Predicting factors on destination food image among international tourists in Malaysia

Abstract

This study aimed to identify factors influencing destination food image among the international tourists in Malaysia. Food tourism is becoming a trend among tourists. By trying different foods from different countries, tourists able to understand and gained knowledge on the country's culture. In Malaysia, the food knowledge among the international tourists are limited. Although there are several Malaysian foods which are popular, it still remained unknown for the tourists. This caused international tourists to feel strange and unfamiliar with the food heritage in Malaysia. A quantitative research was carried out, where questionnaires were distributed to the international tourists in Malaysia using Google Form. Sample size of 278 respondents were collected, and Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), SmartPLS 3.0. was used to run the data. Result showed among the five independent variables, only Social Media do not have significant relationship with Destination Food Image. Discussion and result of these 5 variables were explained in this study. Lastly, limitations and recommendations were included to provide contribution to the future academicians who are interested in the related field.