The Role of Food Image in Promoting Domestic Tourism

Abstract

This study investigate the influence of food image and satisfaction on response behaviour in Ipoh's local food. The study utilised a quantitative approach where data collection involved 384 domestic tourists via a snowball sampling method which was conducted online. The analysis utilised multiple regression and PROCESS macro in explaining the relationship and the mediating effect. The results revealed that the taste of local food as part of food image had a significant impact on domestic tourists' satisfaction and response behaviour. Furthermore, tourist satisfaction has a significant relationship as a mediating variable between food image and response behaviour. From the practical view, Ipoh Tourism Board and local authorities could enhance the authentic food image of Ipoh through aggressive campaigns and policies in luring tourists to visit and revitalise the tourism industry due to pandemics. Business establishments and marketers could allocate more resources to advertise Ipoh's food and culture that generate the feeling of enjoyment, pleasure, and excitement as a potential place for visitation to local and international tourists. The finding demonstrates that the response behaviour of domestic tourists on Ipoh's food tourism is driven by the food image (especially taste), and the significant role of satisfaction as a mediator even further boosts the decision.

Promoting Local Cuisine on Social Media: A Strategic Communication Approach

“…One crucial factor surfaced was visual aesthetics' utmost significance in stimulating audience engagement on social media platforms (Brubaker & Macky, 2019;Pouwels et al, 2023). Digital marketing professionals emphasized the significance of visually captivating culinary images as a key factor contributing to their widespread popularity (Graham et.al, 2018;Karim & Chi, 2010;Kamarulbaid & Mustapha, 2021). The findings obtained from the analysis of digital content indicate a significant association between the utilization of high-quality, professionally-selected images and various user engagement metrics, including likes, shares, and comments.…”