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PurposeA multidimensional scale was developed to measure the cuteness experience a destination can offer. In doing so, this paper attempts to explore the implications of the cuteness aesthetics for destination marketing.Design/methodology/approachThe procedure of scale development was followed. A survey was administered to a college student sample. The scale of cuteness experience was validated. A four-point scale turned out to be effective in terms of measurement.FindingsThe results show that cuteness experience of a destination consists of five dimensions: smallness, irregularity, roundness, lightness and creativity.Research limitations/implicationsThe cuteness attributes have significant implications for promoting destinations to the East Asian markets, which have seen the rise of the cute culture in recent decades.Originality/valueThis study identified a unique selling point of destinations, namely, cuteness as a destination attribute. The study results also contribute to understanding of destination personality by drawing attention to the childlike personality trait: cuteness.

Destination food has been increasingly appealing to tourists within adjacent markets. This trend has been widely recognised by destination marketers; however, scholars have paid limited attention to tourists’ psychological and behavioural responses to destination food. Taking Shunde as the research site, using a questionnaire-based survey method equipped with the techniques of measurement modelling, path analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis, this study explores how tourists’ food involvement affects their place attachment and destination loyalty, as well as the differentiation of tourists with different lifestyles. The results show that food involvement significantly affects place attachment and destination loyalty. These relationships are differentiated by tourists’ lifestyles. This study contributes to the psychological research of tourist behaviours and provides insights into destination marketing in the context of food tourism.