University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2016-05 AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF FOOD TOURISM IN PROMOTING CHINESE REGIONS CHEN, QIAN http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/4872 Plymouth University All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author's prior consent. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF FOOD TOURISM IN PROMOTING CHINESE REGIONS by QIAN CHEN A thesis submitted to the Plymouth University in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Tourism and Hospitality Plymouth Business School September 2015 An Investigation of the Role of Food Tourism in Promoting Chinese Regions Qian Chen Abstract Food tourism is an activity that can be promoted by destination marketers. The aims of this research are to provide a holistic examination of domestic tourists’ food experience in China, and to evaluate the potential of food tourism in promoting Chinese regions from the demand side. It has four specific research objectives, including (1) examining the food experience of domestic tourists at three different travel stages in China, (2) assessing the relationships between the food experience of tourists and their demographic profiles, (3) developing a structural model addressing the potential relationships between tourists’ food experience and loyalty intentions toward Chinese destinations, and (4) providing recommendations for marketers to achieve successful destination promotion through food tourism. In order to achieve the research aims and objectives, with the development of a structural theoretical model, a quantitative research design was employed in the study. Data was specifically collected from a sample of 1702 domestic tourists at ten representative destinations in Mainland China. The findings of this study revealed that: firstly, food is, overall, of great significance to Chinese domestic tourists; however, it plays a varying role in domestic tourists’ i experiences at different travel stages in China. Secondly, demographic factors such as gender and age have influences on the food experience of Chinese domestic tourists, while educational level has been revealed to be of little influence. Thirdly, tourists’ food satisfaction and food-related behavioural intentions were in direct and positive correlation to tourists’ destination loyalty intentions. The findings highlighted the contribution of local food at a destination level in the context of China, and signified the great potential for destinations to utilise food tourism to attract and retain tourists. Moreover, given the interrelationships shown between the underlying factors of tourists’ food experience and tourists’ destination loyalty intentions, it is noted that tourists’ food experience is a complex multi-phase model among which different phases interrelate with each other exerting an influence on tourists’ loyalty intentions to specific destinations in China. Lastly, based on these findings, both theoretical and practical implications were derived. In particular, practical recommendations have been provided to marketers on how to effectively utilise food tourism to achieve successful destination promotion in China. ii Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................... i Contents .......................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... xi Author’s Declaration ................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The need to research food tourism ............................................................................ 2 1.3 The need to investigate the role of food tourism in promoting destinations ............... 7 1.4 The need to research the context of China .................................................................. 9 1.5 Research aims and objectives .................................................................................... 11 1.6 Significance of the study ........................................................................................... 12 1.7 Outline of the thesis .................................................................................................. 15 1.8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 2: Literature Review- Food and Tourism 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 19 2.2 The relationship between food and tourism ............................................................ 19 2.3 The importance of food to tourists ............................................................................ 24 2.4 Definition of food tourism ........................................................................................ 26 2.5 Typologies of food tourists ....................................................................................... 30 2.6 Research on food tourism .......................................................................................... 33 2.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 42 Chapter 3: Literature Review-Food and Tourism in China 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Historical development of Chinese food culture ..................................................... 43 3.2.1 Pre-Qin period (2,100 B.C.-221 B.C.) ..................................................... 44 3.2.2 Qin and Han Dynasty (221 B.C.-220 A.D.) ............................................. 45 3.2.3 Three Kingdoms, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589) ........ 45 3.2.4 Sui and Tang Dynasties (589-907) ........................................................... 46 3.2.5 Song dynasty (960-1279) ......................................................................... 46 3.2.6 Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) ...................................................................... 46 3.2.7 Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) ..................................................................... 47 3.2.8 Qing dynasty (1644-1912) ....................................................................... 49 3.2.9 The Period of the Republic of China (1921-1949) ..................................... 49 3.3 The importance of food to Chinese tourists .............................................................. 50 3.4 Food tourism in China ............................................................................................... 55 3.4.1 Tea tourism ................................................................................................. 56 3.4.2 Special snack food tourism ........................................................................ 59 iii 3.4.3 Medicated food tourism ............................................................................. 62 3.4.4 Film-induced food tourism ......................................................................... 66 3.5 Chinese research on food and tourism ...................................................................... 70 3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 72 Chapter 4: Literature Review- Destination Promotion through Food Tourism 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 73 4.2 The role of food tourism in destination promotion ................................................. 74 4.3 A holistic view of tourists’ food consumption and experience ................................. 77 4.4 Theoretical background of consumer behaviour ..................................................... 81 4.5 Destination loyalty as an assessment factor of the value of food experience ........... 84 4.6 Conceptual framework and hypotheses .................................................................... 86 4.6.1 Pre-travel stage-Food-related motivation & information search ....... 87 4.6.2