Development of a multi-dimensional scale for measuring food tourist motivations

Food in tourism is becoming an important subject to researchers in the field of tourism and food service. Food and its related tourist activities have been ascribed into a new category of tourism called food tourism in which the motivation for traveling is to obtain special experiences from food. However, limited attention has been paid to explore precisely what factors influence food tourists' destination choices. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to explore food tourists' motivations using push and pull theory. The sample was drawn from a food event in the southwestern United States. The development of the instrument begun with literature review and was followed with a pretest on graduate students who have attended food events. After the pretest, a review of the instrument was conducted by tourism and foodservice experts. A pilot test was employed to ensure the reliability and clarity of the research instrument before actual survey. The final instrument was used to gather 305 usable questionnaires. Three factors emerged from the 14 push items: Knowledge and Learning, Fun and New Experiences, and Relaxation with Family. Three factors were generated from the 14 pull items: Area Quality and Value, Quality of Event, and Food Variety. The instrument can be tested and further validated in other food tourism settings.