Exploring the Behavioral Intentions of Food Tourists Who Visit Crete

Georgios Angelakis (), Yari Vecchio, Christos Lemonakis, Georgios Atsalakis, Constantin Zopounidis and Konstadinos Mattas
Additional contact information
Georgios Angelakis: Department of Management Science & Technology, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 72100 Agios Nikolaos, Greece
Yari Vecchio: Department of Veterinary Medical Science, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Christos Lemonakis: Department of Management Science & Technology, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 72100 Agios Nikolaos, Greece
Georgios Atsalakis: Financial Engineering Laboratory, Department of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Constantin Zopounidis: Financial Engineering Laboratory, Department of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Konstadinos Mattas: Laboratory of Agricultural Products Marketing, Agricultural Policy and Cooperatives, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Food tourism has been growing globally in recent years. Food tourism is considered as special interest tourism, attracting tourists who have a great interest in food. Tourists spend a significant percentage of their budget on the purchase of local food products and related food activities, contributing to the sustainable development of the touristic destination in the process. This survey took place in Crete, Greece, throughout the touristic period of 2021, and 4268 valid questionnaires were completed by international tourists. For the data analysis, the Structural Equation Model and an extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model, based on subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and satisfaction, were used to better understand the consumers’ intentions to revisit and recommend the region of Crete. The outcomes of the research pinpointed that the perceived quality and perceived value of local foods positively influenced satisfaction, which, in turn, evoked favorable intentions to revisit and recommend Crete as a touristic destination. Moreover, while satisfaction, attitude, and subjective norms seem to be the most significant drivers affecting positive behavioral intentions, perceived behavior control seems to have had no significant impact. The implications and limitations of the survey, as well as future recommendations, are also discussed.

Keywords: food tourism; Theory of Planned Behavior; attitude; subjective norms; perceived behavioral control; satisfaction; motivational factors; behavioral intentions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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