The Effect of Gastronomic Heritage on Visitors’ Decision-Making Process: Festivalscape as an Antecedent of Attitude.

The study aims to develop a theory-based model in predicting behavioral tourists’ intentions to revisit a destination which has in gastronomic heritage its principal reason of attraction. The paper underpins the idea that, in some context, general theories that have been employed to explain human behavior are not really completely adequate. Probably it is necessary to include specific factors derived from the context. In particular in the case of gastronomic heritage tourism, general theories must include the specific contextual elements necessary to take into account the specificity of the traditional food. Probably in that context the quality of that food, linked with the food-festivalscape, became a fundamental element of choice. Underpinning that idea, the study tests the appropriateness of model of Theory of Planned behaviour (TPB) and the disconfirmation theory in explaining gastronomic heritage tourism choices. The proposed model incorporates the contextual factor of food-festivalscape. The proposed research model is tested through an empirical survey conducted at a food-festival in Sant’Antonio Abate a small village near Naples (Italy). The food-festival was focused on tomatoes that is a typical cultivation in that area so that it is defined as “the red gold”. A confirmatory factor analysis is conducted in order to assess reliability of multi-item scales. The overall model and constructs relationships are tested through a Structural Equation Model (SEM). The added value of the work lies in the attempt to contaminate the relatively “new” concept of festivalscape with the well-known model of TPB: in particular the path analysis carried out validates the hypothesis that festivalscape in an important antecedent of attitude. Such a result can be interpreted emphasizing the need to enhance the contextual aspect of festivals’ location, as the distinctiveness of this kind of events lies in the ability to imbue the atmosphere with local culture.