Darko Dimitrovski

The antecedents of satisfaction and revisit intentions for full-service restaurants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedents of satisfaction and revisit intentions for full-service restaurants. The economic crisis is known to have had a deep impact on consumer behavior with regards to restaurants and this study is primarily focussed on exploring the effects on the traditional antecedents of satisfaction and revisit intentions as full-time restaurants attempt to reposition their offer. Design/methodology/approach – The study involved 218 respondents who were guests of full-service restaurants. In terms of statistical analyses, confirmative factor analysis was used to test the suitability of the proposed model for measuring satisfaction and revisit intentions, while structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the relationship among variables of the conceptualized model. Findings – The results confirmed the significant impact of atmosphere and quality of interaction on guest satisfaction. It was interesting to notice that perceived price has no statistical...

Food markets visitors: a typology proposal

Purpose – Focusing on food markets popularity among tourists, the purpose of this paper is to differentiate clusters of tourists based on their behaviour during their visit of these food halls. Design/methodology/approach – Factor-cluster analysis is the segmentation method used to identify food markets groupings related to their motivations, while ANOVA was performed to determine differences between clusters when it comes to perceived authenticity, satisfaction and revisit intention. La Boqueria in Barcelona (Spain) is the paradigmatic food market used to conduct 196 survey respondents based on factor importance. Findings – Two homogenous clusters were identified and labelled as apathetic-market visitors and food-market lovers. Practical implications – Segmentation proposal provides insights to be taken into account for future Destination Management Organisation’s policies, related to promotional activities and destination branding development. They could create effective tailor-made promotional campaign...

Role of food neophilia in food market tourists’ motivational construct: The case of La Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT In this paper we advocate the study of local food markets to explore fundamental issues about the relationship between these urban tourist attractions and visitors’ motivation and satisfaction. Based on a survey in La Boqueria Market in Barcelona, Spain, we test the direct effect of escape from routine, cultural experience, prestige, and food market involvement on satisfaction, and also the moderator role of food neophilia in this relationship. We conclude that tourists visiting food markets are motivated mainly by cultural experience and interaction with local producers, while food neophilia plays a significant moderator role.

Urban food markets in the context of a tourist attraction - La Boqueria market in Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT In the last few decades, local governments have looked at developing their cities to increase their attractiveness for tourism consumption. Urban and tourism planners have focused their attention on adapting different local attractions to target the tourist visit and provide them with recreation and entertainment. By consuming locally sourced traditional or farmed products, tourists adopt the values associated with local identity codes. This experience allows tourists to enjoy the city more as if they were local citizens. In this sense, one method of behaving as a local is to visit a food market. This study investigates the attributes that affect tourist satisfaction in relation to food market visits and explores whether tourists intend to revisit these food halls. Based on a survey relating to La Boqueria, currently one of the most renowned food markets in Barcelona, three factors were identified: physical environment, location and accessibility, and price. The results reveal that physical environment is an important tourist satisfaction predictor, while price and location and accessibility influence revisit behaviour. The results also suggest differences between first-time visitors and repeat visitors related to attributes perception, while there is no statistically important difference on the path level.

Commemorative events at destination memorials – a dark (heritage) tourism context

Abstract In the past, sites and events related to war and atrocities were viewed in the wider context of heritage tourism. The term ‘dark’ was added with the aim of recognising heritage sites closely related to death and suffering. Given that commemorative events as part of dark heritage are not prevalent in heritage and tourism literature, there is a need to understand the behaviour of visitors involved in visiting these sites or attending this type of event, which presents a special challenge. Public commemorations, especially those that mark particularly disturbing occurrences, such as ‘The Great School Hour’ – an event which is presented in the artistic form of a ‘school class’ – are unique form of tourist activity that has not been thoroughly investigated previously. Thus, the aim of the study is to explore the influence of the main motivators on revisit intention and willingness to recommend for those who attended the commemorative event ‘The Great School Hour’ in Kragujevac, Serbia, with a particular focus on younger people. The results suggest that learning, emotional response and uniqueness have a significant positive effect on revisit intention, while emotional response and uniqueness have a significant positive effect on willingness to recommend.

Going for gold as a leisure tourism continuum: clustering motivations for gold panning revisit intention

Abstract The way in which people use their spare time differs. Leisure activities and tourism are among the most common of these. Gold panning is a rather unusual niche leisure and tourism activity. Despite some differences, leisure and tourism are generally interrelated in many ways, thus gold panning, is a good example of the leisure tourism continuum. In this study, gold panning is considered as a set of leisure activities within the context of tourism. The aim of the paper is to determine the profile of a gold panner based on their motivations. Therefore, respondents are clustered by means of motivation into two homogenous groups defined as ‘nature seekers’ and ‘true gold panners’. The results suggest that the clusters differ significantly with regards to age, education and marital status, but also in terms of the degree of interest in gold and revisit intention. The originality of the research lies in the fact that gold panning as a leisure activity has seldom been explored under the guise of a leisure and tourist context within existing literature, especially through the means of quantitative research.

Urban gastronomic festivals—Non-food related attributes and food quality in satisfaction construct: A pilot study

ABSTRACT Gastronomy festivals play a key role in attracting tourists, since they ensure a total tourism experience rather than only a food tasting or eating experience. The purposes of this study are to investigate the relationship of non-food related attributes toward satisfaction with urban gastronomic festivals and to determine if food quality as a moderating variable changes the intensity of the relationship. Model fit was tested through confirmative factor analysis, while regression analysis was employed to determine the impact of main and interaction effects. The findings suggest that all non-food related attributes, except comfort, have significant impact on satisfaction, while food quality has partial moderating effect.