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Destination Encounters What To Expect When You Experience with Local
Food at the Destination? :
A Case of the Experience of International Visitors Travelling to in
Indonesia
Abstract
More visitors are nowadays travelling to destinations in search of culinary experiences. Food
can functions as an enhancement of the destination experience, as well as providing not
merely as physiological sustenance but also as a destination experience enhancer, providing
the tourist with opportunities to learn about destination culture through direct encounters with
local cuisines. However, engaging with novel local food might arouse certain expectations
amongst the visitors, particularly amongst specifically to those who have lacked previous had
limited experiences encounters with the visited destination. This study aimed to identify the
international visitor preconceptions of local Indonesian food and the underlying factors
influencing their expectations prior to their in-country experience of dining on with the local
food in the country. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to involving 349
international visitors was completed. The results identified revealed seven new emerging
factors underlying their expectations, namelyexpected as relating to: staff quality, sensory
attributes, food uniqueness, local servicescapes, food authenticity, food familiarity, and food
variety. Further, there were A number of significantly differentces dining expectations were
also highlighted between first time and repeat visitors to Indonesiain the level of dining
expectations amongst participants who travelled to Indonesia for the first time compared to
those who had visited the country before.
1
Keywords: culinary tourism, dining expectation, international visitor, local Indonesian food
INTRODUCTION
Food constitutes is an essential component of tourism, along with transportation,
accommodation, and attractions. When travelling, Vvisitors engage in various some forms of
dining during their travels (Chang, Kivela, & Mak, 2011), ranging from eating food which is
familiar from home to seeking novel and different local dishes (Cohen & Avieli, 2004). The
search for Seeking experiences with the food which is emblematic of a destination has gained
increasing attention amongst the visitors. F That is, food has evolved from a mechanism to
fulfill physiological needsfunctions is no longer as physiological need fulfillment only but
also as into a medium that enhances the destination experience enhancer, offering
opportunities to learn about prevailing destination cultures through direct encounterings with
local cuisines. Experiencing local foods is can provide a gateway to new cultures, leading
visitors to learn about the culture of societies other than their own and to meet and engage
with locals with whom they engage (Hegarty & O'Mahony, 2001; Long, 2004). Since eating
is an integral part of to travelling, it is commonplace for visitors to expect pleasurable
culinary experiences (Kivela & Crotts, 2006). Recent attempts to utiliseutilize culinary
tourism as an destination attraction have been evident in Asia, notably particularly in leading
tourism destinations such as Hong Kong (Kivela & Crotts, 2005; McKercher, Okumus, &
Okumus, 2008; Okumus, Okumus, & McKercher, 2007), Singapore (Chaney & Ryan, 2012;
Henderson, Yun, Poon, & Biwei, 2012), and Taiwan (Chaney & Ryan, 2012; Lin, Pearson, &
Cai, 2011). It is apparent that these countries and territories reflect have moved towards the
tendency to of extend panding its culinary tourism as a means of to stimulatinge international
visitation (Horng, Liu, Chou, & Tsai, 2012).
2
Despite the increased use of food as a tool for destination marketing tool, the literature shows
that, to date, there has been is no little consensus about a single definition that o describes
food-related tourism using a single definition. The terms food tourism, gastronomy tourism,
and culinary tourism have been used interchangeably and different scholars have described
the various terms inconsistently (Karim & Chi, 2010). Hall and Mitchell (2001) defined food
tourism as “visitation to primary and secondary food producers, food festivals, restaurants
and specific locations for which food and tasting and/or experiencing the attributes of a
specialist food production region are the primary motivating factors for travel” (p. 308). Such
a definition implies that when travelling, not every trip to a restaurant relates to food tourism,
especially if the food eaten in the visited restaurant is the same as, or similar to, the food
consumed at home. Meanwhile, Long (2004) defines culinary tourism as “the intentional,
exploratory participation in the foodways of another – participation including the
consumption, preparation, and presentation of a food item, cuisine, meal system, or eating
style considered to belong to a culinary system not one’s own” (pp. 21-22). This definition
suggests two meanings. First, it concerns is about visitors who are eager to discover novel
food that is novel to them and as well as to explore the new culture that connects with linked
to the food. This exploration is relatesd to the knowledge or information transfer about the
people, culture, traditions, and identity of the place visited. Second, culinary tourism is also
about the host destinations that utiliseutilize food to showcase their cultures and histories, by
making the food marketable and thus representing an attractive local identity for visitors
(Long, 2004).
In a more detailed interpretation, Ignatov and Smith’s (2006, p. 238) detailed definition of e
culinary tourism has referred to as a “tourism trip during which the purchase or consumption
of regional foods (including beverages), or the observation and study of food production
(from agriculture to cooking schools) represent a significant motivation or activity”. In this
3
sense, culinary tourism is more than just the simple consumption of food and drink when
during travelling, but also involves a self-aware interest and conscious learning to experience
a destination through its food. At this point, Ignatov and Smith (2006) have emphasized claim
that food consumption of food is not necessarily the only or the primary activity on a culinary
tourism trip characterised as culinary tourism. More importantly, the experience forms the
core of culinary tourism lies in the experience, with in which regionally produced food and
drink can being used to tell a story or to portray some aspects of the culture of the region or
country being visited. Culinary tourism is sometimes viewed seen as a form of special
interest tourism offering “real” travel. RecognisedRecognized as part of cultural tourism, it
provides real learning opportunities by introducing the visitors to the new and exciting
smells, tastes and flavours of the local cultures (Ignatov & Smith, 2006). Based on the above
discussion, the present study interpets term culinary tourism in this study is interpeted as a
tourism trip, during which the consumption or experience of local food and beverages is
expressed in various food-related activities, regardless of whether experiencing local food is
or is not a primary purpose for travel (Ignatov & Smith, 2006; Yun, Hennessey, &
MacDonald, 2011).
Tourism is considered as one of the fastest growing sectors of that support Indonesia’sn
economy. In 2014, the country welcomed about 9,4 million international visitors, a growth
rate of indicating a 7.19% growth over the previous figure for from 2013 (Ministry of
Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, 2014). Data reported by the
Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia showed that in
2010, visitors spent about 18-20% of their total tourism consumption on food and beverages
during 2010, ranked second in overall recorded as the second highest expendituresse (OECD,
2012). Indonesian The cuisine of Indonesia linary is greatly influenced by its natural
conditions, culture, and history. For instance, food in Sumatra Island has been shaped is
4
greatly influenced by Indian and Chinese culture, ever since the island became a the major
trading routes for these two countries. Most Northern Sumatra cities have been exhibit the
influenced by the way of life of Chinese and Indian immigrants’ ways of life (Tourism,
2010). As the western anchor of the archipelago, Sumatra was the first port of call for Indian
and Arab traders, and the coastal Sumatrans heavily adopted their spices as well as, stews,
curries and kebabs from these merchants (Koene, 1996). The cuisine of Sulawesi Island
revolves around seafood, perhaps because the island is known for producing Indonesia’s the
best quality sea produce in Indonesia, hence its culinary taste has revolved around seafood
cuisines. One regional favourite is fFish roasted over charcoal (ikan bakar) served with a
variety of dipping sauces or condiments is a firm regional favourite. Since tThe climate of
East Nusa Tenggara (Timor) is dry, and it is more common to have sago, corn, cassava, and
taro are more commonplace as staple foods rather than rice, as its staple foods (Wikipedia,
2010).
As a country with rich natural and cultural resources, Indonesia can potentially strengthen its
international visitor appeal by benefit from a focusing on culinary tourism to strengthen its
international visitor appeal. Indonesia is home to There are more than 485 ethnic groups in
Indonesia and , each hasving its own local food characteristics. This has endowed the national
cuisine with variety and taste (Yurnaldi, 2010). There are thousands of local foods that can
offer a strong focal point for portraying Indonesia as a tourism destination. Indeed, it has led
to uniqueness and a diversity of food-related activities that could be experienced by
international visitors could experience when travelling there (Alamsyah, 2008). However,
establishing Indonesia’s position as a world-class food tourism destination it still remains a
challenge to establish Indonesia’s position as a world-class food tourism destination. Having
great very diversity of e traditional dishes may lead to pose a difficultiesy when to selecting
which particular foods for to promote to the international market (Pertiwi, 2011). During
5
recent In fact, since the past few years, there has been a growing support from the
government has been to promotinge Indonesian culinary diversity and richness to the
international market level. Culinary tourism has been prioritized for development ais
considered to be one of the seven types of special interest tourism prioritised for
development. In December 2012, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy officially
launched 30 signature traditional dishes of Indonesia aiming to improve the awareness level
of the Indonesian culinary diversity in the international market (Prawitasari, 2012). The
national carrier, Garuda Indonesia has also sSupported for the promotiong of Indonesian
cuisine is also given by the national carrier, Garuda Indonesia, through the launch of the
Garuda Indonesia Experience concept which is designed to provide pre-, on, and, after flight
services characterisedcharacterized by Indonesian hospitality. This includes the provision of
signature traditional dishes for on-board meals such as nasi kuning (Indonesian yellow rice),
and nasi rendang (beef stewed with coconut paste) (Garuda, 2012). Recetly in In 2015, the
Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy designated has determined five cities of
Indonesia, as Indonesia’s gastronomy destinations namely: Bandung, Yogyakarta, Solo,
Semarang and Bali, as Indonesia’s gastronomy destinations (Widianto, 2015). AThere are
growing numbers of foodservice establishments ranginged from small to large scales, and
from street food stalls to hotel restaurants arethat specialisspecializinge in local Indonesian
food and catering to both domestic and international visitors (Setyanti, 2011).
The existing literature has indicatesd that most of the majority of culinary tourism studies that
have examineding visitor behaviours were undertaken taken in more touristically developed
tourist destinations (Cohen & Avieli, 2004; Henderson, 2009). In an Asian context, Tto the
author’s’ knowledge, no previous empirical studies y haves investigated food experiences
involving the consumption of local Indonesian food by international visitors in regard to their
consumption of local Indonesian food. On this basis it is timely to cConducting an empirical
6
investigation in Indonesia is thus of particular interest, to allowing for an examineation of
how food culture differences can shape and affect the overall dining experiences with local
food encountered by international visitors in the country. In view of Considering these
shortcomings in the literature, the aims of theis present study were:
1. To discover the international visitor preconceptions of local Indonesian food.
2. To examine the underlying factors influencing international visitor expectations prior to
engaging with local food dining in Indonesia.
3. To test whether levels of the dining expectation level varyied significantly between first
time and repeat the international visitors who first time travelling to Indonesia and those
who had ever visited the country before.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Factors Influencesing on the Visitor Dining Experience
According to Zeithaml and Bitner (2002), expectations are defined as customer desires or
wants of customers, in particularly in the case of , what they believe should be offered by a
service providers should offer. In the tourism context, Fluker and Turner (2000) delineated
expectations as the perceived likelihood that a particular act would produce be followed by a
particular outcome. Visitors make decisions based on certain expected outcomes and their
reactions to outcomes are in partly influenced by what theiry initially expectationsed
(Dickson & Hall, 2006). Gnoth (1997) argues that it is important to manageing visitor
expectations is extremely important since because this it can significantly influences the
visitors’ choice process and perceptions of the destination experience. These , which in turn,
affect overall the visitors’ overall satisfaction.
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Reviews of the relevant studies have indicated that most researchers investigating visitor
dining experiences have primarily focused on three aspects, namely: 1) food quality; 2)
service quality; and 3) dining atmosphere (Antun, Frash, Costen, & Runyan, 2010; Chang,
Kivela, & Mak, 2010; Chao, 2010; Yüksel, 2003). With respect to the food quality aspect, the
literature has highlighted shown a wide range of attributes to measureing food quality. These
vary from food presentation or appearance, taste, food health-related characteristics, food
quantity and variety (Chao, 2010; Ha & Jang, 2010; Jang, Ha, & Silkes, 2009; Karim & Chi,
2010; Mak, Lumbers, & Eves, 2012; Namkung & Jang, 2007). Another influence on visitor
dining expectations is The service quality of service also appears to be the major element in
influencing visitor dining expectations. The concept of service quality (SERVQUAL) is
defined as the ability of service staff to perform tasks relating to five dimensions of:
reliability; responsiveness; empathy; assurance; and tangibles (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, &
Berry, 1988). Further, Pendergast (2006) further highlighted that dining activities undertaken
by international visitors at various dining establishments can stimulate various feelings of
involvement and place attachment, depending upon the quality of food and service provision.
Similarly to this, Sparks, Bowen, and Klag (2003) stated that both food and the physical
environment are showcases for culture and can shape the dining expectations in order to
connect with the host culture.
Given the intensity of cultural interactions that are encountered by international visitors
would encounter when dining on with local food, it is imperative to incorporate food cultural-
related aspects, such as food authenticity as factors that influences the dining expectation.
Pratt (2007) explained that the concept of authenticity evokes a range of meanings such as
original, genuine, real and true to itself. It relates to the quality attributed to a range of
cuisines that are location specific to a particular location. As revealed by Karim, Chua, and
Saleh’s study (2009), the food authenticity that the sought by foreign travellers sought
8
involved were local ingredients used in the dishes, food taste, as well as unique cooking
method and food presentation. Extending this perspectiveBeyond this, Beer (2008) argues
that authenticity may refer to the story and meaning pertaining to the place and culture of the
food that is embedded as a representation of the culture. In many cases, for some For many
travellers in various circumstances, it is background the stories behind the food, such as the
origins of a particular ethnic food, which may could have greater appeal more than the food
itself (Morgan, Watson, & Hemmington, 2008).
TIn addition, the literature has also recognisedrecognized the association between previous
visitor past experiences and the intention to consume local food in the destination (Kwun &
Oh, 2006; Ryu & Han, 2010; Ryu & Jang, 2006). Kwun and Oh (2006) assert that past
experience strongly affects future consumption-related expectations for the same experience.
Moreover, they note that experienced consumers form their expectations differently relative
to compared with first time consumers, even for the same products. This is due to their high
level of greater familiarity with and knowledge about the local product. Similarly, Seo, Kim,
Oh, and Yun (2013) affirm that having more experiences with local food can increase
visitor’s familiarity with the food.
RESEARCH METHOD
A questionnaire-based survey was administered to involving a total of 349 international
visitors who travelled to Indonesia was completed. They were asked: 1) basic profiles relating
to demographics and travel characteristics; 2) preconceptions or knowledge about local
Indonesian food (open-ended questions); 3) attributes that were important to be expected
prior to actual dining experiences with local Indonesian food (using a five-point Likert scale).
Given the fact that the examination of dining expectations was undertaken place while the
respondents international visitors were in Indonesia, the term local food in this study refers
9
to all local Indonesian food offered at any types of food establishment withs of which the
visitors might be engageing with during their tripavel in the country. In most cases tThe
participants were approached mainly at Juanda International Airport Surabaya, East Java at
the arrivals terminal, and in the lobbies of at the four and five star hotels lobbies in Surabaya
and Malang, East Java. Considering the limitations of retrospective approach in examining
visitor expectations retrospectively, Wijaya, King, Nguyen, and Morrison (2013) proposed
that the measurement of visitor dining expectations is better conducted prior to actual visitor
encounters with local food consumption in the destination. That is, the measurement of
dining expectations was undertaken before the visitor’s actual encounter with local food
consumption during at their current visit. This process is crucial for ensuring that visitor
responses about their dining expectations with local food are free of bias from their
perceptions about of the actual dining activity. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was
applied to identify the underlying external factors which influenced visitor dining
expectations. In addition, MANOVA analysisanalysis was undertaken to ascertain find out
whether there were any significantly differentces in dining expectation levels between first
time and repeat the participants who travelled visitors to Indonesia for the first time and those
who had ever visited the country before.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Participant Profiles
In terms of the respondent demographics characteristics, out of 349 participants, 196 were
males. Most , mostly were aged 30 years old or above and , the majority were visitors from
European countries. A majority were , dominated by working group, and had attained their
highest education level minimum at diploma or bachelor degree level. With regard to purpose
of travel to Indonesia, most of the majority of participants were visitinged Indonesia for
10
holidays. , Tthere was a fairly equal proportion composition of those who travellinged for
education/cultural exchange and for business/MICE. A majority were visiting Indonesia, for
the identified as first time visiting Indonesia (221 out of 349); mostly were spendingt more
than a one week for of travel, and the majority were travellinged with a group of people or
tourists.
Preconceptions of Local Indonesian Food
Although most the majority of participants stated that they were visitinged Indonesia for the
first time, a majority most of them (275 out of 349) had heard about local Indonesian food
prior to before their actual visiting. It is more likely that respondents received information
pertaining to local Indonesian food verbally by word-of-mouth (WOM) from their friends,
family or relatives, rather than though from written sources like magazines or newspaper
articles about Indonesian cuisines. The authors examined pParticipant preconceptions were
on the examined basised ofn their knowledge about the most salient characteristics of local
Indonesian food. The related findings areis illustrated in the form of tag clouds inat Figure 1.
The words in the tag cloud with larger fonts size of words in the tag cloud are indicativees of
the more frequent the characteristics being mentionsed by the participants.
Insert Figure 1 here
As seen in Figure 1, rice-based, spicy, tasty, sweet, mostly fried (similar to oily), herbs
spices, sambal, and halal, were the words most frequently associated with local Indonesian
cuisine. The first four words - of rice-based, spicy, tasty, sweet a-re related to the food taste,
while herbs spices and sambal refer to the ingredients used in the dishes. Moreover, mostly
fried (oily) was the characteristic concerned with the way of cooking the food. Interestingly,
participants’ identification of major characteristics also revealed that local Indonesian food
11
was preconceived as halal. Given the fact that Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in
the world, the cuisines throughout in the country, therefore, must should follow what the
beliefs of the Muslim religion believes; that is, they are free of non-halal ingredients, such as
pork. These findings pose important implications as to how culinary tourism in Indonesia
could be promoted through the appropriate portrayal of food images to international visitors.
Important Expected Factors Prior to Dining with Local Indonesian Food
To determine the dimensionality of the dining expectation scale, 23twenty three dining-
related items were extracted using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) applying the Varimax
rotation method. The results of the KMO measure of sampling adequacy revealed a value
of .799, which was larger than the minimum cut-off point of .60. Bartlett’s test of sphericity
illustrated significance at a level of .000 (
2 = 1.783E3, df = 253). As for the dimensionality of
the scale assessing visitor dining expectations of local food, 59.24% of the total variance
emerged from the analysis. This provides an better indication that more than half of the
variance can be explained by the solution of factor analysis, generating seven distinct factors.
All newly extracted factors have Cronbach’s alpha coefficients above .50, thus, they meet the
minimum cut-off point as required [25]. The seven extracted factors and there corresponding
indicators or variables from EFA (Table 1) were found to be:
Insert Table 1 here
Factor 1: Staff Quality, contains five items of: communicative staff, knowledgeable staff,
responsive staff, friendly staff, and good description of dishes. This factor had the highest
eigenvalue (4.977), 21.64% of the total variance, and a high reliability coefficient of
Cronbach’s alpha that equalledequaled .72. The factor was labelled staff quality since it
displayed a predominance of items which were associated with the competence of the dining
staff. It was reasonable to expect adequate assistance from the staff during the experience of
12
dining on local food, given that they were part of the local community with whom the
participants were keen to interact. Additionally, participants were international visitors who
might not be unfamiliar with Indonesian food. As such, expecting good service from local
staff was understandable as it was considered an important element in enhancing the quality
of the dining experience with local food.
Factor 2: Sensory Appeal, which had an eigenvalue of 2.124, accounting for 9.24% of the
total variance, and a Cronbach’s alpha of .74. It was articulated by five items related to: food
smells appealing, clean dining place, the use of fresh ingredients, food tastes good, and a
pleasant ambience. All are indicative of dining expectations provoked by human senses. In
light of this, the factor was named sensory appeal. The emergence of this factor was thought-
provoking since the sensory appeal factor was extracted not merely by food-related elements,
such as taste, smell, and freshness of the food. It was also determined by sensory appeal
concerning the cleanliness and pleasant ambience of the dining establishment where the food
consumption took place.
Factor 3: Food Uniqueness, showed an eigenvalue of 1.734, explained 7.54% of the total
variance, and a Cronbach’s alpha of .64. Important among the items connected with this
factor was: unique way of cooking the food, unique way of eating the food, and unique way
of presenting the food. The food uniqueness factor is a reflection of Indonesian’s unique way
of preparing, serving, presenting, and eating the food.
Factor 4: Local Servicescapes, which was interpreted as the local servicescapes factor
comprising three items: dining place is representative of local culture, unique local décor, and
dining place provides a welcoming sense of local culture. Unlike the food uniqueness factor
which put more emphasis on the food aspect, the three items extracted from the local
servicescapes factor were closely associated with the physical aspect of dining, specifically
13
reflecting the local culture. This factor obtained an eigenvalue of 1.348, described 5.86% of
the total variance, and had a Cronbach’s alpha of .70. According to Gibbs and Ritchie (2010),
the provision of memorable food experiences during travel cannot be separated from the
quality of food service establishments. Bitner (1992) describes that servicescape comprises
three dimensions: ambient conditions; spatial layout and functionality; and signs, symbols,
and artefacts. In this study, local servicescapes were found to be closely associated with the
physical aspect of dining representing local Indonesian culture. These aspects included: the
unique design, décor, and layout of the dining establishment; how the place reflected
local Indonesian culture, for example, through traditional music played; and how it provided
a sense of welcome to visitors. Such findings suggest the important role of this factor as the
first ‘moment-of- -truth’ of the services encountered by the visitors, prior to the actual
engagement with the local food itself.
Factor 5: Food Authenticity, which had an eigenvalue of 1.238, explained 5.38% of the total
variance, and had a Cronbach’s alpha of .60. This factor emerged from the correlations of
three items: authentic taste, authentically spicy, and exotic food, demonstrating a close link
with the authenticity aspect. Food authenticity was the fifth external factor found to
significantly contribute to shaping participant dining expectations. It is important to note that
this result was in accordance with the preconceptions that the participants had (Figure 1)
regarding the major characteristics of Indonesian cuisines that they were required to describe
at the beginning of the survey. Most of these initial descriptions were related to the taste of
local Indonesian food, which was perceived as spicy, containing lot of herbs and spices, and
authentic.
Factor 6: Food Familiarity, which had an eigenvalue of 1.196, accounting for 5.20% of the
total variance, and showed a Cronbach’s alpha of .56. There were two items contributing to
14
the emergence of this factor: flavour modified for taste and the use of familiar ingredients.
The appearance of this factor in this study was notable, given that food authenticity, as
discussed above also emerged as a significant expected factor. Despite projecting
expectations of seeking authenticity in the food, the participants nevertheless expected some
familiarity with the local food they intended to eat. Here, this constituted participant
familiarity with food ingredients that were known, as well as a degree of flavour modification
in the local dishes they wanted to eat. These findings imply that whilst visitors travel in
search of novelty and strangeness, most need a degree of familiarity to enjoy their experience.
The new factor of food familiarity that emerged from factor analysis in this research was
evidence that this factor affects expectations involving dining on local food.
Factor 7: Food Variety, emerged as the seventh or last factor from the analysis. This factor
emerged from the correlation of two items: local drink in the destination, and wide range of
food available. This factor has an eigenvalue of 1.009, explains 4.39% of the total variance,
and exhibits a Cronbach’s alpha of .51. It is noteworthy to discover that the expectations
concerning variety were not exclusively related to local food, but also involved the presence
of various options for local beverages.
In addition to theose seven underlying factors and , as is illustrated in Table 2, the MANOVA
analysis indicates the influence of frequency of visit on dining expectations levels.
Insert Table 2 here
The Wilk’s Lambda of .894, the F value of 2.567, and the p value of .001 showed a
statistically significant difference amongst respondents who travelled to Indonesia for the
first time, 2-3 times, and more than 3 times in terms of their overall dining expectations. In
15
other words, a significant effect of the frequency of visit attribute was found on the visitor’s
dining expectation. Specifically, out of seven dining expectation factors, two dependent
variables, namely which were food authenticity and food familiarity, recorded a significant
value less than the cut-off of .05. With In regards to food familiarity, and as illustrated in
Figure 2, participants who were stated that they were visiting Indonesia for the first time
expressed higher expectations (mean = 3.13) than those who had previously travelled to the
country for 2-3 times (mean = 2.70). In the context of this study, food familiarity pertains to
the ingredients used and to the flavour of the food. It is unsurprising, therefore, to find that
those who travelled to Indonesia for the first time, expected to encounter food that was more
familiar to them, compared with those who had visited Indonesia before (assuming that they
had previous dining experience with local Indonesian food). By contrast, in terms of food
authenticity, those who had ever travelled previously to the country before projected
significantly higher expectations concerning this factor than those who were first time
visitorsing Indonesia. This finding is reasonable, given the assumption that those who had
travelled to Indonesia might have had the experienced of dining onwith local Indonesian food
during in their previous visit, which in turn, would build their conception about how the
delivery of authentic traditional Indonesian cuisinelinary should be delivered.
DISCUSSIONS
This study has revealed seven external factors affecting participant expectations about local
Indonesian food prior to the actual dining experience with local Indonesian food. Presented in
order of importance, these seven factors wereare: staff quality, sensory appeal, food
uniqueness, local servicescapes, food authenticity, food familiarity, and food variety. Each is
now discussed in detail.
16
Staff quality appeared to be the most important factor anticipated by participants. In this
study, staff quality comprised the attributes relating to the ability of local staff to provide
adequate information about local food, to offer responsive and friendly services, as well as to
communicate well with the participants. It was reasonable to expect adequate assistance from
the staff during the experience of dining on local food, given that they were part of the local
community with whom the participants were keen to interact. Additionally, participants were
international visitors who might not be familiar with Indonesian food. As such, expecting
good service from local staff was understandable as it was considered an important element
in enhancing the quality of the dining experience with local food. The importance of this
aspect was also confirmed by Gibbs and Ritchie (2010) who state that besides the food that is
being consumed at dining establishments, staff capacity in providing services to customers is
also a key determinant in providing memorable dining experiences.
Sensory appeal was found to be the second most important factor anticipated by the
participants prior to their actual dining, indicative of dining expectations stimulated by
human senses. The emergence of this factor in the research was thought-provoking since the
sensory appeal factor was not exclusively extracted not merely by food-related elements,
such as taste, smell, and freshness of the food. It was also determined by sensory appeal
concerning the cleanliness and pleasant ambience of the dining establishment where the food
consumption occurredtook place. This evidence suggests that in dining, the role of items
beyond food are considered by international visitors as being just as essential as the food
itself and as such, should not be overlooked by relevant tourism authorities. Kivela and Crotts
(2006) note that dining experiences should could offer a pleasurable sensory experience since
they it involves stimuli from the food that is seen, smelt, tasted, touched, and felt. The results
of this study confirm this belief. It has been found that with sensory appeal playsing a critical
17
role in motivating participants to try the local food, even if they were who were initially
unfamiliar with it beforehandwith local food to try that food.
Food uniqueness was tThe third factor contributing to participant dining expectations was
food uniqueness, including ways of cooking, presenting, and eating local food in ways that
were considered different from what they experienced at home. In other words, the food
uniqueness factor in this study is a reflectsion of Indonesian’s unique way of preparing,
serving, presenting, and eating the food. As found in Jang et al.’s study (2009), the food
uniqueness factor was represented by sensory-related aspects, such as being exotic, spicy, and
aromatic. However, the findings of this study revealed that the unique aspect of local cuisines
composed of elements of food quality outside of the sensory appeal attributes. As described
in the preceding paragraph, sensory appeal emerged as a distinct factor with a significant
influence on participant expectations.
According to Smith, Costello, and Muenchen (2010), the provision of memorable food
experiences during travel cannot be separated from the quality of food service establishments.
In this study tThe local servicescape was found in this study to be a significant external factor
affecting participant dining expectations with local Indonesian food. In this study, Llocal
servicescapes were found to be closely associated with the physical aspect of dining
representing local Indonesian culture. These aspects included: the unique design, décor, and
layout of the dining establishment; how the place reflected local Indonesian culture, for
example, through traditional music played; and how it provided a sense of welcome to
visitors. These results suggest that the important role of this factor wasas the first ‘moment-
of- -truth’ of the services encountered by the visitors, prior to the actual engagement with the
local food itself.
18
Food authenticity was the fifth external factor found to significantly contribute significantly
to shaping participant dining expectations. The emergence of food authenticity as a distinct
extracted factor incorporated: the authentic taste of the food; authentic spiciness of the food;
and any local dishes that the diners found to be exotic. It is important to note that this result
was in accordance with the preconceptions that the participants had regarding the major
characteristics of Indonesian cuisines that they were required to describe at the beginning of
the survey. As was discussed previouslyearlier, most of these initial descriptions were related
to the taste of local Indonesian food, which was perceived as spicy, containing lot of herbs
and spices, and authentic (see Figure 1).
Along with food authenticity, food familiarity was the sixth important factor significantly
influencing participant dining expectations. The appearance of this factor in th eis present
study was notable, given that food authenticity, as discussed above, also emerged as a
significant expected factor. Despite projecting expectations of seeking authenticity in the
food, the participants nevertheless expected some familiarity with the local food they
intended to eat. Here, this constituted participant familiarity with food ingredients that were
known, as well as a degree of flavour modification in the local dishes they wanted to eat.
These findings imply that whilst visitors travel in search of novelty and strangeness, most
need a degree of familiarity to enjoy their experience. The emergence of new factor of food
familiarity that emerged from the factor analysis in this research was evidence of its influence
that this factor affects on expectations involving dining on local food.
Food variety was the last factor significantly affecting participant expectations. It
encompassed two items, namely: the wide range of local dishes that catering to participant
preferences or needs; and the availability of local Indonesian beverages that participants
might want to experience. It is noteworthy to find that expectations concerning variety were
19
not exclusively related to local food, but also involved the presence of various options for
local beverages.
This study also revealed that frequency of visit to Indonesia had a significant influence on
participant dining expectations. Differences were identified between It was found that there
were groups differences with regard to the expected level of two factors: food familiarity and
food authenticity. Those who were the Ffirst timers expressed higher expectations of
familiarity with the local food compared to than repeat visitorsthose who had ever travelled to
the country before. By contrast, in terms of food authenticity, repeat visitors those who had
ever travelled to the country before projected significantly higher expectations concerning
food authenticity than those who were first time visiting Indonesiatimers. This finding is
reasonable, given the assumption that repeat visitors those who had travelled to Indonesia
may ight had the experience of have dineding on with local Indonesian food during in their
previous visit/s. This would, , which in turn, would help build their conception about how
authentic traditional Indonesian culinary should be delivered. This finding accords with
Kwun and Oh’s study (2006) who concluded that revealed the role of past experience in
affectsing future consumption-related expectations for the same experience. They note that
experienced consumers form their expectations differently than compared to first timers
consumers, even for the same products. This is due to their greater high level of familiarity
with, and level of knowledge about, the local product.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
With respect to the geographical context, this study has enriched the body of hospitality
management literature by providing a better understanding of culinary tourism in Indonesia,
one of South East Asia’s the emerging tourism destinations in South East Asia region. This is
noteworthy as the existing literature has been mainly concerned with the culinary tourism
20
offerings in Western and more developed destinations. Therefore, this study provides a space
for academic discussions related to culinary tourism from the Asian perspective. The results
show seven underlying factors that affect participant dining expectations with local
Indonesian food, namely: staff quality; sensory appeal; food uniqueness; local
servicescapes; food familiarity; food authenticity; and food variety factors. In terms of
frequency of travel, the finding shows significant differences between first time and repeater
travellers in expecting food authenticity and food familiarity factors.
As an exploratory study, this research has offered a practical contribution to Indonesia’s
tourism industry to the improved understanding of international visitor dining behaviour. It is
anticipated that the revealed findings will would help the assist relevant stakeholders to
design their culinary tourism strategies on a market-driven basis. Foodservice providers in
Indonesia need to be aware of these facts and attempt to accommodate different dining
expectations differences when catering food to the international visitors. This could be done
for instance, by providing options for the food spiciness level since not all international
visitors can accept spicy food, especially those who are travelling to Indonesia ed and
experiencing engaged with the Indonesian local food for the first time could accept spicy
food. FurthermoreBesides, since staff service quality of staff and food-cultural related factors
appeared to be the most dominant factors in shaping local food dining expectation, thus, it is
important for the relevant Indonesian government bodies like the Ministry of Tourism and
Creative Economy to support the industry with adequate trainings such as language and
communications in cross-cultural contexts.
Despite this study’s significant contributions offered by this study, several limitations of this
study should be acknowledged. First, due to resource constraints, the empirical investigation
was only conducted in the geographical scope of Surabaya and Malang cities in East Java
21
province, thereby which might have resulted in leading to possible bias because of the
cultural setting bias. On this basisThat is, theis study does not claim to not represent the
whole region of Indonesia with its hose diverse food cultures is very diverse. Accordingly,
this research should not be widely interpreted as to being representative of the general
experiential examination on dining with all local Indonesian food. It is therefore
recommended that future studies should be conducted in other destination contexts and/or in
other cultural settings. Second, in terms of the sample representativeness, the number of
participants from Asian countries was less than those residing in non-Asian countries. As a
consequence, although a total of 349 international visitors participated in this study, the
number was still considered relatively small. to enable If the researchers were to conduct a
comprehensive group comparison on the basis of according to various socio-demographics
and travel characteristics, a larger and more representative sample would be required. For
instance, country of origin of visitors originating from within the South East Asian region
may have different expectations to those from the West. Therefore, to enhance reliability and
the validity of the data generalisability of the study findings, it is recommended that to
incorporate a larger greater and more heterogeneous sample size should that would contribute
to higher be consideredreliability and validity of the data.
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