Tourist behavioral loyalty: a comparison of first-time and repeat tourist in the UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) in Malaysia

The present study aims to investigate the structural relationships among food involvement, food knowledge, food experience, food image, destination image, overall satisfaction and behavioral loyalty across first-time and repeat tourist groups from the perspective of food tourism. The study also examines if differences exist in these variables across the two groups of tourists. The „catch-as-catch-can‟ technique was used to sample international tourist in Melaka and George Town, Malaysia. A total of 1200 questionnaires were collected on-site and 75% of the total was randomly picked using SPSS, resulting in 868 responses analyzed. The two-step approach of structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to accomplish the study objectives. The t-test analysis demonstrated that repeat tourists expressed significantly higher food knowledge and behavioral loyalty than first-time tourists. The SEM results revealed that the structural model differed across first-time and repeat customers. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of behavioral loyalty process across first-time and repeat tourists in the World Heritage Site (WHS) of Malaysia from the food perspective

A model of Malaysian food image components: towards building a sustainable tourism product

Food is becoming an important or a critical motivating factor for travellers when choosing a destination. Past scholars found that images could trigger imagination besides being a worthy basis for marketing strategy. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative to identify the food characteristics that form images prior to promoting and selling of the local food so as to draw more tourists to the country. Given the fact that a limited literature has been found on exploring food images in Malaysia, an attempt to conduct an exploratory research was therefore made. This study aimed at determining the definitions of Malaysian food, as well as the characteristics and types of food that best depict Malaysian gastronomy culture. Four focus groups were conducted, and these consisted of general public and practitioners from the food industry in Malaysia. The data were then verbatim transcribed and analysed using a coding system. The information obtained from this study is anticipated to assist marketers in developing a comprehensive strategic marketing plan that focuses on targeting food tourists. The paper ends with feasible enforcements suggested to assist catalysing growth in the food tourism industry in Malaysia

Relationships between Malaysian food image, tourist satisfaction and behavioural intention

This study aims to examine tourists’ satisfaction towards Malaysian food and their future behavioural intentions. A survey was carried out at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Malaysia. A sample of 392 tourists was obtained at the respective departure halls using systematic sampling approach. The findings indicated that Malaysia has the potential of being a food tourism destination as the country is viewed as a melting pot of cultural food variety at reasonable price. In addition, the results reveal that image has a direct effect on satisfaction and tourists’ satisfaction towards Malaysian food has a direct effect on behavioural intention. The findings, strengthens the notion of repeat visitation to experience the unique food culture. Practical and theoretical contributions are discussed, with future research suggested

Relationships between Malaysian food image, tourist satisfaction and behavioral intention.

This study aims to examine tourists’ satisfaction towards Malaysian food and their future behavioural intentions. A survey was carried out at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Malaysia. A sample of 392 tourists was obtained at the respective departure halls using systematic sampling approach. The findings indicated that Malaysia has the potential of being a food tourism destination as the country is viewed as a melting pot of cultural food variety at reasonable price. In addition, the results reveal that image has a direct effect on satisfaction and tourists’ satisfaction towards Malaysian food has a direct effect on behavioural intention. The findings, strengthens the notion of repeat visitation to experience the unique food culture. Practical and theoretical contributions are discussed, with future research suggested

Global perspective in tourism development: positioning Malaysia as a culinary destination

Malaysia offers a rich potpourri of delicious cuisines from diverse ethnicity. However, not much attention given to promote Malaysian food and the food seems to be ignored in the tourism industry. Furthermore, the concept of utilizing Malaysian food as a marketing means is tenuous. In this chapter, the image dimensions of Malaysian food and the effect of food images on tourists' satisfaction are discussed. Additionally, the influence of socio-demographic factors on tourists' perceived image is deliberated. Univariate and multivariate statistics are used to describe the obtained findings. The results of the study will significantly fill in the gap in the literature about Malaysian food's image and the potential of Malaysia being promoted as a food destination. Additionally, the results would indisputably provide better insight to the tourism and hospitality industry on the perceptions of international tourists towards Malaysian food and Malaysia as a food tourism destination

Perceptions and acceptance of ‘belacan’ in Malaysian dishes

This study aimed to analyze consumers’ perceptions and acceptance toward ‘belacan’. Results showed internal reliability of above 0.7 for sections analyzed. Factor analysis found two underlying factors in the section designed to examine consumers’ perceptions. The overall consumers’ perception had a positive and moderate correlation with their acceptance and was significant at .01. Results also showed that ‘belacan’ consumption level was relatively frequent and well accepted by all races in Malaysia. The findings of the study would be noteworthy to the fishery industry and the small and medium industry (SME) in Malaysia in meeting consumers’ needs