The Experience Economy and Nostalgia in Food-Making Programs at Food Museums

Purpose: This study aims to investigate food-making programs offered by food museums, which are evolving into interactive spaces where visitors can perceive, experience, and engage with the exhibited food. The research exam-ines whether these food-making programs provide the entertainment, educational, escapist, and aesthetic experience elements proposed by Pine and Gilmore and how the combined experience influences the visitors' overall experience and behavior. Design/methodology/approach: This study was conducted at the Chuncheon Makguksu Experience Museum, lo-cated in Chuncheon City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, South Korea. In this study, a face-to-face offline survey method was applied. The survey took place between October 21, 2023, and January 3, 2024. For the final analysis, 273 questionnaires were utilized. To assess the four sub-dimensions of the Experience Economy, a second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was em-ployed to evaluate the relationships among experience, nostalgia, satisfaction, revisit intention, and word-of-mouth. Findings: The results showed that visitors experienced the four distinct dimensions of the Experience Economy, specifically the elements of entertainment, education, escapism, and esthetics. Also, the results from the SEM in-dicated that Experience Economy had a significant influence on satisfaction and nostalgia. Research limitations/implications: Participants in the food-making program experienced all four realms, suggesting that the Experience Economy theory can provide a “Sweet Spot” in food-making experience programs in food museums. Originality/value: This study extends the application scope of the Experience Economy by applying it to the experi-ence programs of a food museum.