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Historically, hot springs have been regarded as hedonic and foodie destinations, yet the antecedents that affect tourists' intentions for local cuisine in hot springs remain unexplored. The present study aims to address this knowledge gap by considering the role of nostalgia and hedonic values in tourist food consumption.

Data were collected from 315 domestic tourists by intercept surveys conducted in the Beitou Hot Spring, Taiwan. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping were used to test the hypotheses as well as mediating effects.

Nostalgia positively influences hedonic values, which affect tourists' intentions for local food consumption. Unexpectedly, nostalgia does not directly influence tourists' preferences due to complete mediation through hedonic values.

Given a growing number of young consumers visiting hot springs, hedonic experience is essential and more effective for pulling visitors and stimulating local food consumption than nostalgia vibes are. Cross-cultural samples and qualitative research are suggested for future studies.

The study demonstrates different levels of nostalgia in different ages. It highlights the mediating role of hedonic values between nostalgia and tourists' intentions for local cuisine in the hot spring destinations, which has been overlooked in previous studies. Originality is also established by simultaneously investigating hedonic values and behavioral intentions within the context of food tourism.

Prior studies have put much emphasis on using the uses and gratification (U&G) theory to find out why people use games, social media, the Internet, e-shopping, etc. Despite past research efforts, the root causes underlying this phenomenon still need to be discovered as to why people use interactive virtual rides (vrides) entertainment services, especially when incorporating the hedonic consumption perspective (i.e. playful-consumption experiences). Considering the knowledge gap in the vrides’ context, this study aims to use the UGT to find out why people use the vrides entertainment service from a hedonic consumption point of view.

With 217 usable responses, the research model was tested using partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

Findings reveal that only perceived enjoyment, arousal and sensory experience derive continuous intention behavior to consume vride entertainment service. Findings using the fsQCA revealed multiple causal configurations for the proposed outcome.

This study contributes to extending the assumption of UGT via incorporating the hedonic consumption perspective to explore the potential motives and intention to consume vrides entertainment services. Our study also discusses the important theoretical/practical implications of our findings. Besides, this study is unique because it shows both symmetrical and asymmetrical connections that help us understand why people keep using vrides entertainment service.