Culinary destination consumer-based brand equity: exploring the influence of tourist gaze in relation to FoodPorn on social media.

Abstract

The present paper investigates the impact of FoodPorn, or food photographs, on user-generated content (UGC) and its role in influencing the perceptions of ‘food trippers’ toward local culinary precincts in a metropolitan area in Australia. Adopting a mix-methods approach, 20 semi-structured interviews with food trippers revealed four antecedents of why they gaze upon FoodPorn on UGC, including usefulness, ease of use, affective gratifications and source credibility. Findings from interviews informed a large-scale online survey investigating residents’ perceptions of three local culinary precincts. Data (n = 593) were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Results from SEM revealed that the effectiveness of UGC in relation to FoodPorn and culinary precinct attractiveness largely depends on the benefits food trippers perceive when gazing upon the food imagery. This research advances our understanding of how gazing upon FoodPorn enhances culinary destination consumer-based brand equity. This study developed an extension of a model that measures culinary precinct destination attractiveness, and the role of FoodPorn in influencing perceptions held by Brisbane consumers of culinary precincts. Findings provide important recommendations for destination marketing organisations (DMOs) both in Australia and worldwide.