Domestic tourists and local food consumption: motivations, positive emotions and savouring processes

Abstract

This study examines the motivation for local food consumption amongst domestic tourists. It integrates the positive psychology concept of savouring by examining the positive emotions savoured by domestic tourists on the basis of broaden-and-build theory, including the savouring processes used when recalling their recent local food experiences. Data were collected only from Indian residents using a self-administered open-ended web-based questionnaire. Empirical findings revealed that out of the 178 respondents, more than half reported tasting local food as one of the main motivations for undertaking their particular trip. The two main motivations for tasting local food were to experience something new and experience the local culture. The most common positive emotion savoured by guests when remembering their local food experiences was joy, followed by love. Taste and socializing with friends and family members were identified as the dominant factors that intensified respondents’ savouring of their recent local food experiences.