TITLE:
The Behavioral Intention of Tourists toward Local Foods: An Applied Research on the Local Foods Served in Egyptian Siwa Oasis
AUTHORS:
Mohamed S. Ghanem
KEYWORDS:
Food Heritage, Local Food, Tourists’ Behavioral Intention and Siwa Oasis Destination
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.12 No.6,
September
23,
2019
ABSTRACT: Local food linked to every tourist destination in Egypt represents a cultural image of this destination and reflects many of its heritage dimensions. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of tourists’ satisfaction of local food experiences and their behavioral intention related to Siwa oasis’ local foods as an approach to provide an integrated framework of international promotional plan of Siwa local food. A field survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to 62 tourists who are interested in Siwa Oasis. While the results showed no impact of good memorable local food experience in hosting destination on respondents’ behavior intentions to share their experiences to motivate others to try local food, other results showed statistically significant impact of such good memorable on respondents’ behavior intentions to use the same food items and cooking styles in their homes, to search the same food items in their home countries, to dine in restaurants that serve these items and to return again to the destination to retry the same local food. The research verifies the major opportunities of Siwa oasis local cuisine. These opportunities are analyzed carefully to provide an integrated framework of international promotional plan of Siwa local food.