@article { author = {Hematian, Zeinab and Savari, Moslem and yazdan, masoud}, title = {Behavioral intention and preferences of rural tourists to use local food in rural areas of Shushtar County}, journal = {Journal of Environmental Science Studies}, volume = {7}, number = {4}, pages = {5665-5681}, year = {2022}, publisher = {}, issn = {2588-6851}, eissn = {2645-520X}, doi = {10.22034/jess.2022.342831.1788}, abstract = {Extended Abstract IntroductionOver the past decades, food tourism has become as a dominant trend in global traveler’s interest. More than one-third of tourism expenditures are spent on food. Previous research has confirmed that food and dining are major elements considered by tourists when traveling and choosing destinations. Food is a major component of a travel experience, and it is a part of travel activities. Tourists eat the local cuisine in a tourism destination to fulfil their travel experiences. Travelers acquire new knowledge and understanding of the traditional local and regional culture of a destination, which are valuable in relation to destination image and future tourist intention. Accordingly, several tourism destinations have emphasized food activities and created gastronomic/culinary experiences to attract international visitors. Therfor this study was conducted with the general aim of preferences and behavioral intention of rural tourists to use local food in Iranian rural areasMethodologyThe statistical population of the study was all wolves in rural areas of Shushtar County. Using Krejcie and Morgan table, 400 of them were randomly selected for the study. The main research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and combined reliability. Data analysis was performed by SPSS and Smart Pls software. Results and DiscussionFindings showed that all the characteristics of local food (cultural and local experience, menu and atmosphere (atmosphere), staff service (behavioral culture), main food quality, money value, product attractiveness, staff skills in cooking, package Classification, part, tradition and originality) have a positive and significant effect on tourists' satisfaction at the level of 99%. In addition, the results showed that the satisfaction of food tourists has a significant role in creating a positive attitude and attachment to local food. The results also show that attitudes and attachments to local food can explain more than 60% of tourists' behavioral tendencies.ConclusionThe results of this study showed that the theory used in this study was very effective because it explains more than 60% of the desires of tourists. In addition, all the hypotheses of the research were confirmed. In general, the results of this study can help policy makers and rural development program to develop local food tourism to reduce migration and increase economic prosperity in the region.KeywordsExtended Abstract IntroductionOver the past decades, food tourism has become as a dominant trend in global traveler’s interest. More than one-third of tourism expenditures are spent on food. Previous research has confirmed that food and dining are major elements considered by tourists when traveling and choosing destinations. Food is a major component of a travel experience, and it is a part of travel activities. Tourists eat the local cuisine in a tourism destination to fulfil their travel experiences. Travelers acquire new knowledge and understanding of the traditional local and regional culture of a destination, which are valuable in relation to destination image and future tourist intention. Accordingly, several tourism destinations have emphasized food activities and created gastronomic/culinary experiences to attract international visitors. Therfor this study was conducted with the general aim of preferences and behavioral intention of rural tourists to use local food in Iranian rural areasMethodologyThe statistical population of the study was all wolves in rural areas of Shushtar County. Using Krejcie and Morgan table, 400 of them were randomly selected for the study. The main research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and combined reliability. Data analysis was performed by SPSS and Smart Pls software. Results and DiscussionFindings showed that all the characteristics of local food (cultural and local experience, menu and atmosphere (atmosphere), staff service (behavioral culture), main food quality, money value, product attractiveness, staff skills in cooking, package Classification, part, tradition and originality) have a positive and significant effect on tourists' satisfaction at the level of 99%. In addition, the results showed that the satisfaction of food tourists has a significant role in creating a positive attitude and attachment to local food. The results also show that attitudes and attachments to local food can explain more than 60% of tourists' behavioral tendencies.ConclusionThe results of this study showed that the theory used in this study was very effective because it explains more than 60% of the desires of tourists. In addition, all the hypotheses of the research were confirmed. In general, the results of this study can help policy makers and rural development program to develop local food tourism to reduce migration and increase economic prosperity in the region.KeywordsExtended Abstract IntroductionOver the past decades, food tourism has become as a dominant trend in global traveler’s interest. More than one-third of tourism expenditures are spent on food. Previous research has confirmed that food and dining are major elements considered by tourists when traveling and choosing destinations. Food is a major component of a travel experience, and it is a part of travel activities. Tourists eat the local cuisine in a tourism destination to fulfil their travel experiences. Travelers acquire new knowledge and understanding of the traditional local and regional culture of a destination, which are valuable in relation to destination image and future tourist intention. Accordingly, several tourism destinations have emphasized food activities and created gastronomic/culinary experiences to attract international visitors. Therfor this study was conducted with the general aim of preferences and behavioral intention of rural tourists to use local food in Iranian rural areasMethodologyThe statistical population of the study was all wolves in rural areas of Shushtar County. Using Krejcie and Morgan table, 400 of them were randomly selected for the study. The main research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and combined reliability. Data analysis was performed by SPSS and Smart Pls software. Results and DiscussionFindings showed that all the characteristics of local food (cultural and local experience, menu and atmosphere (atmosphere), staff service (behavioral culture), main food quality, money value, product attractiveness, staff skills in cooking, package Classification, part, tradition and originality) have a positive and significant effect on tourists' satisfaction at the level of 99%. In addition, the results showed that the satisfaction of food tourists has a significant role in creating a positive attitude and attachment to local food. The results also show that attitudes and attachments to local food can explain more than 60% of tourists' behavioral tendencies.ConclusionThe results of this study showed that the theory used in this study was very effective because it explains more than 60% of the desires of tourists. In addition, all the hypotheses of the research were confirmed. In general, the results of this study can help policy makers and rural development program to develop local food tourism to reduce migration and increase economic prosperity in the region.Keywords}, keywords = {Tourism,rural tourists,Local food,food tourists,Shushtar County}, title_fa = {ترجیحات و تمایلات رفتاری گردشگران روستایی به استفاده از غذای محلی در مناطق روستایی شهرستان شوشتر}, abstract_fa = {این پژوهش با هدف کلی ترجیحات و تمایلات رفتاری گردشگران روستایی به استفاده از غذای محلی در مناطق روستایی انجام شد. جامعه آماری پژوهش کلیه گردشگران مناطق روستایی شهرستان شوشتر بود. با استفاده از جدول کرجسی و مورگان 400 نفر از آنان به طور تصادفی برای مطالعه انتخاب شدند. ابزار اصلی پژوهش پرسشنامه‏ای بود که روایی آن توسط پانل متخصصان و پایایی آن توسط ضریب آلفای کرونباخ و پایایی ترکیبی تایید شد. تجزیه و تحلیل اطلاعات توسط نرم‏افزارهای SPSS و Smart Pls انجام شد. یافته‏های پژوهش نشان داد که تمامی ویژگی‏های غذای محلی (تجربه فرهنگی و محلی، منو و جو (اتمسفر)، خدمات کارکنان (فرهنگ رفتاری)، کیفیت اصلی غذا، ارزش پول، جذابیت محصول، مهارت پرسنل در آشپزی، بسته‏بندی و قسمت و سنت و اصالت) در سطح 99 درصد بر رضایت گردشگران اثر مثبت و معنی‏داری دارد. علاوه بر این نتایج نشان داد که رضایت گردشگران غذا در ایجاد نگرش مثبت و دلبستگی به غذای محلی نقش معنی‏داری دارد. همچنین نتایج حاکی از آن است نگرش و دلبستگی به غذای محلی نیز قادر است بیش از 60 درصد از تمایلات رفتاری گردشگران را تبیین نمایند.}, keywords_fa = {گردشگری,گردشگران روستایی,غذای محلی,گردشگران غذا,شهرستان شوشتر}, url = {https://www.jess.ir/article_154359.html}, eprint = {https://www.jess.ir/article_154359_fb9c3be8e02fbf2379c8a42e3acf01d2.pdf} }