Search results

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.

There are two goals for this study. Firstly, this study aims to understand the impact of various youth tourist motivations, such as Muslim amenities, Islamic product travel, attraction, perceived value and service quality, on the intention to visit Phuket. Secondly, this study aims to determine whether or not young people's perceptions of health risks influence their motivations and decisions to travel to Phuket in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study used a quantitative methodology, using nonprobability convenience sampling to collect responses from 249 Indonesian youths who intended to visit Phuket after the COVID-19 pandemic. Hayes' (2018) SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 1) was used to test the research model.

The findings showed that the intention to travel was significantly affected by factors such as Muslim amenities, Islamic product travel, attraction, perceived value and service quality. Furthermore, the perceived health risk moderated three dimensions of Islamic product travel, perceived value and service quality on intention to visit.

This study is limited to a sample of Indonesian youth tourists and the impacts of motivation (Muslim amenities, Islamic product travel, attractiveness, perceived value and service quality) and the moderating influence of health risk on the desire to visit Phuket.

This study sheds insight into the influence of several young tourists' motives on the intention to visit Phuket and the moderating role of perceived health risks. The findings provide essential insights for marketing strategies and the development of the international destination. Specifically, the study suggests developing products with Islamic attributes, emphasising the attraction factor and improving perceived values. The study also provides a model that demonstrates how religious values can affect an individual's decision-making process.