI

TLI

1008.717

361

2.794

Significant (P < .001)

0.068

0.938

0.921

Note: p < 0.01

Table 2 shows that the proposed measurement model is consistent with the data. Here, it has a Chi-square value of 1008.71, with 361 degrees of freedom and p-value of less than 0.001, which is significant. CMIN/DF is 2.79, which is within the necessary limits of 2 to 5. The lower value supports this model very well. The value of RMSEA and the absolute fit index is 0.068. This value is within the guideline of less than 0.08 for a model of this complexity and size. Thus, the RMSEA value supports this model very well. The CFI value of 0.938 is also within the required limit of 0.90. The TLI value is 0.921, which is also within the recommended guidelines of 0.90. Hence, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results suggest that the hypothesised model provides acceptable fit for the data. Based on the result of the path analysis, we conclude that the hypothesised model fits reasonably well in the collected data and the hypothesis about direct and indirect results is significantly supported (p <001). The measures provide a first indication of how well the proposed theory fits the data. The empirical findings, therefore, support that the constructs such as Medical Factors, Tourism Factors, Destination Factors, Patient Centeredness, Physical Integrity, Hospital Service Quality and Privileges Received are valid in the context of Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome. The results suggest that the model is viable.

As presented in Figure 2, Medical Factors, Patient Centeredness, Destination Factors, Tourism Factors, Physical Integrity, Hospital Service Quality and Medical Quality Satisfaction have a direct effect on Level of Experience. Medical Factors and Patient-Centeredness have an immediate impact on Medical Quality Satisfaction. Mediating constructs, such as Level of Experience and Medical Quality Satisfaction, have an immediate effect on Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome.

Consistent with previous findings (Mosadeghrad, 2014; Smith & Forgione, 2007), this study suggest that Medical Factors influence Level of Experience. Previous studies also indicate that service quality has a significant positive influence on patient trust



(Chang, Chen & Lan, 2013) and satisfaction with the provider (Kassim & Abdullah, 2008). It is important to pay more attention to health care service quality which can create true, competitive advantages over regional competitors in order to develop this industry (Rad et al., 2010). Patient Centeredness also influences Medical Quality Satisfaction which concurs with previous empirical study findings (Mosadeghrad, 2014; Yeoh et al., 2013). Patients lack the necessary expertise and skills to evaluate whether the delivered medical service was performed correctly or was even necessary (Newcomer, 1997) and hence, proper communication and adequate time allocation for clearing any doubt is inevitable for quality care. The study indicates that Medical Quality Satisfaction influences Level of Experience and this is consistent with Panjakajornsak’s findings (2008). Studies have shown that travel experiences influence destination image formation and revisit intention (Prathap, 2014). The current study also proves that Level of Experience enhances Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcome. Satisfaction denotes the intent to purchase again and the high profitability that the destination or service will be recommended to others (Choi & Chu, 2001; Kozak, 2001). Although the results show that Privileges Received has no direct effect on Level of Experience, the indirect effect is noticeable. As presented in Figure 2, Privileges Received correlates with Tourism Factors, Medical Factors, and Destination Factors, Medical Quality Satisfaction and Sustainable Medical Tourism Outcomes.

The model that evolved from this study looks slightly complex as it has many direct and indirect relationships. This is because medical tourism involves both detailed and

Figure 2. Sustainable Medical Tourism Model


Levelof

Experience

Privileges Received

Medical Quality

Satisfaction

Patient Centredness


Medical Factors

Destination Factors

Physical Integrity

Tourism Factors

Direct Relationship

Indirect Relationship


92 Sindhu Joseph

dynamic complexity as it comprises of several elements, including travel and related operations, health care and related operations, associations and government bodies, and more importantly, medical tourists. In being consistent with the system theories (Beeton, Horneman & Hardy, 1997; Leiper, 1981, 1990; Liu, 1994; Mill & Morrison, 1985), the medical tourism industry requires a systemic approach to destination development and management. Also, medical tourism can be directly affected by changes in the internal and external environments such as human, sociocultural, economic, political, legal, technological and physical aspects (Leiper, 1990). The medical tourism system is, therefore, a system within other systems, which affect its activities, and in turn, are affected by its presence (Liu, 1994). A medical tourism destination is the result of the amalgamation of all its parts, and therefore, its development necessitates all these elements to operate in harmony, providing a value-added integrated system (Liu, 1994). Hence, tourism and other destination aspects should also be considered vital in any destination where medical tourists are accompanied by others who are mere tourists. In concurring with the arguments of Katz & Kahn (1978), medical tourism is a social system, based on humans, with their attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, motivations, habits, and expectations. These are particularly pertinent as it involves patient preferences and a range of stakeholders, from tourism operators to regulators and the host community (Macchiavelli, 2001; Murphy, 1983).

The developed model only partially accepts the framework of Hart & Milstein (2003) as their structure contains only the overarching dimensions of efficiency and accountability, reputation, innovation, and growth aspects while pays no attention to fundamental components such as destination factors and management efforts. Further, the study also confirms the model “significant seven” developed by Pollard (2012) as it found that geographical and cultural proximity, cost, infrastructure, and destination features (climate, environment, and tourism attractions, etc.) influence choices of medical tourism destinations.

Implications of the Study

This research is a pioneering and novel diagnostic tool which identifies many issues, concerns and challenges of medical tourism. The outcome of this study will assist stakeholders of the industry including Kerala’s medical tourism facilitators, health care providers and government entities in promoting the state as an international medical tourism destination. It will also help the relevant authorities in their policy making. In addition, it will also help to analyse the productivity and efficiency of managerial actions to make medical tourism a sustainable activity for enhanced functional efficiency, destination competitiveness and quality improvement. By doing so, the medical tourism product can achieve high standards, and this destination will have an extended sustainable development choice. This model can be applied to any other destination by adjusting the relevant variables.



Conclusion

The overarching framework implies that Kerala medical tourism is on a sustainable path. However, the providers are obliged to adopt a professional and hospitable approach which calls for the effectiveness and efficacy of health service outcomes while considering patients' concerns and interests (Ettinger, 1998). The diamond theory propounded by Porter (1990) argues that four national attributes, that is, factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and sound strategies determine the competitive advantage of a nation. The role of the government in medical tourism, as in “Porters Diamond Model” is to develop the “diamond,” acting as “catalyst and challenge” to encourage – or even push – hospitals to raise their objectives and move to higher levels of performance. An integrated approach from both the tourism and medical sectors is essential for the sustainable development of this industry. Sustainable management practices that maximise benefits and minimise threats while simultaneously permitting growth should be encouraged. It will enable the industry to remain competitive in the global market with high standards of quality care, medical regulations, interorganizational interaction between stakeholders, leisure experience, etc.


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Profiles of Gastronomic Tourists Visiting Malacca and George Town, World Heritage Site(s) of Malaysia


ISSN 2289-1471

Research Paper


Leong Quee-Ling, Muhammad Shahrim Ab. Karim, Khairil Wahidin Awang and Ainul Zakiah Abu Bakar Universiti Putra Malaysia


Abstract: Gastronomy is a prominent tourism product in Malaysia that is becoming an attraction to international tourists. Within the tourism industry in Malaysia, gastronomy products are an indisputable revenue generator for the country since tourists eat out all the time when vacationing. Dining is among the top three expenses of international tourists in Malaysia after accommodation and shopping. This seems to suggest that gastronomy can be potentially marketed as one of the central focus of Malaysia’s tourism. Many researchers have attempted to explore the importance of gastronomy on tourist’s behavior in destinations. However, there is a dearth of research regarding intensity of gastronomy affection among international tourists in Malaysia. The present study is an exploratory attempt to capture the underlying characteristics of the international tourist according to their degree of personal gastronomy affection. The purpose of this study is threefold. First, this study seeks to segment international tourists based on their intensity for gastronomy affection towards Malaysian food which was measured using three concepts (gastronomy involvement, gastronomy knowledge and prior gastronomy experience). Second, this study explores the demographics and travel characteristics of each tourist segment. Third, this study examines whether there are any differences in the level of gastronomy affection between Malacca and George Town’s international tourists. The findings are especially important to destination marketers and food service operators to gain a better understanding of the nature of potential customers within the gastronomic tourism context in these World Heritage Sites of Malaysia.

Keywords: Gastronomic tourism, George Town, Malaysian gastronomy, Malacca, typology of gastronomy tourists, World Heritage Site

Suggested citation: Leong, Q-L, Ab. Karim, M.S., Awang, K.W. & Abu Bakar, A.Z. (2017). Profiles of gastronomic tourists visiting Malacca and George Town, World Heritage Site(s) of Malaysia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 6(1), 99-120.

Correspondence: Muhammad Shahrim Ab. Karim, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Email: [email protected]


100 Leong Quee-Ling, Muhammad Shahrim Ab. Karim, Khairil Wahidin Awang and Ainul Zakiah Abu Bakar

Introduction

Of late, gastronomic tourism has been perceived as a developing business sector within the tourism industry. Experiencing the local gastronomy at a destination is increasingly becoming an upbeat tourism activity, as seen by the large number of tourists returning to famous spots to savor local food. In Malaysia, gastronomy is the third biggest expense for international tourists after accommodation and shopping; international tourists’ expenditure on food and beverage amounted to MYR10.4 billion in 2014 (Dzaenis, 2015). Amongst the states in Malaysia, Malacca and Penang are two prominent ones that have hosted approximately 20% of the annual international tourist arrivals in Malaysia since 2008 (Tourism Malaysia, 2016). Malacca and Penang are distinctly identified as tourism destinations as their capital cities, Malacca and George Town, respectively, were jointly recognized as World Heritage Sites (WHS) on 7th July 2008 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the title “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca” (UNESCO, 2008).

As settlements to various colonial powers in the past, Malacca and Penang became melting pots of Portuguese, Dutch, British and Asians flavors which turned the local fare into a charm to many (Khoo & Badarulzaman, 2014). Building on the reputation as a World Heritage Site, Penang was nominated as one of “Asia's 10 greatest street food cities” in 2013 by CNN Travel (Goldberg, 2013) and subsequently, ranked first place as “world’s foodie destination 2014” by Lonely Planet (Barton, 2014). In addition, Penang’s assam laksa was placed 7th in CNN’s “World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods in 2011” (CNN, 2011). This comes to show that local gastronomy in the WHS of Malaysia has the potential to draw international tourists’ interest in visiting the country. This furthermore lends support to the notion that the gastronomic tourism sector deserves more attention for further research in order to understand the dynamics of the sector in contributing to the wellbeing of the Malaysian tourism.

According to World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 2012), gastronomic tourism is a sunrise market around the world. It is even more critical for destination marketers and food service providers to understand the characteristics of potential gastronomy tourists to enable them to serve this target market. Tourists are in fact, individuals with non-identical behavior undertaking trips away from home (Swarbrooke & Horner, 2007). This concept applies to tourists’ affection towards the local gastronomy of destinations as well. Within a group of tourists who may have identified themselves as foodies, each individual’s connotation of gastronomy and their affection towards experiencing unfamiliar gastronomy may differ dependent on family upbringing and exposure to unfamiliar food (Mitchell & Hall, 2003). Hence, this forms a gamut of tourists with varying degrees of gastronomy affection intensity (Guan & Jones, 2015).



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In the past decade, many academic researchers have documented the connection between gastronomy and tourism in Malaysia (e.g. Ab. Karim, Chua, & Salleh, 2009; Leong, Ab. Karim, Othman, Mohd Adzahan & Ramachandran, 2010; Chi, Chua, Othman, & Ab. Karim, 2013; Hendijani, Ng, & Boo, 2013). The capital cities of Malacca and Penang – Melaka and George Town – respectively, received much attention from academic scholars (e.g. Wahid, 2009; Jusoh, Masron, A. Hamid & Shahrin, 2013; Amir, Mohamed Osman, Bachok & Ibrahim, 2014; Khoo & Badarulzaman, 2014). However, thus far, none of the studies have taken the effort to explore the characteristics of tourists based on their degree of affection towards gastronomy-related activities in Malaysia. The level of tourist affection and acceptance towards local gastronomy is imperative to destination marketers as the information might serve as an indicator to denote the economic potential of local gastronomy among international tourists. As such, this study seeks to: - (1) segment international tourists according to their gastronomy affection intensity towards Malaysian gastronomy; (2) explore the demographics and travel characteristics of each tourist segment; and (3) examine the differences in the level of gastronomy affection between Malacca and George Town’s international tourists.

Literature Review

Food Tourism

Hall and Mitchell (2006, p. 137) defined food tourism as “visitation to primary and secondary food producers, food festivals, restaurants and specific locations for which food tasting and/or experiencing the attributes of specialist food production regions are the primary motivating factors for travel”. Under the food tourism umbrella, there are gastronomic tourism and wine tourism, which indicates the interest to visit a particular destination for its specific gastronomy or wine products (Hall & Mitchell, 2006). Gastronomic tourism focuses solely on the reflexive analysis of what have been eaten in trips away from home (e.g. experiencing street food and visitation to local specialty restaurants). Meanwhile, wine tourism is directed exclusively towards wine-related tourism products (e.g. visitation to vineyards and participating in wine-tasting sessions). The literature on both gastronomic tourism and wine tourism were reviewed in order to gain insights on the approaches used to segment tourists. However, it is the gastronomic tourism perspective that this study will concentrate on.

Profiles of the Gastronomy and Wine Tourists

Within the spectrum of gastronomy tourists, scholars attempted to categorize tourists based on demographic and psychographic profiles in order to better understand the behavior of the gastronomy tourist market (Mitchell & Hall, 2003). Due to the fast-changing pattern of demographics within the travel market, sociodemographic-based



research are increasingly being used in tourism studies to profile tourists’ perceptions based on gender, age, education level, household/personal annual income, occupation, marital status and travel characteristics such as travel partner (Woodside & Lysonski, 1989; Stabler, 1990; Um & Crompton, 1990; Thornton, Shaw, & Williams, 1997; Baloglu & McCleary, 1999; Hsu, 2000; Kang & Hsu, 2005; Chi, 2011). These factors are anticipated to influence the perceptions of products, services and destinations. In a market research by Lang Research (2001) in Canada and the USA, tourists were segmented based on their age, education, marital status and income levels. The research found that tourists who were highly interested in gastronomy and wine tourism were generally more affluent, educated and particularly, couples travelling without children. Four other studies that were conducted in recent years on gastronomy tourists (Kim, Kim & Goh, 2011; Robinson & Getz, 2012; Chen & Huang, 2016) and wine tourists (Yuan, Morrison, Cai & Linton, 2008) concurred with Lang Research (2001), in which tourists who are gastronomy or wine enthusiasts are generally better educated with higher annual income. On the other hand, Thornton et al. (1997) and Kang and Hsu (2005) revealed that travel partner(s) such as spouse and children is also a factor that influences vacation behavior. Therefore, utilizing demographics to classify and define light, medium and high prospective customers or spenders enables destination marketers and academics to make sense of the target market for budget, mid-range and luxury business operations.

While the demographic segmentation of gastronomy tourists may provide a good perspective, it however, merely offers a very shallow and basic overview of the gastronomy tourist market (Mitchell & Hall, 2003). Meanwhile, psychographic data that is more dynamic in explaining tourist profiles cannot be captured by demographics such as interests, perceptions, involvement, knowledge, values, past exposure, motives and lifestyles (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2009). Charters and Ali-Knight (2002) conducted a study in Australia to categorise wine tourists into four groups based on tourist knowledge and interest level towards wine-related tourism: (1) “hangers-on” are tourists who do not have any apparent interest or knowledge about wine but visited a winery due to the decision of a larger group; (2) “wine novices” are tourists with limited knowledge about wine but are curious to visit vineyards; (3) “wine interested” are tourists who are enthusiastic about learning how to taste wines; and (4) “wine lovers” are tourists who have in-depth knowledge and interest in wine compared to other categories. “Wine lovers” are more inclined to participate in wine courses and winery visitation as knowledge enhancement is the key factor that motivates this group of tourist to partake in wine-related activities. In addition, individuals who are more actively involved in gastronomy or wine-related activities at a destination are more likely to return to the same destination in the near future (Mitchell & Hall, 2003).

From the gastronomic tourism perspective, Mitchell and Hall (2003) identified four categories based on the spectrum of interest in gastronomy-related activities and tourist food inclinations (neophiles or neophobes). Tourists who are neophiles are more



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adventurous in terms of their dining behavior, meanwhile, neophobe tourists are frightened of trying non-common food (Cohen & Avieli, 2004). The four categories of gastronomy tourists identified are:- (1) “gastronomes”; (2) “indigenous foodies”; (3) “tourist foodies” and (4) “familiar food tourists”. Gastronomes are neophiles who are highly interested in gastronomy. They are very interested in farmers’ markets and tend to visit cooking schools to increase their knowledge on gastronomy as well as enjoy classy and rustic cuisine. On the same note, indigenous foodies share relatively similar characteristics as gastronomes whereby both types of tourists associate gastronomy tourism with personal indulgence, exploration, and romance and relaxation. Nevertheless, indigenous foodies are less particular about the differences between farmers’ and public markets compared to gastronomes. Meanwhile, for neophobes, they comprise the tourist foodies and familiar food tourists. Both these neophobe categories of tourists are less interested and involved in food markets and view dining experiences during vacation as a means for socializing and learning besides being a supporting element. Tourist foodies are only interested in “tourist” menus in hotels or international chains restaurants, while familiar food tourists have the least interest and involvement in local gastronomy culture when travelling. They have no intention at all to experience unfamiliar eating habits and typically survive on familiar fast food or packaged tour food.

Along similar lines, Guan and Jones (2015) classified tourist preference of local gastronomy using dimensions of tourist involvement, tourist knowledge and tourist past experience of local gastronomy in China. The study revealed that tourists who are highly involved and knowledgeable in gastronomy would perceive the local gastronomy and associated destination more positively. In addition, they have the highest potential of revisiting the same destination for its unique and satisfying gastronomy experiences. However, the study also found that past experience is not a valid classifier of tourist preference of local gastronomy although within the literature on tourist food consumption, past experience has been acknowledged to be significantly associated with a person’s food preference as familiarity increases with repeated exposure. Ryu and Jang (2006) in their study incorporated the past experience factor into their theory of reasoned action model to understand tourists’ intention to consume local gastronomy. The authors found that tourists with higher exposure of local gastronomy would perceive the local gastronomy more favorably and have stronger inclinations to consume local gastronomy. In addition, Mak, Lumbers Eves and Chang (2012) also showed that past exposure can affect tourists’ food consumption intentions whereby tourists with favorable and higher amount of past experience with a particular gastronomy, are more likely to repeat the act of consuming unfamiliar gastronomy in a destination.

Gastronomy Affection Intensity

Every individual’s fondness towards savoring unfamiliar food while travelling is different (Guan & Jones, 2015). Previous studies have shown that variation among



tourists in terms of their gastronomy affection or preference forms a continuum of tourist with different behaviors and characteristics (Charters & Ali-Knight, 2002; Mitchell & Hall, 2003; Guan & Jones, 2015). These studies distinguished tourists who are passionate about gastronomy or wine-related tourism products during trips from mass tourists as gastronomy or wine tourists.

According to the specialization theory, an individual’s degree of interest towards a specific object, person or activity is influenced by three components – cognitive, affective and behavioral – that forms the human-object relationship (Little, 1976). The three dimensions are mutually related and they have the tendency to reciprocally strengthen an individual’s personal system towards an activity of interest (Little, 1976; Trauer, 2006). According to McIntyre and Pigram (1992), the cognitive dimension is reflective of an individual’s knowledge about an activity engaged; the affective component deliberates the degree of interest and importance of an activity to an individual emotionally; while the behavioral dimension indicates an individual’s past experience in relation to the activity.

The concept of specialization has been applied to various studies to determine the range of tourists that exists within a leisure or tourism activity; for example, Kerstetter, Confer and Graefe (2001) explored and profiled the continuum of special interest tourists by applying the specialization concepts to heritage tourism in the United States. Kerstetter et al., (2001) established that indeed, there are “specialists” category within the heritage tourism context and significant differences were found in tourist satisfaction and past experiences between the low-, medium- and highly-specialized heritage tourists. Meanwhile, Trauer (2006) illustrated the variation among wine tourists by exemplifying that certain wine tourists are behaviorally (drinking wine), cognitively (learning about wine) and affectively (interested in wine-related activities) involved, but for some other tourists, they might be only cognitively and affectively involved but not behaviorally due to health reasons. Salim, Bahauddin and Mohamed (2013) on the other hand, assessed the connection between recreation specialization and divers’ underwater behavior in Perhentian Island, Malaysia. The authors found that the specialized divers’ were more attentive to intolerable underwater behavior compared to the less specialized divers.

The literature review indicate that tourists have been segmented in various ways to provide insights to destination marketers to better understand the characteristics of a specific market niche. However, very few studies have adapted the specialization concepts to underpin the inspection of tourists’ gastronomy affection intensity. In addition, none of the studies conducted in the setting of WHS of Malaysia thus far, have attempted to profile international tourists based on their gastronomy affection intensity. In light that WHS of Malaysia are sought for delectable gastronomy experiences, studies that look at effective segmentation of tourists to provide invaluable information to food service operators and destination marketers



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to maximize their operational gains are extremely important. Therefore, this study adopted the concepts of involvement, knowledge and prior experience to assess the dimensions of the specialization theory as suggested by McIntyre and Pigram (1992).

Research Method

Sampling Approach

A cross-sectional survey was conducted over the duration of one month in Malacca and George Town, Malaysia from mid-January to mid-February 2015. The present study was executed using a two-stage research sampling approach. In the first stage, the sample was collected using the catch-as-catch-can method by Blair (1983) in the streets of Malacca and Penang. Every next available person who passed by the researcher was approached with several screening questions to filter specific respondents in a continuous mode throughout a specific time frame. Only potential respondents who fulfilled the following criteria were recruited into this study’s sample: (1) must be an international tourist; (2) not a citizen or permanent resident in Malaysia; (3) have stayed in Malacca or Penang for at least 24 hours; (4) have tasted local food in the destination prior to the survey.

A total of 1200 questionnaires were collected, 68 were unusable, leaving 1132 valid responses. In order to reduce the bias imposed by Blair’s (1983) method, which is relative to non-random sampling, 75% of the total usable responses (1132) was randomly resampled using SPSS software (Zainudin, 2012). The justification to resample the total responses at 75% was based on the average response rate of the actual fieldwork which ranged from 70 to 80% throughout the week. The 75% resampling from the total responses resulted in 868 samples randomly drawn for analyses; whereby 442 samples were collected in Malacca and 426 were from George Town.

Survey Instrument

A self-completed questionnaire was administered as the instrument for data collection in this study. There were three constructs developed for the questionnaire which are gastronomy involvement, gastronomy knowledge, and prior gastronomy experience to assess tourists’ gastronomy affection intensity towards the local gastronomy in the WHS. All constructs were measured using the five-point Likert scale.

The concept of gastronomy affection intensity was measured using the constructs of involvement, knowledge and prior experience as suggested by past scholars (McIntyre & Pigram, 1992; Trauer, 2006; Guan & Jones, 2015). The measurement scales of Zaichkowsky (1985), Bell and Marshall (2003) and Huang, Chou and Lin (2010) were referenced to guide the development of the involvement construct. The knowledge dimension used five measurement items adapted from Guan and Jones (2015) for respondents to self-rate their gastronomy knowledge. Meanwhile, prior



gastronomy experience was assessed using four items adapted from the studies of Kivela and Crotts (2006) and Guan and Jones (2015). The five-point Likert scale for these dimensions ranged from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.

The survey instrument was pilot-tested with 160 international tourists at the actual survey locations (Malacca and George Town) in December, 2014. The Cronbach’s alpha statistic indicated that all the constructs had good internal consistency, whereby the reliability test result for the involvement construct was 0.84; knowledge construct was 0.85; and prior experience construct was 0.84.

Data Analysis

As mentioned in the literature review, past scholars (e.g. McIntyre & Pigram, 1992; Trauer, 2006; Guan & Jones, 2015) suggested that the factors of involvement, knowledge and prior experience are measures that can indicate the strength of an individual’s interest towards a subject matter. In this study, these factors were used to determine the intensity of tourists’ gastronomy affection. The scores attributed to each of the gastronomy affection intensity indicator were summated for each respondent and then transformed into z-scores to standardize the response scales of each indicator factor. Z-score was used because it allows samples within a distribution to be illustrated relatively for comparison (Kerstetter et al., 2001; Kim, Scott & Crompton, 1997; Kim, Kim & Ritchie, 2008).

Subsequent to standardizing the gastronomy affection intensify index scores, the respondents were divided into four evenly-sized groups corresponding to their respective z-score. The groups were labelled “gastronomy lovers”, “gastronomy passionate”, “gastronomy apprentice” and “hangers-on” with reference to the study of Charters and Ali-Knight (2002) on wine tourists and Mitchell and Hall (2003) on gastronomy tourists. Following the segmentation process, the level of involvement, knowledge, prior gastronomy experience, demographic and travel characteristics of the respondents in each respective segment was examined using the cross-tabulation procedure to further determine the characteristic of the tourists who constituted the different segments (Kerstetter et al., 2001). On the other hand, independent samples t-test was used to test the mean differences of gastronomy affection intensity, its underlying dimensions and measurement attributes between Malacca and George Town international tourists.

Findings

Segmentation based on Gastronomy Affection Intensity

Segmentation is an important marketing strategy utilized to segregate a target group of consumers into subsets that are deemed to have similar interests. A variable worthy of segmentation is one that can be correlated with important behaviors of consumers and



107

that is able to explain variations that exist within the target group (Wind & Bell, 2008). In this study, the international tourists were segmented into four groups based on their gastronomy affection level. The results reveal that roughly one third of the respondents were gastronomy lovers (32.7%) and half were gastronomy passionate (50.2%). 15.6% were categorized as gastronomy apprentice and a minority (1.5%) were found to be hangers-on. Based on the findings, it is deemed that on a general note, international tourists were passionate about the local gastronomy in the WHS of Malaysia, considering that more than 80% of the respondents were segmented into categories that reflect high gastronomy affections (gastronomy lovers and gastronomy passionate).

Table 1. Level of involvement, knowledge and prior experience towards Malaysian gastronomy across the respective gastronomy tourist segment

Segment Level of Gastronomy InvolvementLow

Involvement(%)

Moderate Involvement

(%)

High Involvement

(%)

Total(%)

Gastronomy loversGastronomy passionateGastronomy apprenticeHangers-on

––

11.992.3

1.833.077.07.7

98.267.011.1

–

100100100100

Segment Level of Gastronomy KnowledgeLimited

Knowledge(%)

Moderate Knowledge

(%)

High Knowledge

(%)

Total(%)


–14.755.676.9

32.070.243.023.1

68.015.11.5–

100100100100

Segment Perceptions of Prior Gastronomy ExperienceNot

Favorable(%)

Moderately Favorable

(%)

Highly Favorable

(%)

Total(%)


–1.110.446.2

3.535.671.946.2

96.563.317.87.7

100100100100

Note: Gastronomy lovers, N = 284 respondents; Gastronomy passionate, N = 436 respondents; Gastronomy apprentice, N = 135 respondents; Hangers-on, N = 13 respondents



Table 1 illustrates the cross-tabulation of gastronomy tourists and the sub-dimensions measuring their levels of gastronomy affection. In order to tabulate tourists’ gastronomy affection against their level of involvement, level of knowledge and perception of prior gastronomy experience, the summated score of each dimension (involvement, knowledge and prior experience) was transformed into the respective range of z-score. The z-score for the dimension of gastronomy involvement ranged from -4.09062 to 1.34330; gastronomy knowledge ranged from -2.42575 to 2.03845; and prior gastronomy experience ranged from -4.11797 to 1.31535. The z-score for each dimension were then divided equally into three groups indicating low, moderate and high levels.

The findings (Table 1) reveal that of the 284 gastronomy lovers, 98.2% were highly involved with the local gastronomy in the WHS. Meanwhile for gastronomy passionate (N = 436), 67% had high gastronomy involvement and 33% had moderate gastronomy involvement. The level of involvement among gastronomy apprentice (N = 135) spread across the groups, with a majority (77%) moderately involved in local gastronomy, 11.9% had limited involvement and 11.1% had high involvement. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the hangers-on (N = 13) had low gastronomy involvement (92.3%) and merely 7.7% were moderately involved with the local gastronomy. The findings are reasonably consistent with a past study (Mitchell & Hall, 2003) that suggest tourists who are affectionate about local gastronomy while travelling would have higher involvement compared to tourists who have little interest on food.

Similarly, there are three levels for tourists’ gastronomy knowledge: limited knowledge, moderate knowledge and high knowledge. Amongst the 284 gastronomy lovers, 68% self-rated themselves as highly knowledgeable about the local gastronomy in the WHS; while a minority of 32% indicated that they had moderate knowledge. Whereas in the gastronomy passionate segment, a majority (70.2%) claimed that they had moderate local gastronomy knowledge. About 15.1% of the gastronomy passionate was found to be clustered in the high knowledge group in contrast to 14.7% who had limited local gastronomy knowledge. As for the gastronomy apprentice segment, the findings in Table 1 show that the distribution of the respondents skewed towards the low knowledge category with a majority (55.6%) being categorized as having limited gastronomy knowledge, followed by 43% under the moderate knowledge category and a minute 1.5% were found in the high knowledge category. Correspondingly, the distribution of the hangers-on segment was found to be skewed towards the lower gastronomy knowledge category, with 76.9% in the limited knowledge category and 23.1% in the moderate knowledge category. The findings of this study reveal that the higher the level of tourists’ affection towards the local gastronomy, the higher the tendency to be more knowledgeable about the local gastronomy. The results are relatively consistent with Charters and Ali-Knight’s (2002) proposition in which tourists who are affectionate



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about the local gastronomy of a destination would usually be more knowledgeable about local food due to interest and curiosity.

Tourists’ perceptions towards their prior gastronomy experience were represented by three categories: not favorable, moderately favorable and highly favorable. Scholars have stated that favorable past gastronomy experience is an important factor that forms positive perceptions and hence contribute to tourist satisfaction and revisit intentions (Kivela & Crotts, 2006; Chi et al., 2013; Hendijani et al., 2013). The findings of this study reveal that tourists with higher levels of gastronomy affection were inclined to perceive their local gastronomy experience in the WHS more favorably than tourists with lower gastronomy affection levels. Among the gastronomy lovers, a majority (96.5%) perceived their local gastronomy experience as highly favorable. Similarly, a majority (63.3%) of the gastronomy passionate also reported that they had highly favorable experiences of savoring local gastronomy. On the contrary, a majority (71.9%) of the gastronomy apprentice group alleged that their local gastronomy experiences were only moderately favorable. As for the hangers-on segment which was represented by tourists who had the least affection towards gastronomy, the distribution of perceptions of prior gastronomy experience was skewed towards the less favorable categories (not favorable and moderately favorable, each was 46.2%). Surprisingly, a mere 7.7% among the hangers-on perceived their local gastronomy experience as highly favorable. This is a good indication that the local gastronomy is attractive even to tourists who generally have no special interest in the local gastronomy.

Profile of Tourists in the Respective Gastronomy Affection Segment

Table 2 tabulates the respondents’ demographics and trip characteristics according to the gastronomy segments in order to determine the characteristics of each segment. The findings of this study reveal that a higher percentage of females (55.6%) constituted the gastronomy lovers segment, while males made up the remaining 44.4%. About two-third (66.9%) of the gastronomy lovers were young adults ranging from 21-40 years old, while a minority (4.3%) were below 20 years old. Furthermore, of the total 284 gastronomy lovers, 70.9% had obtained tertiary education and 65.2% reported that they earned less than US$50,000 yearly. Europeans made up 56.3% of the gastronomy lovers’ segment, followed by tourists from Asia and the Pacific (25.7%) and a minority from Middle East (1.1%). A high percentage (35.6%) of the gastronomy lovers travelled as a couple, followed by 27.8% who travelled with friends or associates, 22.5% who chose to travel solo while a minority of 14.1% travelled with family. About 59.2% of the gastronomy lovers were first-time tourists visiting the destinations, while the remaining 40.8% have visited the destinations in the past. Almost 40% of them stayed at the destinations for 3-4 nights followed by approximately 36.3% who stayed for one or two nights and 13.4% who stayed more than one week. The majority (90.5%) of the gastronomy lovers visited the WHS



for holiday and more than half (54.4%) of them shared that their daily personal food expense was below MYR50. Approximately 35.7% responded that they used between MYR50 to MYR99.99 for their meals per day, while about 10% reported a higher amount which was MYR100 and above.

Table 2. Characteristics of each gastronomy tourist segment

Characteristic Gastronomy lovers (%)

Gastronomy passionate

(%)

Gastronomy apprentice

(%)

Hangers-on (%)

Gender– Male– Female

Age Group– 20 and below– 21-30– 31-40– 41-50– 51-60Above 60

Education Level– Below tertiary education – Tertiary education

Nationality based on Region– Africa– Americas– Asia and the Pacific– Europe– Middle East

Personal Annual Income– Below US$50,000– US$50,000 – US$100,000 – Above US$100,000

Travel Partner– Solo – Couple – Family – Friends or Associates

44.455.6

4.343.823.111.010.77.1

29.170.9

–16.925.756.31.1

65.223.910.9

22.535.614.127.8

51.148.9

6.946.018.511.18.88.8

28.871.2

1.414.025.957.31.4

71.519.68.8

24.322.713.339.7

60.040.0

9.646.717.011.17.48.1

33.366.7

1.59.623.763.71.5

66.727.26.1

23.720.710.445.2

69.230.8

8.341.725.0

–16.78.3

33.366.7

–16.716.766.7

–

77.822.2

–

61.5-

7.730.8



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Table 2 (con’t)

Past Visit Experience Prior to Trip– None– Once and above

Length of Stay– 1-2 night(s)– 3-4 nights– 5-6 nights– 7 nights– More than 7 nights

Visit Purpose– Holiday/pleasure– Business/meeting– Convention/exhibition– Visiting friends/relatives– Attending special event– Honeymoon/wedding trip– Others

Daily Personal Food Expenses– Under MYR50– MYR50 – MYR99.99– MYR100 – MYR149.99 – MYR150 – MYR199.99– MYR200 – MYR249.99 – MYR250 and above

59.240.8

36.339.88.81.813.4

90.52.8–

3.21.80.41.4

54.435.76.41.41.40.7

67.232.8

46.935.97.62.17.6

89.43.90.52.10.20.23.7

54.830.58.93.71.40.7

71.128.9

54.131.15.23.75.9

94.12.20.7–––

3.0

46.737.07.44.42.22.2

61.538.5

46.238.515.4

––

84.67.7––––

7.7

50.041.78.3–––

Note: Gastronomy lovers, N = 284 respondents; Gastronomy passionate, N = 436 respondents; Gastronomy apprentice, N = 135 respondents; Hangers-on, N = 13 respondents

The gastronomy passionate segment had relatively equal male (51.1%) and female (48.95%) respondents. Almost half of them (46%) were between the ages of 21-30, followed by 18.5% in the age group of 31-40. Most (71.2%) had attained tertiary education while the remainder (28.8%) had education below the tertiary level. Approximately 57.3% of the gastronomy passionate were Europeans. More than two-third (71.5%) reported that their personal annual income was below US$50,000. Almost 40% of the gastronomy passionate travelled with friends or associates, 24.3% travelled solo, 22.7% travelled as a couple and 13.3% with family members. Two-third (67.2%) of the gastronomy passionate had not visited



the WHS prior to the trip, while 32.8% had visited at least once in the past. A higher percentage (46.9%) of the gastronomy passionate stayed in the WHS for a shorter duration (one to two nights) compared to the gastronomy lovers. Similar to the gastronomy lovers segment, a majority (89.4%) of the gastronomy passionate visited the WHS for holiday/pleasure purpose. The distribution of daily personal expenses for meals for “gastronomy passionate” was similar to the distribution in the gastronomy lovers segment, whereby most spent less than MYR50 for food per day.

Of the 135 gastronomy apprentice, 60% were males and 40% were females. Similar to the gastronomy lovers and gastronomy passionate, a high percentage of the gastronomy apprentice were 21-30 years old (46.7%) followed by 17% of them aged between 31-40 years old. The gastronomy apprentices were well-educated with two-third (66.7%) of them having completed tertiary education. Approximately 66.7% had a personal annual income of below US$50,000. The findings seem to indicate that gastronomy apprentice preferred travelling with friends or associates (45.2%) or alone (23.7%). A majority (71.1%) of them had no prior visit experience to the WHS and more than half (54.1%) had a short stay of one to two nights in the destinations. More than 90% of the respondents in this segment went to the WHS for a holiday and approximately 46.7% spent under MYR50 for their daily meal expenditure.

Of the total respondents (868) surveyed in this study, hangers-on were only made up of a mere 13 international tourists. Of these, 70% were males and 30% females. Most of them (41.7%) were between 21-30 years old and had tertiary education (66.7%) with an annual personal earning below US$50,000. As for travel partner, the hangers-on, in contrast to other segments, preferred to travel solo (61.5%). About 30.8% travelled with friends or associates and a minority of 7.7% travelled with family. None of the hangers-on travelled as a couple. Approximately 61.5% of the hangers-on were first-time tourists in the WHS, while 38.5% were returning tourists. Most (46.2%) of the respondents in this segment spent a maximum of one or two nights at the destinations followed by 38.5% who stayed for three or four nights and a minority of 15.4% stayed longer (five to six nights). None of the hangers-on stayed longer than six nights at the destinations. Similar to other segments, a majority (84.6%) of the hangers-on went to the WHS for a holiday while the rest travelled to destinations for business or other purposes. None of the hangers-on spent MYR150 and above on food per day; defined as individuals with the least interest in gastronomy, this finding seems sensible.

Analysis of Tourists’ Gastronomy Affection Intensity by Locations

Independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare Malacca and George Town international tourists:- (1) mean scores of affection intensity towards the local gastronomy; (2) mean scores associated with the underlying dimensions (gastronomy



113

involvement, gastronomy knowledge and prior gastronomy experience); and (3) mean scores of the measurement attributes in each dimension. Table 3 shows the results of these tests. The findings show that the international tourists in George Town (M = 3.93, SD = 0.54) had significantly higher scores for local gastronomy affection than those in Malacca (M = 3.79; SD = 0.56), t (866) = 3.876, p = .000.

Table 3. Differences of gastronomy affection intensity between Malacca and George Town international tourists (n = Malacca: 442; George Town: 426)

Variable Malacca(M ± SD)

George Town(M ± SD)

t-value

Gastronomy Affection Intensity

Gastronomy InvolvementI am curious to know about local foodI am eager to try new or unfamiliar food hereI like to talk/reflect about the food I ate or am going to eatI wanted to know more about local food hereI would want to taste the famous local food hereI would ask the local residents for the famous local food hereThe food choices I made are very important throughout my stayI think or talk much about how the local food tastes

Gastronomy KnowledgeI have read about the local food before I travel hereI am aware of the local eating customsI know a lot about the local foodI know the local food that is popular/famous hereI know the locations to have popular/famous local food here

Prior Gastronomy ExperienceI enjoyed my dining experienceI had good experience with the food service providerI get to know more about the local culture through my dining experience here I felt that my trip experience is/was enhanced by tasting the local food

3.79 ± 0.56

4.12 ± 0.634.34 ± 0.774.31 ± 0.864.02 ± 0.91

4.19 ± 0.864.43 ± 0.764.06 ± 0.96

3.99 ± 0.92

3.64 ± 1.23

3.08 ± 0.883.21 ± 1.293.18 ± 1.022.79 ± 1.053.24 ± 1.112.96 ± 1.11

4.00 ± 0.714.12 ± 0.784.04 ± 0.813.88 ± 0.95

3.96 ± 0.95

3.93 ± 0.54

4.21 ± 0.614.49 ± 0.744.45 ± 0.754.08 ± 0.93

4.19 ± 0.884.50 ± 0.784.14 ± 0.91

4.01 ± 0.95

3.84 ± 1.19

3.27 ± 0.903.43 ± 1.333.24 ± 1.122.91 ± 1.013.60 ± 1.133.19 ± 1.14

4.19 ± 0.654.28 ± 0.734.19 ± 0.77 4.06 ± 0.84

4.22 ± 0.85

3.876**

2.147*2.962*2.518*0.990

-0.0761.3881.257

0.325

2.462*

3.283*2.434*0.8281.710

4.779**3.054*

4.043**3.186*2.874*2.943*

4.163**

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.001



A closer inspection of the results in regard to the three underlying dimensions of gastronomy affection intensity in Table 3 indicate that the international tourists in George Town had significantly higher levels of gastronomy involvement and gastronomy knowledge compared to those in Malacca (p < 0.05). The finding was similar to that of prior gastronomy experience, whereby the international tourists in George Town (M = 4.19, SD = 0.65) displayed significantly more favorable perceptions towards their prior gastronomy experience compared to those in Malacca (M = 4.00, SD = 0.71), t (4.043), p = 0.000. The smallest mean difference based on location (Malacca versus George Town) was found for gastronomy involvement (0.09). Meanwhile, the mean difference for Malacca and George Town in terms of gastronomy knowledge and prior gastronomy experience was 0.19, each.

To further scrutinize the data, the mean scores of each measurement item for the gastronomy affection dimensions between Malacca and George Town were compared. With respect to the gastronomy involvement dimension, the series of independent samples t-tests reveal that three items had significantly different mean scores between the two destinations. The international tourists in George Town had higher curiosity towards the local gastronomy and were more adventurous towards unfamiliar gastronomy compared to the international tourists in Malacca. In addition, the tourists in George Town tended to have higher engagement in gastronomy-related conversations compared to their counterparts in Malacca.

For the items in the gastronomy knowledge dimension, three had significantly different mean scores between the international tourists in Malacca and George Town. The results indicate that the international tourists in George Town were more likely to engage in self-learning about the local gastronomy in George Town compared to the tourists in Malacca. Hence, this might be consequent to their higher level of knowledge towards the popular local gastronomy and the locations to savor the gastronomy compared to those in Malacca. The largest mean difference between the groups was found for I know the local food that is popular/famous here (0.36), followed by I know the locations to have popular/famous local food here (0.23) and I have read about the local food before I travelled here (0.22).

As for the dimension of prior gastronomy experience, it was revealed that the international tourists in George Town had significantly better perceptions in all the areas related to their prior gastronomy experience compared to the tourists in Malacca (Table 3). Among the four measurement items under this factor, the mean difference for item I felt that my trip experience is/was enhanced by tasting the local food was the largest (0.26).

Discussions and Conclusion

The segmentation results of this study show that tourists can be placed in a continuum according to their personal gastronomy affection. By ascertaining and understanding



115

characteristics of the gastronomy lovers segment, marketers who plan and strategise marketing campaigns can cater and satisfy the needs of this group better. The segmentation result indicate that the gastronomy lovers segment is a concise group that is constituted by tourists who were highly interested and knowledgeable about local gastronomy in the WHS. Given that gastronomy lovers are highly affectionate about local gastronomy experience, they are generally more adventurous with their taste buds and would perceive favorably towards any novel gastronomy experience encountered. The demographic characteristics of the gastronomy lovers in this study was found to be consistent with the findings of past similar research (Lang Research, 2001; Robinson & Getz, 2012), in which females made up the higher percentage of the segment; most gastronomy lovers were young and highly educated and the majority of the gastronomy lovers travelled solo or as a couple.

The only finding on the demographics that is inconsistent with past research is respondents’ income. Previous studies showed that tourists who are very affectionate about gastronomy are generally from the more affluent income brackets. However, in this study, the findings reveal that the majority of the gastronomy lovers are made up of the lower income group. This implies a shift in the gastronomy tourists’ characteristic in terms of their financial status. Destination marketers should take note of the demographic changes while marketing local gastronomy, whereby their recommendations of dining places should include a wide range of food service establishments for varied choices. In addition, gastronomic tourism should not be just limited to dining in upscale restaurants and having lavish food service, but a more holistic experience that includes a more down-to-earth experience of learning and understanding local gastronomy culture through local food markets, street food and local small and medium scale restaurants.

Mitchell and Hall (2003) posited that tourists who are very passionate about local gastronomy while travelling, generally regarded gastronomic-related activities as a learning opportunity to enhance their knowledge about a destination. In order to enhance tourist gastronomic experiences, destination marketers should put more effort into promoting local gastronomy from historical and cultural perspectives, in addition to providing information on how a specific type of dish is prepared (e.g. ingredients used and preparation procedures). Moreover, it is also important for restaurants to list food ingredients used in their menus in order to give a general idea about a dish, as some tourists might have some particular health concerns, for example, allergic reactions towards nut-based or milk-based food products or cultural/religious restrictions (e.g. vegans and Muslims). With no information on food ingredients, certain tourists might be reluctant to try local gastronomy due to feelings of doubt and insecurity. Therefore, clear information about food ingredients would help to inform tourists when making their food choices and this favorable gastronomy experience will definitely contribute to their trip satisfaction which in



turn will enhance their destination loyalty behavior. In summary, the segmentation of international tourists based on their level of gastronomy affection and their demographics and trip characteristics can provide a fluid and dynamic perspective on the characteristics of the tourists who constitute the respective gastronomy tourist segments.

There is often a shortage of development funds in destinations. Hence, tourists’ input such as their preferences on types of tourism activities can suggest potential vital tourist attractions. This study showed differences in the level of gastronomy affection between international tourists in Malacca and George Town. The findings reveal that tourists in George Town have higher interest towards the local gastronomy compared to Malacca. While both Malacca and George Town may be similar in their gastronomy culture, the gastronomy attractiveness of the former city does not seem to be on the same notch as George Town. This finding seems to agree with the various recognitions that George Town has received for its delectable gastronomy (CNN, 2011; Goldberg, 2013; Barton, 2014). Food writer, James Oseland (as cited in “Penang endorsed…”, 2016) even claimed that Penang is a world-class food destination and harbor for good food. The differences of the level of gastronomy affection signifies the relative locus of gastronomy attractiveness between the respective cities. This suggests that tourism stakeholders in Malacca should strategize their promotional efforts if they are to venture into gastronomic tourism.

Furthermore, the study reveals that tourists’ gastronomy knowledge in both cities had relatively low mean scores (Malacca, M = 3.08; George Town, M = 3.27) compared to their gastronomy involvement and prior gastronomy experience. Therefore, it is suggested that more promotional materials in relation to the local gastronomy should be provided. It would be better if all the novel local food sites are compiled into food trails to help tourists who are keen on gastronomic tourism. In addition, these particular food trails also, to an extent, can educate tourists about the local culture of the destinations. Little (1976) stated that knowledge, involvement and past experience are three components that are mutually interrelated. Therefore, when tourists are knowledgeable about the local gastronomy, they tend to have higher gastronomy involvement and subsequently, this increases their exposure to local gastronomy experiences.

In this study, tourists’ gastronomy affection was assessed in relation to their gastronomy involvement, knowledge and prior experience within the setting of Malacca and George Town in Malaysia. Nevertheless, as the study was limited to Malacca and George Town only, the findings have only revealed the characteristics of potential gastronomy tourists with respect to the context of these destinations. It addition, the distinction between the tourists’ gastronomy affection intensity in both destinations have been presented to be pondered by the respective destination marketers. The sample of this study was limited to international tourists who were



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interviewed during a short time frame at the beginning of 2015. Although, Malaysia is a tropical country, without seasonality restrictions, Malacca and George Town’s peak periods are around July and August to commemorate the cities’ world heritage status inscription by UNESCO. International tourists who visit the WHS during the month-long celebrations may behave differently in relation to the local gastronomy. Thus, it is suggested that future studies at the WHS are conducted during the month-long celebrations and consequently, a comparison between the timing of survey can be made to determine the dissimilarities and similarities in tourists’ perceptions and behavior.

In conclusion, the findings of this study are imperative to destination marketers who promote gastronomic tourism. The study not only identified distinguishable segments of gastronomy tourists, but also their local gastronomy affection behavior. These findings can help destination marketers promote their gastronomy products better to distinctly identified segments of gastronomy tourists.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Paolo Mura and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and advice. This paper is part of a research funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme, Grant Number 5524437.


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APJIHT Vol. 6 No.1 March 2017

Reviewers

Appreciation is recorded to the following reviewers for the review of the articles published in APJIHT, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2017.• Karen Ho Kai Hui, Taylor’s University, Malaysia• Lai Mun Yee, Griffith University, Australia• Rokhshad Tavakoli, Taylor’s University, Malaysia• Gan Joo Ee, Taylor’s University, Malaysia• Asad Mohsin, University of Waikato, New Zealand• Joan C. Henderson, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore• Nawal Hanim Abdullah, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia• Philip Wong Pong Weng, Taylor’s University, Malaysia• Vikneswaran Nair Sehkaran, Taylor’s University, Malaysia• Elise Mognard, Taylor’s University, Malaysia & Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès,

France

122 Kashif Hussain, Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan & Jeetesh Kumar


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Editor-in-ChiefAsia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and TourismCentre for Research and Innovation in Tourism, Hospitality and Food Studies (CRiT)School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary ArtsTaylor’s University, Lakeside CampusNo. 1, Jalan Taylor’s, 47500 Subang Jay Selangor Darul Ehsan, MalaysiaEmail: [email protected]; www.taylors.edu.my/apjiht

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Chapter in an edited bookBuhalis, D. (2000). Trends in information technology and tourism. In W.C. Gartner & D.W. Lime

(Ed.), Trends in outdoor recreation, leisure and tourism (pp.47-61). Oxon: CAB International



Article in a journalKaratepe O.M. & Avci, T. (2002). Measuring service quality in the hotel industry: Evidence

from northern Cyprus. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 13(1), 19-32

Churchill, A.G. (1979). A paradigm for developing better measures of marketing constructs. Journal of Marketing Research, 16(1), 64-73

Article in a journal with DOIKling, K.C., Hyde, J.S., Showers, C.J. & Buswell, B.N. (1999). Gender differences in self-

esteem: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 470-500. Doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.125.4.470

Article in a weekly magazineHenry, W.A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today’s schools. Time, 135, 28-31

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Article in a print newspaperWrong, M. (2005, August 17). “Never gonna give you up,” says mayor. Toronto Sol, p. 4.

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in adulthood: A dimensional-spectrum conceptualization and its implications for DSM-V. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 537-550. Doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.114.4.537

Online article based on a print source, without DOI, without issue no. (e.g., a PDF of a print source from a database)Marlowe, P., Spade, S. & Chan, C. (2001). Detective work and the benefits of colour versus

black and white. Journal of Pointless Research, 11, 123-127.

Article in an Internet-only journalMcDonald, C. & Chenoweth, L. (2009). Leadership: A crucial ingredient in unstable times.

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Article with no author identified (the title moves to the “author” position)Britain launches new space agency. (2010, March 24). Retrieved on 15 March 2012 from

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Article with no author and no date identified (e.g., wiki article)Harry Porter. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on 15 March 2012 from http://en.wikipedia/w/

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collaborations in compliance with the objectives of the association.• Accept and raise grants, endowments and financial support from available legitimate

sources in support of its programmes and activities.• CollaboratewithotherrecognizedassociationsorbodieswithinoroutsideASEAN,which

subscribe to the associations objectives.

Objectives

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