Abstract:

Since local food is considered essential to attract tourists to a destination, we focused on a number of negative and positive factors influencing the local food purchasing decision. In this context, the purpose of this study is to determine the effect of food neophobia, variety seeking and food consumption motivation on the intention to purchase local food through quantitative research. The data were obtained from 655 international tourists visiting Istanbul between May-August 2021 through a face-to-face survey and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which validates the use of partial least squares (PLS). The results indicate that food neophobia, variety seeking, and food consumption motivation have a significant effect on the intention to purchase local food. Consequently, theoretical and practical recommendations were presented in line with the findings.

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