Consequences of local culinary memorable experience: Evidence from TikTok influencers

Muhammad Haroon Shoukat; Kareem M Selem; Islam Elgammal; Haywantee Ramkissoon; Mary Amponsah

doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103962

Consequences of local culinary memorable experience: Evidence from TikTok influencers

Acta Psychol (Amst). 2023 Aug:238:103962. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103962. Epub 2023 Jun 23.

Authors

Muhammad Haroon Shoukat¹, Kareem M Selem², Islam Elgammal³, Haywantee Ramkissoon⁴, Mary Amponsah⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Attock Campus, 43600, Pakistan. Electronic address: haroonshaukat29@gmail.com.
² Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt. Electronic address: karim.ibrahim@tourism.suez.edu.eg.
³ Business Administration Department, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Tourism Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. Electronic address: imelgammal@uj.edu.sa.
⁴ Fellow of the Peer Review College, British Academy of Management, UK; Executive Co-Director, Center for Dynamic Enterprises in Global Economies, University of South Australia, SA 5001, Australia; Professor of Tourism, UniSA Business, University of South Australia; College of Hospitality & Tourism, University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Centre for Innovation in Tourism, Taylor's University, Malaysia; College of Business, Law, & Social Sciences, University of Derby, UK. Electronic address: ramkissoonhaywantee@gmail.com.
⁵ The University of Newcastle, Australia; Centre for African Research, Engagement and Partnerships, Australia. Electronic address: Mary.Amponsah@newcastle.edu.au.

PMID: 37356362
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103962

Abstract

Underpinned by integrating self-determination and source credibility theories (SCT), this paper investigates the focal roles of memorable local food experiences (MLX) and travel influencer endorsement (TIE) on revisit intention. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 513 TikTok influencers (individuals who frequently post videos on TikTok and have a large number of followers). A purposive sampling technique is used to collect data from TikTok influencers who create videos about food tourism in Pakistan. SmartPLS 4.4 was used with PLS-SEM. The empirical results suggest a positive and significant linkage of culinary memorable experience factors with MLX. The focal effects of MLX and TIE on revisit intention are significantly positive. Our findings further revealed that MLX partially mediated the linkage of culinary memorable experience factors with revisit intention, while TIE strengthened the positive relationship between MLX and revisit intention. The study's findings influence travel agents, local food providers, and marketing specialists who develop marketing strategies for local food tourism and online trip purchasing.

Keywords: Culinary memorable experience; Food tourism; Revisit intention; Self-determination theory; Source credibility theory; TikTok influencers.

MeSH terms

Humans
Intention
Research Design
Social Media*