“Foodstagramming unleashed: Examining the role of social media involvement in enhancing the creative food tourism experience”

Abstract

This study examines how social cognition and engagement components influence diners’ creative food tourism experiences (CFTE) during their visit, as well as how the CFTE influences their continuous goal of foodstagramming. The survey comprised 783 guests who ate at a local destination restaurants and uploaded images of their experiences. Using PLS-SEM for data analysis, the evidence shows a link between meal experience value and social influences on CFTE. As social cognitive components, food experience value and social influence have been shown to have a favourable and significant effect on CFTE. Furthermore, the study discovered no significant relationship between social media use and CFTE. Besides, cognitive engagement and affective participation had a substantial impact on CFTE. Surprisingly, behavioural engagement had no effect on CFTE. Furthermore, the CFTE significantly and favourably influenced respondents’ intentions to continue foodstagramming. Finally, it was discovered that CFTE elements had a significant impact on diners’ long-term intents to foodstagramming. These findings have significant implications for hospitality professionals.