Journals Proceedings

Abstract

This research aims to examine a research problem of which how tourist’s perceived image of Thai street food and/or street-food shop affect foreign tourist’s destination selection. In particular, the tourist’s perceptions are relevant to cleanness, safety, physical characteristics, and social circumstances, cultural identify manner, touristy, and value of money. Quantitative research method was conducted by collecting questionnaires from Chinese and Western tourists at the tourism attraction locations, especially for walking street in the tourism places. Eighty nine Chinese and one hundred and twenty one Western tourists participated in this research. The research results statistically support theoretical aspects and previous research in terms of four perceived factors; cleanness, physical characteristics, social circumstances, and touristy, affecting the tourist’s destination selection. However, the hypothesis tests compared between the Chinese and Western tourist groups are different. Specifically, Chinese tourists focus on cleanness, physical characteristics, and touristy meanwhile Western tourists focus on cleanness, social circumstance, and touristy. As a result, there may be a need of different strategies and activities for each tourist groups to develop and enhance the Thai’s Gastronomic tourism of street food. Future research should investigate in details why these factors are statistically significant for tourist’s destination selection. Researchers may expand their research area to include other kinds of destination rather than walking streets, for example general street foods. For market practitioners, food sellers, local administrators, and tourism supporters can apply the research results to enhance the key perceived images of tourism destination to attract and recruit tourists for selecting the target tourism destination sustainably