What is the role of demographics in tourists' attitudes towards foods?

Abstract

This study examined the demographic factors affecting food involvement and food awareness of tourists. Data were collected from potential Chinese tourists (n = 580) via questionnaire using a purposive sampling strategy and analyzed with a t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that gender had a significant effect on food involvement: female respondents had a higher tendency to become culinary tourists and had higher food involvement than male respondents. Education also proved to be an important determinant, though surprisingly those participants of lower education had higher levels of food awareness than those of higher education. Our findings revealed that even demographic factors (age, gender, and education) heavily influenced interactions with ethnic and local foods and food consumption. This study offers some theoretical and practical implications for foodservice business and DMOs where culinary resources are heavily linked to tourism activities.