Food Tourists' Travel Behavior and Well-Being Effects

This empirical study aims to identify the segment of "food tourists" with a quantitative approach, using data on behavior, motives, and attitudes. It explores food tourists' holiday trip behavior and the effects of such vacations on indicators of well-being (e.g., recreation, health, and others). The data stem from a quantitative survey in Germany as a representative source market study ("Reiseanalyse 2015"), based on a nationwide random sample of N = 7,720 face-to-face interviews, with n = 5,996 holiday travelers, and n = 1,511 food tourists. Thus, the data analysis is based on a post hoc segmentation with respect to who a food tourist is and who is not. The results allow determining the size of the food tourism segment with German tourists and the description of demographic characteristics as well as specific vacation behavior patterns. In addition, food tourists show notable positive vacation effects, such as recreation, significantly above the average. As a statistical investigation (three-way between-subjects ANOVA) reveals, these impacts of a food holiday are not only driven by the culinary experience but also are strongly based on personal attitudes and motives, showing the importance of in-person factors on the consumption experience of tourists. Implications are outlined for consumer research in tourism and marketing.