Factors Influencing International Tourists for Culinary ...

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international tourists for culinary travel intentions to Malaysia. ... According to Wolf (2002), the term “Culinary” or culinary tourism refers to a visit or travel that.
Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014

Factors Influencing International Tourists for Culinary Travel Intentions Abdul Rahman Zahari*, Elinda Esa, Nur Amalina Aminudin, Cheah Wee Teen, Nor Azlin Hanis Yusoff College of Business Management and Accounting (COBA), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Campus *Corresponding email: [email protected] Abstract This study used the partial least squares (PLS) tool to determine the factors influencing the international tourists for culinary travel intentions to Malaysia. A number of 200 international tourists were participated in this study. The results show that the perceived quality and brand awareness have influenced the international tourists for culinary travel intentions. However, brand image was insignificant predictor of culinary travel intentions among international travelers. Findings are useful for tourism association, food managers, and practitioners to cultivate Malaysian tourism in the niche of culinary. Keywords: culinary; brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, Malaysia

1. INTRODUCTION The tourism industry in the emerging economies is rapidly growing every year. In 2013, there are 1087 million of international tourist arrivals worldwide as compared to 1035 million in previous year (World Tourism Organization, 2014). Additionally, 248.1 million of international tourist arrivals in the Asia and the Pacific grew 6% in 2013. Most travelers arrived at their destination by air (53% in 2013) and most of them travel for leisure purpose (52%). The figures indicated that tourism and related industries are proved as one of the most significant economic resources in the region. The growing numbers of international travelers also has grew in Malaysia because of sustained economic growth (several decades) and political stability have made Malaysia becomes one of the top tourist destinations in the world. The World Tourism Organization (2014) reported that Malaysian tourist arrivals had grown at a rate double the world average between 1999 and 2010. Furthermore, there are 25.7 millions of international tourist arrivals in Malaysia in 2013. These arrivals have contributed to the income of US$21 billion. With the incremental of tourists’ arrivals and income, it is crucial to policy makers, tourism associations or practitioners continuously to promote and strengthen Malaysia’s distinctive image. Due to these reasons, many countries including Malaysia developed strategies to vigorously increase the number of tourists. Since Malaysia has an abundance of unique, natural and diverse cuisines, thus, this uniqueness of culinary aspects can be highlighted as one of the key to attract more international tourists to travel. As, suggested by Horng and Hu (2009) culinary tourism is becoming an important aspect of the tourism industry with great potential for attracting international tourists. Past researches (Horng & Tsai, 2010; Graziani, 2003) indicated that there is an indivisible relationship between the culinary industry and the tourism industry. More recently, with increasing interest in local cuisine, culinary tourism has been recognized as an effective promotional tool and has become an increasingly vital part of destination

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014 tourism (Hjalager & Richards, 2002; Horng & Hu, 2009). Although culinary tourism is becoming a crucial segment of the tourism industry, few studies have examined this issue especially on Malaysia perspective. Due to that, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how factors i.e. brand image, brand awareness, and perceived quality contributes to culinary travel intentions among international tourists to Malaysia.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Malaysia’s Culinary Tourism According to Wolf (2002), the term “Culinary” or culinary tourism refers to a visit or travel that is motivated by an interest in food and drink. Since the main motivations for people to travel are to experience and taste the food and drink which can provide a lasting memory in their lifetime. As culinary tourism grows, more food related products such as food and wine routes, literature on food and travel, and travel packages related to food will emerge as it becomes an essential experience for travelers. Moreover, culinary tourism is not only associated with eating and drinking, but also with events ranging from food festivals to farm visits (Canadian Tourism Commission, 2002). The distinctiveness of Malaysian food due to diverse society could be an opportunity for Malaysia to become a culinary tourism destination in Asia. Malaysian food is expected to provide the identity and perhaps to reflect the culture of the nation, as a way to attract tourists and influence their subsequent evaluation and future intention. In Malaysia there are strong linkages between the local food and tourism, as these two sectors have a mutually beneficial relationship. The states of Melaka, Perak, Penang, Sarawak and Sabah could be highlighted as “the states for culinary routes”. Melaka should be known as the home of fusion Indonesian influence Nyonya food and Indian Muslims’s Nasi Kandar, would best be represented by Penang. The exotic “king of fruits” durian, which has the unusual flavor and odor that have prompted many people to express diverse and passionate views ranging from deep appreciation to intense disgust is abundant in many states. It can be linked to the local delicacy known as “tempoyak”; fermented durian flesh which is eaten as a condiment or cooked as gravy for many types of fresh water fish. The prominent “tempoyak dish” variations are found in the states of Perak, Pahang and Negri Sembilan. The State of Perak is also famous for guava (a native fruit of tropical America) which is known for its musky aroma and soft, delicious pulp and pomelo (citrus grandis). Moreover, the east coast regions such as Kelantan and Terengganu are not only the cradle of Malay culture and the exotic Malay food which is rich in flavor and color, but also the route for famous with variation of fish crackers; fresh or dried. Moreover, Sarawak is being Malaysia’s largest state is famous with black peppercorn and pearl sago route. Meanwhile, Sabah is a well-known route for tiger prawns which are cultivated in brackish water ponds. The states of culinary routes as mentioned earlier are very essential to be promoted because it can be linked to brand awareness and brand image for international travelers. 2.2 Brand image Brand image is defined as the reasoned or emotional perceptions consumers attach to specific brands (Dobni & Zinkhan, 1990) and is the first consumer brand perception that was identified in the marketing literature (Gardner & Levy, 1955). Brand image consists of functional and symbolic brand beliefs. A measurement technique using semantic differential items generated for the relevant product category has been suggested for measuring brand image (Fry and Claxton, 1971). Brand image associations are largely product category e-ISSN 2232-0741

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014 specific and measures should be customized for the unique characteristics of specific brand categories (Park and Srinivasan, 1994). Brand image refers the brand perceptions in the memory of consumers (Keller, 2008). From the travel intentions viewpoint, brand image among international tourists is considered as a primary and valuable repository. Moreover, tourism related organizations in particular are aiming to forge a unique and efficient image and identity that will encourage international tourist travel intentions, with the aim of making those tourists into loyal visitors (Camarero et al., 2010). From a reasoning perspective, the perceived image of a destination replicates the resources linked to functional features of that destination that attract the international tourists. When a culinary brand image becomes common in the minds of international tourists, it will certainly associate to an array of values and affirmative expectations i.e. quality, reliability and trust. These, in turn will increase the travel intentions for the culinary purpose of Malaysia. 2.3 Perceived Quality Perceived quality is defined as an estimation of the customers’ perceptions of the overall quality and will reflect their intentions (Zeithaml, 1988). Furthermore, according to Lee et al., (2007) service quality operationalized as a set of attributes better predicts travelers’ intentions than an alternative model which defines quality as overall excellence or superiority. Additionally, perceived quality is associated with consumer's judgment about a product's overall excellence or superiority (Aaker and Jacobson, 1994). At the destination level, a tourism product is a group of elements such as accommodation, travel, food, and entertainment. Since the quality level is linked with a brand, the decision making process is basically refers to customers’ perception. The tourism associations then should be very focused of perceived quality elements since it has increases the probability of choosing Malaysia for the culinary destination instead of other countries for the same reason. 2.4 Brand Awareness Developing and maintaining brand awareness is one of the major goals of a company for its special role in customers’ decision making, such as, advantages in learning, considering and choosing, and its impact on firms’ value (Keller, 2003). Aaker (1991) has defined brand awareness as “the ability of the potential buyer to recognize and recall that a brand is a member of a certain product category”. The greater level of awareness of a brand, the more likelihood there is of this brand being considered when they purchase (Hoyer, 1990). Moreover, Lee and Back (2008) examined brand awareness based on previous consumer experience and initiate that brands were more important than other experiences in defining the overall satisfaction. Those definitions and findings indicate that the tourists’ decision making and satisfaction is generated by brand awareness. 2.5 Travel intention Travelers’ intentions are the consequence of their perceptions from previous travel experiences. This action will lead to the travel motivation among international tourists. Travel motivation is an effective predictor of tourist behavior because travelers’ mindsets significantly influence their future travel. This result indicates the importance of measuring tourist perceptions and identifying the factors that influence travelers’ tourism intentions (Boo et al., 2009; Kim and Kim, 2005). These factors create positive impressions of culinary features, which are then transferred from brand image to tourist travel intentions for culinary tourism. This study subject to follow the underlying dimensions of brand equity (i.e., brand image, perceived quality and brand awareness), examining how those factors affect the international tourists for culinary travel intentions to Malaysia.

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014 2.6 Research model From the Figure 1, this research model is incorporating of dependent variable and independent variables. In this model, brand image, perceived quality, and brand awareness are treated as the independent variable. Meanwhile, travel intention treated as the dependent variable.

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework Reviews on Figure 1, there are three propose hypotheses developed as follows; H1: The greater the brand image of Malaysian culinary, the greater associate with international tourist travel intentions to Malaysia. H2: The greater the brand awareness of Malaysian culinary, the greater associate with international tourist travel intentions to Malaysia. H3: The greater the perceived quality of Malaysian culinary, the greater associate with international tourist travel intentions to Malaysia.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The unit of analysis in this study is the tourists who were departing Malaysia at the time of the survey were conducted. Non probability sampling method (airport intercept) has been applied to this study. Two hundred and fifty self-administered questionnaires were used for gathering data from the respondents. The process of distribution and collection of questionnaires were carried out over a period of 2 months. A total of 200 questionnaires were received and used for further analysis. The international tourists were intercepted at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). The questionnaire used consists of two parts: the first part is culinary constructs which consists of brand image, brand awareness, and perceived quality. The second part is pertaining to the profile of respondents. Brand image will be measured by 12 items and perceived quality with 9 items were adapted from Boo et al., (2009); Konecnik (2006); Konecnik and Gartner (2007). Furthermore, there were three items used for measuring the brand awareness. Lastly, travel intention will be measured by 3 items adapted from Lam and Hsu (2006). Thus, the resulting initial pool contained 27 items. The survey question has used 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 strongly agree). The completed instrument was

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014 pre-tested by 20 respondents in UNITEN. Based on the feedback obtained from these respondents, the questionnaire was subsequently refined. Data obtained from the personally administered questionnaire was analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) as to examine factors influencing international tourists to travel for Malaysia for culinary reasons.

4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Findings The study sample comprises of 200 international tourists that came to visit Malaysia in year 2013. Table 1 below shows the details of respondents’ profile. Respondents are varies in term of gender, education, age, marital status, race, tourists’ travel purpose to Malaysia, occupation and travel frequency to Malaysia. From the total of 200 respondents, 61 per cent are male, while 39 per cent are female. The majority (59.5 per cent) of international tourists hold university certificate and only 4 per cent of them were from junior high school qualifications. Moreover, 48 per cent of international tourists were in between 21 and 30 years old, followed by in between 31 and 40 years old with 29 per cent. Additionally, majority of them are single with 63 per cent. Most of the respondents (37.5 per cent) came from South Asia region, followed by European region with 28.5 per cent, and 15.5 per cent were American. Africa and North Asia were the two regions recorded the least number to come to Malaysia with 4 per cent. Moreover, others reason (23 per cent) became the most travel purpose for respondents to visit Malaysia. Food and cuisine was in second place with 21.5 per cent, followed by visiting friends or families (18.5 per cent), and shopping purpose with 12.5 per cent. Students were remained top when discussed about the job of respondents, followed by business people and worker (both with 17 per cent), professional workers with 15.0 per cent, and educators recorded 11.5 per cent. Many of them were not frequent fliers to Malaysia because only 45 per cent of them recorded visit 1 to 2 times. 27.5 per cent flied 3 times and only 19 per cent of them were frequent fliers with more than 5 times to Malaysia.

Item Gender

Table 1: Description of respondents Description Frequency (n = 200) Male 122 Female 78

Percentage 61.0 39.0

Level of education

Junior high school Senior high school University Graduate school

8 43 119 30

4.0 21.5 59.5 15.0

Age

Less than 20 Between 21 and 30 Between 31 and 40 Between 41 and 50 Between 51 and 60 Above 61

10 96 58 19 12 5

5.0 48.0 29.0 9.5 6.0 2.5

Status

Single Married

126 74

63.0 37.0

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014 Races

African region Middle East region North Asian region South Asian region European region American region

8 21 8 75 57 31

4.0 10.5 4.0 37.5 28.5 15.5

Travel purpose

Religion Night life Shopping Cultural experience Sightseeing Visit friend/family Food and cuisine Visit historical relics Conference Others

4 5 25 10 19 37 43 6 5 46

2.0 2.5 12.5 5.0 9.5 18.5 21.5 3.0 2.5 23.0

Occupation

Business people Professional Education worker Government officer Worker Housekeeper Retired servant Student Others

34 30 23 9 34 1 6 47 16

17.0 15.0 11.5 4.5 17.0 0.5 3.0 23.5 8.0

Travel times

1 time 2 times 3 times 4 times Above 5 times

45 45 55 17 38

22.5 22.5 27.5 8.5 19.0

There are two main category used to test the goodness of measures i.e. validity and reliability. As shown in Table 2 below, twenty items of construct loaded is higher than 0.5. However, seven items were deleted due to low loading. As suggested by Hair et al., (2010), the used of factor loading, recommended composite reliability and average variance extracted to test the convergent validity. The loadings for all items exceeded the suggested value of 0.5. The composite reliability values ranged from 0.879 to 0.938 and have surpassed the recommended value of 0.7 by Hair et al., (2010), the average variance extracted (AVE) also represented the value higher than 0.5 which ranged from 0.513 to 0.835. In general, the results show that all the four constructs namely brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality, and travel intentions are all valid measures of their respective constructs.

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014

Construct Brand Awareness

Brand Image

Table 2: Results of measurement model Average Variance Items Loadings Extracted (AVE) BA1 0.827 0.707 BA2 0.818 BA3 0.876 BI10 0.790 0.594 BI11 0.808 BI12 0.775 BI6 0.723 BI7 0.813

Composite Reliability (CR) 0.879

0.911

BI8 0.774 BI9 0.779 PQ1 0.779 0.620 0.920 Perceived Quality PQ2 0.733 PQ3 0.796 PQ4 0.822 PQ5 0.778 PQ8 0.824 PQ9 0.775 TI1 0.906 0.835 0.938 Travel Intention TI2 0.925 TI3 0.910 Note: BI1, BI2, BI3, BI4, BI5, PQ6, and PQ7 were deleted due to low loading. Moreover, the square root of each AVE (shown on the diagonal in Table 3) is greater than the related inter-construct correlations (shown off the diagonal in Table 3) in the construct correlation matrix, indicating adequate discriminant validity for all of the reflective constructs. Table 3: Discriminant validity of constructs Brand Brand Perceived Travel Awareness Image Quality Intention 0.841 Brand Awareness 0.771 Brand Image 0.640 0.787 Perceived Quality 0.725 0.754 0.914 Travel Intention 0.667 0.509 0.578 Note: Values in the diagonal (bolded) represent the square root of the AVE while the offdiagonals represent the correlations. Next is proceeded with the path analysis to test the three hypotheses created. As depicted on Table 4, the results indicate two hypotheses (H2 and H3) have significant relationship with culinary travel intention among the international tourists. However, H1 is found insignificant. The results of structural model is used the bootstrap procedure with 5000 times of resampling.

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Terengganu International Management and Business Journal Volume IV, Issue II: 1-10, 2014 Hypothesis H1

Table 4: Hypothesis testing Relationship Std.Beta Std. Error

Brand Image -> Travel Intention H2 Brand Awareness -> Travel Intention H3 Perceived Quality -> Travel Intention Note: **p