The relationship between the culinary preference and culinary satisfaction

Purpose – South Africa is considered to be the least prepared culinary tourism destination in the world. This paper puts forth a model portraying the relationship between culinary preference and culinary satisfaction to be used to prepare South Africa as a culinary tourism destination. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was used to determine the importance of specific culinary aspects while travelling, as well as the level of culinary satisfaction experienced in South Africa by a sample of 627 international tourists. Factor analysis established culinary preference and culinary satisfaction factors and structural equational modelling tested a hypothesised model of the relationship between the factors. Findings – Social influence, culture and religion, environmental sensitivity, exploration and the culinary experience emerged as culinary preference themes. Culinary satisfaction themes were identified as satisfaction with affordability, satisfaction with personal preferences being met and satisfaction within the dining environment. Of the hypothesised, 15 relationships between the importance of culinary preference factors and the culinary satisfaction factors, only five relationships existed. Originality of the research – The developed model serves to explain the relationship between culinary preference and culinary satisfaction. In order to improve the culinary satisfaction reported by international tourists, the supported hypotheses should be focused on