The Evaluation of Rural Outdoor Dining Environment from Consumer Perspective

Abstract

The quality of the environment should be measured by the satisfaction of the public and guided by the issues of public concern. With the development of the internet, social media as the main platform for people to exchange information has become a data source for planning and management analysis. Nowadays, the rural catering industry is becoming increasingly competitive, especially after the pandemic. How to further enhance the competitiveness of the rural catering industry has become a hot topic in the industry. From the perspective of consumers, we explored consumers’ preferences in a rural outdoor dining environment through social media data. The research analyzed the social media data through manual collection and object detection, divided the landscape of the rural outdoor dining environment into eight categories with 35 landscape elements, and then used BP (Back Propagation) neural network nonlinear fitting and least square linear fitting to analyze the 11,410 effective review pictures from eight rural restaurants’ social media comments in Chengdu. We derived the degree of consumer preference for the landscape quality of the rural outdoor dining environment and analyzed the differences in preference among three different groups (regular customers, customers with children, and customers with the elderly). The study found that agricultural resources are an important factor in the competitiveness of rural restaurant environments; that children’s emotions when using activity facilities can positively influence consumers’ dining experiences; that safety and hygiene environment are important factors influencing the decisions of parent–child dining; and that older people are more interested in outdoor nature, etc. The research results provide suggestions and knowledge for rural restaurant managers and designers through human-oriented needs from the perspective of consumers, and clarify the preferences and expectations of different consumer groups for rural restaurant landscapes while achieving the goal of rural landscape protection.

Application of the New Importance–Performance Analysis Method to Explore the Strategies of Rural Outdoor Dining Experiences in Taiwan

“…According to multiple studies, the traditional rural landscape, with its historical and cultural value and beauty, gives rural areas uniqueness, which in turn influences the choice of travel destinations (Carpio et al 2008). Customers in rural areas often prefer to experience natural landscapes (Yang et al 2022). Factors such as quality and facilities, image and atmosphere, and scenic elements influence consumer satisfaction with rural village restaurants (Yang and Luo 2021).…”

Public Awareness of Food Products, Preferences and Practices: Old Challenges and New Insights

“…Finally, in the context of the relationship between food and tourism, Yang et al [17] focused on the rural catering industry. They also analyzed the perspectives of consumers through social media data.…”