From a Tea Event to a Host Destination: Linking Motivation, Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty

From a Tea Event to a Host Destination: Linking Motivation, Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty

In a highly competitive tourism environment, capitalizing on culinary resources such as food and beverage-related events is an effective marketing tool that can enhance a destination image and tourist experience. This study adopted an integrated approach to understand culinary tourist behavior by examining the theoretical and empirical evidence of the relationship between motivation, image, satisfaction and loyalty. The concept of image, which provides for experiential perception and affect, was introduced and explored as a link between psychological constructs. Data from 543 subjects were collected at the Tea Cultural Festival in South Korea. The findings suggest that tourists’ positive perception of the event featuring local food and tea can have a positive influence on their decision-making process about holiday destinations. This study contributes to tourism marketing strategies and tourism planning as well as the theoretical development on culinary tourists’ behavior.