An importance-performance analysis of food service attributes in gastro-tourism development in Western Tourist Circuit, Kenya

Tourism development has principally focused on the tangible tourism products thereby overlooking the intangible element such as service. This study aimed to evaluate food service attributes in gastro-tourism development in the Western Tourist Circuit, Kenya. A total of 166 top and middle level managers were selected from 62 hotels for this study using multi-stage sampling method. Several food service attributes were identified and used to structure self-administered questionnaires. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Factor, regression and importance-performance analysis. The findings indicate that perceived importance-performance of food service attributes in gastro-tourism development varied considerably. Three factors identified were food service output, food service input both perceived to be important with good performance; and food service process perceived important but hoteliers’ performance on the same was poor. The findings provide intuitively appealing strategies for hoteliers and tourism promoters in Western Tourist Circuit, Kenya to set priorities for developing gastro-tourism through food service attributes.