International tourists' Choices and satisfaction of small restaurants in thailand: the influence of food safety indicators

Travelers' increasing concern about restaurant-associated foodborne illness makes food safety very important to destination foodservice operators. While previous research has shed light on the impact of destination different restaurant service quality attributes on tourists' satisfaction,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of foodservice business research 2022-09, Vol.25 (5), p.499-532
Main Authors: Yasami, Mehri, Phetvaroon, Kullada, Zhu, Hongrui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cleanliness
COVID-19
Factor analysis
Food safety
Food safety risk
foodborne illness
Hygiene
Indicators
Personal hygiene
Quality management
restaurant hygiene quality
Restaurants
Tourism
tourist satisfaction
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Summary:Travelers' increasing concern about restaurant-associated foodborne illness makes food safety very important to destination foodservice operators. While previous research has shed light on the impact of destination different restaurant service quality attributes on tourists' satisfaction, there is a lack of research identifying the dimensions of food safety indicators driving tourist's restaurant selection and satisfaction solely. This study aims to fill the gaps by developing a scale measuring 433 international tourists' perceptions about hygiene standards in Phuket small restaurants. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a four-factor model that influences tourists' restaurant selection. These factors were: waitstaff's appearance and personal hygiene, cleanliness of restaurant, toilet hygiene, and food safety information cues. Cleanliness of restaurant and waitstaff's appearances and personal hygiene were two key factors influencing tourist satisfaction of small restaurants. The significance of restaurant hygiene quality has received less attention in tourism marketing literature, thus this study adds further importance by underlining its implication to the sustainable management of destination restaurants. However, this study suffered from several limitations, for instance, the study's framework, the inability to generalize the results due to the research scope and context, and the concurrence of data collection with the COVID-19 pandemic which pave the way for future studies.
ISSN:1537-8020
1537-8039
DOI:10.1080/15378020.2021.1964340