Comparing Online Gastronomic Images through Customer Reviews: Evidence from Asia, Europe, and the USA

Estela Marine-Roig ()
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Estela Marine-Roig: University of Lleida

A chapter in Eurasian Business and Economics Perspectives, 2025, pp 189-207 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Local gastronomy has considerable weight in the tourist destination image (TDI), and this image is decisive in the process of selecting a vacation spot. Since perceived TDI represents reality in the minds of visitors and potential tourists, semiotic analysis of user-generated content (UGC) takes on particular significance for tourism destination marketing and management organizations (DMOs). This study proposes combining three consolidated theoretical models to measure the contribution of quality gastronomy to the online TDI: Marine-Roig’s TDI formation circle, Grönroos’s service quality, and Morris’s semiotic foundations. The conceptual model is used to compare the gastronomic images of three tourist regions with distinct cultural heritages: Asia, Europe, and the USA. Using big data comparisons of UGC scaled from 0 to 100, the study analyzes all (N = 136,288) English-language online travel reviews (OTRs) up to January 1, 2023, of all two- and three-star Michelin restaurants located in the aforementioned regions and listed on TripAdvisor. The findings confirm that customer satisfaction positively affects their loyalty to the restaurant. Furthermore, they show that the popularity of establishments, measured as the average number of OTRs hosted on TripAdvisor, is greater in the USA and at three-star restaurants. However, diners’ feelings are more positive at two-star restaurants in all three regions, which contradicts the claim that quality service positively affects customer satisfaction. These results can help improve the marketing strategies of DMOs and other stakeholders.

Keywords: Tourism marketing; Destination image semiotics; Quality gastronomy; Michelin-starred restaurant; User-generated content; Natural language processing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:eurchp:978-3-031-80256-0_12

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-80256-0_12

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