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The purpose of this study is to identify and understand distinct tourist segments in Phuket, focusing on their characteristics, attitudes and perceptions as visitors to a creative gastronomic destination.

In this study, cluster analysis is used to identify tourist segments in Phuket, a well-known United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) gastronomic city. The analysis is based on data collected from 525 domestic Thai tourists.

Cluster analysis revealed three distinct tourist segments: gastronomy enthusiasts, taste discoverers and gourmet wanderers. These segments exhibit significant differences in their characteristics and perceptions of Phuket’s gastronomic offerings.

This study is limited to domestic Thai tourists in Phuket and does not include international visitors. In addition, the findings are specific to the context of Phuket and may not be entirely generalizable to other gastronomic destinations.

The identified tourist segments provide valuable guidance for tourism professionals to tailor their marketing efforts, develop targeted products and meet the preferences of different gastronomically oriented tourists, contributing to the successful management of a gastronomic city.

This study contributes to the fields of destination management and gastronomy tourism by providing valuable insights for practitioners seeking to enhance their offerings and consider the preferences of different gastronomically oriented tourist segments. Identifying these segments enriches the understanding of visitor behavior in creative gastronomy cities.

This study aims to explore the determinants of behavioral intentions during the previsit stage by investigating the influence of audience involvement with the audiovisual product and the mediating role played by place attachment.

Structural equation modeling was employed to verify the hypothesized relationships using the AMOS 24.0 program to assess the proposed model. A total of 564 young Chinese audiences who had watched the Thai television (TV) series “I Told Sunset About You” but had not previously visited Phuket, Thailand, were collected using the online survey as participants.

The findings indicate that audience involvement has a significant positive effect on place attachment and behavioral intentions during the previsit stage. Place attachment significantly influences behavioral intentions. Moreover, the result suggests that place attachment significantly mediates the relationship between audience involvement and behavioral intentions.

This study contributes to film tourism research by revealing the crucial role of audience involvement in enhancing place attachment and fostering behavioral intentions toward depicted destinations among potential tourists.

This study suggests that destination marketers should be aware of the soft power of films and TV series to promote destination and attract prospective tourists.

This study provides a distinctive perspective on the interrelationships between audience involvement, place attachment, and previsit behavioral intentions. Additionally, it sheds light on the underlying mechanisms influencing potential tourists' behaviors in the context of film tourism.