Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Understanding customer experience of culinary tourism through food tours of Delhi

Understanding customer experience of culinary tourism through food tours of Delhi This paper attempts to identify emerging themes that focus on customer experience of culinary tourism of international tourists who opted for food tours in Delhi.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a multi-method approach for data collection. A thorough review of literature was conducted followed by gaining insights from the industry experts for the themes and a tentative thematic table was established. Thereafter, secondary data comprising 1,744 customer reviews from world’s leading travel website – Tripadvisor.com was analysed using thematic analysis. Customer’s real-time feedback and industry insights were paired together to gather meaningful and practical insights on customer experiences of food tours in Delhi.FindingsCulinary tourism of Delhi is facing challenge in the areas of infrastructure, hygiene and certain preconceived notions related to brand perception of Indian cuisines. The findings of the study allude that the food tour agencies must be professional with all certifications and attention must be paid to location of food tastings, as it become the representation of Indian food worldwide. The findings also indicate customization is the key to positive customer experience, thereby requiring culinary professionals to understand the customer choices and personalize the food tours accordingly. Online reputation management is another key area requiring attention as electronic word of mouth plays a major role in the hospitality industry.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study corroborates valuable academic findings and practical insights, it has few limitations that can be further investigated in the future. A quantitative study can be conducted to provide deeper insights into the factors of a culinary tour resulting in positive customer experience. Secondly, this study focuses on customer experience of food tours which is one of the forms of Culinary tourism, another elaborate study can be conducted incorporating other methods of culinary tourism such as cooking classes, food festivals, events etc. and delving into insights of customer experience and challenges in those practices.Practical implicationsThemes ascertained in this research paper provide deeper and worthy insights to all the stakeholders which would help them use their tourism resources in best optimal manner. Findings of the study would be valuable to culinary organizations, tourism department and other researchers working in the area of culinary tourism. Also, this study can be quite valuable for the academic researchers. Suggestions of the study will help the government, culinary organizations and other stakeholders to enhance culinary tourist experiences of Delhi.Originality/valueThe study is original and highly appropriate to all the stakeholders to formulate suitable strategic framework to improve customer experience in the field of culinary tourism. Using real customer experiences as data and choosing thematic analysis as a method of analysis further enhance the worth of study by opening the area for further exploration. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Tourism Cities Emerald Publishing

Understanding customer experience of culinary tourism through food tours of Delhi

Download PDF
19 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/understanding-customer-experience-of-culinary-tourism-through-food-SZqwOkHaW6
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© International Tourism Studies Association.
ISSN
2056-5607
DOI
10.1108/ijtc-08-2019-0135
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This paper attempts to identify emerging themes that focus on customer experience of culinary tourism of international tourists who opted for food tours in Delhi.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a multi-method approach for data collection. A thorough review of literature was conducted followed by gaining insights from the industry experts for the themes and a tentative thematic table was established. Thereafter, secondary data comprising 1,744 customer reviews from world’s leading travel website – Tripadvisor.com was analysed using thematic analysis. Customer’s real-time feedback and industry insights were paired together to gather meaningful and practical insights on customer experiences of food tours in Delhi.FindingsCulinary tourism of Delhi is facing challenge in the areas of infrastructure, hygiene and certain preconceived notions related to brand perception of Indian cuisines. The findings of the study allude that the food tour agencies must be professional with all certifications and attention must be paid to location of food tastings, as it become the representation of Indian food worldwide. The findings also indicate customization is the key to positive customer experience, thereby requiring culinary professionals to understand the customer choices and personalize the food tours accordingly. Online reputation management is another key area requiring attention as electronic word of mouth plays a major role in the hospitality industry.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study corroborates valuable academic findings and practical insights, it has few limitations that can be further investigated in the future. A quantitative study can be conducted to provide deeper insights into the factors of a culinary tour resulting in positive customer experience. Secondly, this study focuses on customer experience of food tours which is one of the forms of Culinary tourism, another elaborate study can be conducted incorporating other methods of culinary tourism such as cooking classes, food festivals, events etc. and delving into insights of customer experience and challenges in those practices.Practical implicationsThemes ascertained in this research paper provide deeper and worthy insights to all the stakeholders which would help them use their tourism resources in best optimal manner. Findings of the study would be valuable to culinary organizations, tourism department and other researchers working in the area of culinary tourism. Also, this study can be quite valuable for the academic researchers. Suggestions of the study will help the government, culinary organizations and other stakeholders to enhance culinary tourist experiences of Delhi.Originality/valueThe study is original and highly appropriate to all the stakeholders to formulate suitable strategic framework to improve customer experience in the field of culinary tourism. Using real customer experiences as data and choosing thematic analysis as a method of analysis further enhance the worth of study by opening the area for further exploration.

Journal

International Journal of Tourism Cities – Emerald Publishing

Published: Oct 15, 2021

Keywords: Customization; e-WOM; Thematic analysis; Culinary tourism; Customer experience

References

  • Culinary tourism as a destination attraction: an empirical examination of destinations' food image
    Ab Karim, S.; Chi, C.
  • Understanding culinary tourist motivation, experience, satisfaction, and loyalty using a structural approach
    Agyeiwaah, E.; Otoo, F.; Suntikul, W.; Huang, W.
  • Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research
    Attride-Stirling, J.
  • Food tourism: an effective marketing tool for Indian tourism industry moushumi
    Banerjee, M.
  • Foreign tourists' motivation and information source(s) influencing their preference for eating out at ethnic restaurants in Bangkok
    Batra, A.
  • Food tourism implementation in the black forest destination
    Beer, C.; Ottenbacher, M.; Harrington, R.
  • Exploring online customer engagement with hospitality products and its relationship with involvement, emotional states, experience, and Brand advocacy
    Bilro, R.; Loureiro, S.; Guerreiro, J.
  • Brand experience: what is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty?
    Brakus, J.; Schmitt, B.; Zarantonello, L.
  • Using thematic analysis in psychology
    Braun, V.; Clarke, V.
  • Exploring heterogeneity among backpackers in hostels
    Brochado, A.; Rita, P.
  • The effects of tour guide performance and food involvement on food neophobia and local food consumption intention
    Caber, M.; Yilmaz, G.; Kiliçarslan, D.; Öztürk, A.
  • Thematic analysis of qualitative research data: is it as easy as it sounds?
    Castleberry, A.; Nolen, A.
  • Examining the effect of tour guide performance, tourist trust, tourist satisfaction, and flow experience on tourists' shopping behavior
    Chang, K.
  • The influence of attitudes towards healthy eating on food consumption when travelling
    Chang, R.
  • The effect of word of mouth on sales: online book reviews
    Chevalier, J.; Mayzlin, D.
  • The rise of culinary tourism and its transformation of food cultures: the national cuisine of Taiwan
    Chuang, H.
  • Thematic analysis
    Clarke, V.; Braun, V.
  • Food in tourism: attraction and impediment
    Cohen, E.; Avieli, N.
  • The semiology of changing Brand image
    Combe, I.; Crowther, D.; Greenland, S.
  • Sample size policy for qualitative studies using in-depth interviews
    Dworkin, S.
  • What is food tourism?
    Ellis, A.; Park, E.; Kim, S.; Yeoman, I.
  • The role of food tourism in sustaining regional identity: a case study of Cornwall, South West England
    Everett, S.; Aitchison, C.
  • Antecedents and consequences of customer experience management
    Fatma, S.
  • What makes an online consumer review trustworthy?
    Filieri, R.
  • How to sustain the customer experience
    Gentile, C.; Spiller, N.; Noci, G.
  • The consumption of experiences or the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste
    Hall, M.; Sharples, L.; Hall, M.; Sharples, L.; Mitchell, R.; Macionis, N.; Cambourne, B.
  • Food tourism reviewed
    Henderson, J.
  • Effect of food experience on tourist satisfaction: the case of Indonesia
    Hendijani, R.
  • Segmenting Canadian culinary tourists
    Ignatov, E.; Smith, S.
  • The relationships between food-related personality traits, satisfaction, and loyalty among visitors attending food events and festivals
    Kim, Y.; Suh, B.; Eves, A.
  • Tourism and gastronomy: gastronomy's influence on how tourists experience a destination
    Kivela, J.; Crotts, J.
  • Towards a better measure of customer experience
    Klaus, P.; Maklan, S.
  • Determination of the relationship between occupational choice and personality traits: an investigation on tourism guiding students
    Köroğlu, Ö.
  • Customer experience quality: an exploration in business and consumer contexts using repertory grid technique
    Lemke, F.; Clark, M.; Wilson, H.
  • Cultural politics in culinary tourism with ethnic foods
    Long, L.
  • Online review response strategy and its effects on competitive performance
    Lui, T.; Bartosiak, M.; Piccoli, G.; Sadhya, V.
  • Measures of perceived interactivity: an exploration of the role of direction of communication, user control, and time in shaping perceptions of interactivity
    McMillan, S.; Hwang, J.
  • Relationships between personality, attitudes and dietary behaviour in a group of Scottish adolescents
    MacNicol, S.A.; Murray, S.M.; Austin, E.J.
  • Exploring the culinary tourism experience: an investigation of the supply sector for brewery and restaurant owners
    Minihan, C.
  • Backpackers in the Northern Territory of Australia—motives, behaviours and satisfactions
    Moshin, A.; Ryan, C.
  • The role of the management sciences in research on personalization
    Murthi, B.; Sarkar, S.
  • Why it matters: the value of literature as object of inquiry in qualitative research
    Nathan, R.
  • On the engagement with social theory in food studies: cultural symbols and social practices
    Neuman, N.
  • Motivations of the culinary tourist in the city of Trapani, Italy
    Nicoletti, S.; Medina-Viruel, M.; Di-Clemente, E.; Fruet-Cardozo, J.
  • Online damage control: the effects of proactive versus reactive webcare interventions in consumer-generated and brand-generated platforms
    Noort, V.G.; Willemsen, L.
  • Thematic analysis
    Nowell, L.; Norris, J.; White, D.; Moules, N.
  • The effect of online consumer reviews on consumer purchase intention: the moderating role of involvement
    Park, D.; Lee, J.; Han, I.
  • Travel motivation among cross border tourists: case study of Langkawi
    Park, J.; Musa, G.; Moghavvemi, S.; Thirumoorthi, T.; Taha, A.; Mohtar, M.; Sarker, M.
  • Evolving gastronomic experiences: from food to foodies to foodscapes
    Richards, G.
  • Emerging challenges for branded budget hotels in India
    Rishi, M.; Joshi, G.
  • Marketing models of service and relationships
    Rust, R.; Chung, T.
  • A comparative study of tourist attitudes towards culinary tourism in Spain and Slovenia
    Sanchez-Cañizares, S.; Castillo-Canalejo, A.
  • Customer engagement, buyer‐seller relationships, and social media
    Sashi, C.
  • Experiential marketing
    Schmitt, B.
  • Who are the culinary tourists? An observation at a food and wine festival
    Sohn, E.; Yuan, J.
  • Elements of memorable food, drink, and culinary tourism experiences
    Stone, M.; Soulard, J.; Migacz, S.; Wolf, E.
  • Second Global Report on Gastronomy Tourism
  • Customer experience creation: determinants, dynamics, and management strategies
    Verhoef, P.C.; Lemon, K.N.; Parasuraman, A.; Roggeveen, A.; Tsiros, M.; Schlesinger, L.A.
  • Tour guide training: a model for sustainable capacity building in developing countries
    Weiler, B.; Ham, S.
  • Role of social media in online travel information search
    Xiang, Z.; Gretzel, U.
  • The effectiveness of customized promotions in online and offline stores
    Zhang, J.; Wedel, M.
  • What is food tourism