The Contribution of Local Cuisine to Destination Attractiveness: An Analysis Involving Chinese Tourists' Heterogeneous Preferences

A model incorporating Chinese tourists' heterogeneous preferences of local cuisine, perceptions of local cuisine attractiveness, and destination attractiveness was investigated using the survey data collected from two cities in China and partial least-squares structural equation modeling. Local cuisine attractiveness significantly contributes to tourists' perceptions of destination attractiveness. Among the three dimensions that profile tourists' heterogeneous preferences of local cuisine, tourists' involvement and knowledge of local cuisine have significant correlations with their perceptions of local cuisine and the destination, while past experience of local cuisine does not have influence. The findings have implications for developing and promoting local cuisine-related tourism products to Chinese tourists.