This study attempts to investigate the perceived authenticity of consumers in Chinese traditional branded restaurants, as well as to investigate the specific factors that contribute to consumers’ perceived authenticity. It constructs a systematic model addressing whether, and how, consumers’ perceived authenticity, can influence their behavioural intentions through perceived quality of food, service, and dining environment, as well as perceived values in traditional branded restaurants. Results were derived from a mixed-method approach where 68 consumers were initially interviewed, followed by interviewer-administered questionnaire survey with additional 418 consumers. Qualitative analysis, along with exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed five factors that influencing consumers’ authenticity perceptions: historical and cultural value, brand value, nostalgia, environment authenticity, and food authenticity. Structural equation modelling analysis revealed positive impacts of consumers’ perceived authenticity and perceived service quality on their perceived value of dining experience, which in turn predict consumers’ behaviour intentions.

Food is widely accepted as of great importance in tourists’ experiences by researchers. However, few studies allow tourists themselves to indicate the importance of food for their travel. In the meanwhile, the argument regarding the overestimation of the importance of food tourism to attract tourists is on the increase. Through a case study in Chongqing (China), this study aims to critically assess the importance of food tourism from domestic tourists’ perspectives. In particular, it fills the gap by providing a thorough exploration of tourists’ food experiences at different stages of their travel. A quantitative research methodology involving a structured questionnaire has been adopted. The results reveal that food plays different roles in different travel stages. The importance of food tourism in the pre-travel stage to Chongqing is not as important as the existing literature sources suggest. However, food has shown its importance during tourists’ travel in Chongqing as well as increased importance in their post-travel stage. In light of these findings, marketing strategies can be identified to accelerate the development of food tourism at a destination.

Food is a sustainable part of destination tourism. However, few studies attempt to separate and examine the role played by local foods within tourists’ overall experience when claiming the benefits that local foods can bring to a destination. Using Mainland China as the case in point, this study aims to evaluate the potential for destinations to use local food as a sustainable marketing tool. This is achieved through examining how local food, as part of the tourist experience, can contribute to tourists’ destination loyalty. This study proposes a structural model addressing the potential relationships between tourist food-related behaviours (tourists’ food-related motivation, information search, food involvement, and food satisfaction) and destination loyalty among domestic tourists in China. Useable data was collected from 1353 respondents at eight destinations in China, this was screened and analysed with SPSS 21 and partial least squares-structural equation modelling. The results reveal the positive correlation between tourists’ food satisfaction and destination loyalty, confirming the value of local food in China as a sustainable marketing tool. However, the paper highlights that tourists’ food-related motivation, information search, and involvement are not in direct correlation to their destination loyalty. Possible implications for destination marketers and researchers are provided.

Purpose: The subject of food has been well researched by academics, and is often employed by tourism destination practitioners. However, a review of relevant literature indicates that there is a lack of research reported and written in English on the importance of food in Chinese local regional development. The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of local food to act as a destination attraction, and contribute to the development of local regions in China, by examining the food-related motivation, involvement, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions of Chinese domestic tourists. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using interviewer-completed questionnaire from a sample of 1,353 domestic tourists at eight destinations geographically spread or in one region in China. Findings: The results reveal three types of food-related behaviour (which are described and evaluated below). While gender is seen to be significant, other demographical factors, such as ages and educational levels, do not appear to influence the level of interests and involvement in local food for Chinese domestic tourists. Originality/value: This study is a contribution towards assessing the potential for using local food as a tool to develop local regions in China, and to obtain a better understanding of the market segmentation of Chinese local food tourists. It assists in identifying potential food tourists towards whom marketing should be addressed.

In order to foster students’ development and enhance the training quality within tourism programs at universities, this study aims to investigate the relationships among tourism students’ professional identity, academic self-efficacy, learning engagement, and university support. Professional identity refers to learners’ recognition and understanding of their study programs and is viewed as a dynamic, progressive process consisting of professional cognition, professional emotion, and professional appraisal. Data were collected from 333 tourism students studying at Chinese universities. They were analyzed through SPSS and SmartPLS. The results revealed that there is no significant correlation between students’ professional cognition and learning engagement. However, students’ professional emotions and professional appraisals positively influence learning engagement. Moreover, all three dimensions of professional identity exhibit positive effects on students’ academic self-efficacy. Additionally, students’ academic self-efficacy demonstrates a positive impact on learning engagement, and university support is associated with increased learning engagement and academic self-efficacy. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the learning experience of tourism students and aims to facilitate the advancement of tourism education through cultivating students’ professional identity towards tourism and developing students’ career commitment in the tourism industry. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Purpose: Little empirical research has examined the role of culture on the internal marketing-employee satisfaction (ES) relationship, and even fewer studies focus on this subject in the airline sector. This paper aims to assess whether culture moderates the contribution of internal marketing to the satisfaction of employees from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) airlines. Design/methodology/approach: The investigation is conducted via a structured questionnaire with 310 cabin crew members who work at three GCC airlines. Multi-group analysis was used within SmartPLS 3.0 to measure whether the impact of internal marketing on ES is moderated by cultural congruence. Findings: The results reveal the practice of internal marketing contributes to ES in GCC airlines, while cultural congruence moderates the direct relationship between internal marketing and the satisfaction of airlines’ employees. The results indicate that airlines need to satisfy the cultural needs of employees to increase their satisfaction for successful internal marketing practice. Originality/value: This study contributes towards assessing the moderation effects of cultural congruence on internal marketing practice in the airline sector. It contributes to the current literature on aviation research, as well as specific managerial implications for the airlines and managers to achieve higher competitiveness.