9 paper dewi eka murniati phd colloquium university surrey
Ethnic food’s role in deteriorating the destination
competitiveness:
A case of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Dewi Eka Murniati
Food and Fashion Engineering Department
Yogyakarta State University
Indonesia
dewiekamurniati@yahoo.com
Chanin Yoopetch
Tourism and Hospitality Management Division
Mahidol University International College
Thailand
chanin.yoo@mahidol.ac.th
Abstract— Ethnic food plays a vital contribution in the
destination competitiveness. This study aims to examine whether
ethnic food might have potentials to attract tourists to visit
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A survey of 400 international tourists was
conducted to investigate how they perceive Indonesian ethnic
food at well-defined ethnic restaurants. Ethnic food attributes
have been included to examine its significances on international
tourists’ perception. Descriptive statistics associated with means
was employed to analyze the data. The results reveal that
Indonesian ethnic foods bear healthiness issue. Thus, Indonesian
ethnic food has some constraints to be well adopted by the
majority of international tourists, especially for the concerns of
health riskiness and safety.
Detailed findings and
recommendations for further research are also discussed.
Keywords: ethnic food perception, well-defined ethnic food
restaurants, destination competitiveness
I.
INTRODUCTION
Asian foods including Indonesian foods begin to
attract more attention (Porjes 2005 cited in Choi, Lee, Cho
2011). Indonesia has the extensive ethnic diversity that exists
in the country, and it does reflect in the variety of Indonesian
cuisines. Yogyakarta, as one of the topmost favorite
destinations in Indonesia due to its well-known cultural
destination, might have a chance in offering its ethnic food to
promote its destination competitiveness. If a culture of
destination is to attract tourism, hence ethnic food should be
kept within the culture itself (Reynolds 1993). Food is an
important part of the holiday, and accordingly, restaurants visit
tends to be a peak experience to the tourists (Blichfeldt, Chor,
Ballegaard 2010). Hall, Sharples, Mitchell, Macionis &
Cambourne (2003) stated that because food is integral to the
tourist experience, it has become an important element in the
marketing of tourism (Hashimoto and Telfer 1999) and in
determining visitor satisfaction (Nield, Kozak & Le Grys
2000; Rimmington & Yuksel 1998). Pine & Gilmore (1998)
cited in Hudson & Ritchie (2009) have argued that providing
special experiences and unforgettable memories is the key of
destination competitiveness. One of the biggest marketing
challenges for destination management is the need for an
effective destination positioning (Echtner & Ritchie 2003).
Long (2003) cited in Ryu & Jang (2006) viewed that exploring
food is important in destination and tourism, while Clark &
Chabrel 2007; Kneafsey et al 2004 cited in Sims (2009) stated
that consumption of local foods will connect tourists more
deeply with the people and the places. The local food is a
potential to enhance the tourists’ experience by linking them to
the region and its cultural heritage (Sims 2009). Therefore, the
importance of local or ethnic food cannot be underestimated.
It should come with well-managed product and promotion as
one of the key elements of destination development.
Nevertheless, the role of food to tourism has been
basically disregarded despite of its obvious importance and
potential (Telfer & Wall 1996; Handszuh 2000; WTO 2000
cited in Rand, Heath & Alberts 2003). In Bali, Indonesia for
instance, the local operators served Westernized food which is
not as what the international tourists’ wanted. In fact, they
prefer to experience the local food (Reynolds 1993).
Conventionally, the local people did not put their respect on
their own ethnic food. Instead, they offer the food which they
think suits to tourists’ want (Kapner 1996 cited in Rand, Heath
& Alberts 2003). In fact, tourists prefer to experience the local
food as it fulfills the needs to engage with local culture. The
ethnic food has been proven its significant role to the
sustainable destination competitiveness as it contributes to the
benefit of locals and the destination itself. There is a need to
ensure the ethnic food marketability without losing its
sustainability to the community (Chappel 2001 cited in Rand,
Heath & Alberts 2003).
Figure 1
The contribution of local food to sustainable development within a
destination
(Rand, Heath, & Alberts, 2003)
The amount of money spending as well as tourists’
positive experience and the prospect for repeat visitation are
the indicators of a successful tourism destination (Rand, Heath
& Alberts 2003). In Indonesia, tourists play a vital role for the
food industry, as they look for distinct local dishes from
different parts of the country (Agriculture & Agri-Food
Canada 2010). Domestic and international tourists’ food
spending reached 22-24% from their total expenditure. In the
competitive global tourism destination marketplace, a
destination cannot only rely much on its heritage, culture,
natural resources, people hospitality, and tourist attractions
(Hudson & Ritchie 2009). Destinations nowadays should think
about the unique impression that should be offered to travelers
which can lead them to revisit the destination in the future.
The study proposes the importance of ethnic food in
marketing and promoting the destination of Yogyakarta, as it is
well-known as a cultural site. The kingdom (Sultanese) of
Yogyakarta played crucial role on the heritage of ethnic foods
of the city. The ethnic restaurants in Yogyakarta offer some of
the Sultan’s favorite dishes, which are Gudeg, Paru Goreng,
Ayam Goreng, Ayam Betutu, Bakpia, and Abon (Moertjipto,
Rumijah, Moeljono & Astuti 1993). There are 504 restaurants
and dining houses throughout the city (Dinas Pariwisata 2010)
- which contributed significantly of 20.8% to the regional
income in 2010, an increase of 0.1% from 2009. Realizing a
large contribution of restaurant industry to the regional
income, the restaurants itself should have the attractiveness to
motivate tourists to visit them.
II.
INDONESIAN CUISINES
Indonesia is rich of blended flavors of cuisines, as the
cooking varies by region and combines many different
influences from India, China, Africa, Arab, and European
explorers and colonists (Diner’s digest 1997). The mixture of
geographic and cultural diversity in Indonesia has affected in
one of the most unique cuisines in the world (Cunningham
n.d.). Rice is a staple of almost all Indonesian dishes except in
Maluku (the Mollucas) and Irian Jaya (Indonesian New
Guinea) as they used sago palm flour, sweet potatoes, and
cassava (Freeman n.d.). Indonesian ethnic food flavors are
strongly tied with that of Southeast Asian neighbors. Coconut
milk is used widely in almost all dishes as well as in Thailand,
Cambodia, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, and
the Philippines. Kaffir lime leaf and pandan leaf are also
shared in both Indonesia and Thailand. Shrimp paste is shared
in Indonesia as well in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Moreover, Indonesian ethnic food is closely tied to
the influence of India, as the ancient Buddhist and Hindu
spread out the cuisine ingredients such as cumin, coriander,
ginger, caraway, and coconut milk. Moreover, as Indonesia is
an archipelago island, fishes and coconut are abundant
throughout the country. Indonesian cooking is rich of coconut
milk (Diner’s Digest 1997). Arab traders eventually brought
the influence of Islam, which therefore influences ethnic food
as well. Goat and lamb are the important meats, while pork is
forbidden in Islam community. Arab brought kebab, with the
main ingredient of marinated meat cubes, which then
reinterpreted as satay nowadays.
Chinese traders also
contributed to the cookpot and some vegetables such as
mustard greens, mung beans, daikon radish, and Chinese
cabbage. Chinese dish, nasi goreng (nasi goreng), is one of
Indonesian national dishes (Cunningham n. d.). Dutch
colonization brought the finishing touch of flavors in
Indonesian ethnic food. Chili peppers from Mexico enriched
the ethnic food flavor, peanuts from Americas provided the
main ingredient in sauce making for satay and gado-gado.
While cassava from the Carribean and sweet potatoes from
South America also contributed to the Maluku and Irian Jaya
staple food. Nevertheless, Indonesian ethnic food is not simply
the mixture of those above. Indonesian cooks adopted new
tools, techniques, and ingredients. As an example, Indonesia
develops one of the condiments, ketchup, which combines
sugar, star anise, salam leaf, and galangal. Indonesia has
created a mix of flavors which influence neighbors’ cuisine,
such as satay in Thailand. Moreover, as the impact of
hundreds year of colonization regime, Dutch become fond of
Indonesian ethnic food. Some of the best Indonesian ethnic
food restaurants can be found in the Netherlands.
Any meals provided are often accompanied by
sambal, spicy condiments made from chili. The most familiar
method for preparing the food is frying. However, grilling,
simmering, steaming, and stewing (most often with coconut
milk) are also widely used. Javanese is the largest ethnic of
Indonesia, who lives in Java, the most densely population
island. It covers three major ethnic groups, namely West Java,
Central Java, and East Java. Each ethnic group has its own
cuisine characteristics. In Central Java, where the study was
conducted, is renowned for its sweetness for almost all meals,
beverages, and snacks (Wikipedia 2011). Most Indonesian
perceived that the Central Javanese cuisine tastes rather sweet
and less spicy than other Indonesian cuisines as it uses a larger
amount of palm sugar and sweet soy sauce.
III.
ETHNIC FOOD PERCEPTION AND ACCEPTANCE
As there is a growing trend of gastronomy tourism,
an understanding of tourists’ perception will be an important
step to investigate the potential of Yogyakarta’s ethnic food to
be used as destination’s promotional tool. Analyzing tourist
behavior including the perception and acceptance toward
ethnic food will provide better understanding to intervene the
decision making process and consumer purchasing (Mitchell
& Hall, 2003 cited in Rand 2006). Perception on food
comprises on food products, situation and people as a whole
food serving environment (Hansen 2005). Food perception
occurs during food consumption, when the brain receives
variety of input (visual, gustatory, tactile, or trigeminal) and
the information from physiologically distinct sensory modes is
integrated (Prescott 2004; Small & Prescott 2005 in the work
of Costel, Tarrega & Bayyari 2010). Still in this work, it is
stated that consumers response on food is not only based on
sensory characteristic of products but also their past
experience, attitudes, and beliefs (Aaron et al.1994; Cardello,
1994; Zandstra et al. 2001; Schifferstein, 2001; Barrios &
Costell 2004; Wilcock et al. 2004). Perception will drive
consumer acceptance (Brennan & Kuri 2002; Clark 1998).
Furthermore, Font (2009) emphasizes that perception
is an essential determinant of consumer acceptance, and that
perception moves along with acceptance. Grunert (2010)
argued that consumer acceptance is examined from consumer
quality perception of the product. Gray (2002) found that
gender, education level, and occupation does affect the level of
consumer awareness which influences acceptance. Gray
argued that promotion of brand or product name, rather than
the food sensory attributes, also plays a role in forming
consumer acceptance. While Siegrist (2000) found that trust
has indirect relationship to acceptance, as it affects risk
perception which then influences the acceptance. Benefit
perception has positive relationship to acceptance, whereas
risk perception will discourage acceptance (Siegrist 2000;
Lusk & Coble 2005, Frewer, Howard, Shepherd 1995; Frewer
et al. 2003 cited in Yawson & Kuzma 2010). Lusk & Coble
(2005) also stated that risk perception and risk preferences are
the significant determinant of food acceptance, but risk
perception has a quite higher effect.
Figure 2
Relationship between methods of measurement and components of
food acceptance (Pilgrim, 1957)
In the case of food neophobia, Chen & Li (2007) as
cited in Font (2009) argued that high levels of this kind of
consumers avoid trying new, unfamiliar foods, such as ethnic
food. Therefore, it leads to high risk perception and rejection
instead of acceptance. The perceivable sensory attributes,
color, flavor, texture, and taste (Pat et al 1995 cited in
Waghray & Gulla 2011) and familiarity (Prescott 1998;
Tuorila 1996) are the deciding factors in food acceptance.
While in many cases, sensory characteristics especially taste,
is often the key reason for food rejection (Drewnowski et al
1999 cited in Drewnowski, Henderson & Barrat-Fornell 2001;
Clark 1998, Imram 1999). Nutritional information (Kahkonen
et al 1996), food ingredients information (Tuorila 1996), taste,
(Pelchat & Pliner 1995) increase the willingness to accept
ethnic food (Prescott 1998). While Meiselman (2002) cited in
King, Meiselman, Hottenstein, Work & Cronk (2005) argued
four context factors that can affect food acceptability:
evaluating the food as part of meal, the effect of social
interaction during consumption, the food environment, and the
ability to make food choice. Ethnic décor of food environment
increases acceptability (Bell, Meiselman, Pierson & Reeve
1994 cited in King, Meiselman, Hottenstein, Work & Cronk
2005).
IV.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Cross sectional study was employed in this research,
with the time frame being March 2012. Cross sectional study
is a study technique, in which data is gathered just in one
period of time (Sekaran 2000). Data was collected by giving
the questionnaire to foreign tourists who have experience of
tasting local food in the well-defined ethnic restaurants,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Personal information data including
demographic characteristics, Indonesian ethnic food
experiences, and travel abroad experiences was included in the
questionnaire to investigate deeper explanation from personal
information point of view.
The data gained from the questionnaires was
analyzed in three sections. Firstly, data used descriptive
statistics to explain the importance of each factor analysis in
the perception. A frequency and mean analysis were presented
in this section. The mean value of 6 ethnic food attributes
represent which ethnic food attributes get a high or low value.
High mean value of the ethnic food attributes represents
positive perception and acceptance, while low mean value of
ethnic food attributes represents negative perception and
acceptance.
Secondly, an independent samples t-test was
performed to determine if significant mean score differences
exist between gender and nationality toward ethnic food
perception, while F-test of ANOVA was done to find out the
significant mean score differences that might exist amongst
age, income level, ethnic food experience, and travel
experience toward ethnic food perception.
Thirdly, same treatments were employed for ethnic
food acceptance. Lastly, correlation analysis using Pearson
correlation was conducted in order to investigate the strength
of the relationship between perception and acceptance.
V.
RESULTS
The respondents’ information profile can be seen from the
table below.
Personal
information
Gender
Male
Female
Age
20 or below
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
Above 60
Income per
month
Under US $ 1,000
US $1,000-2,000
US $2,001-3,000
US $3,001-4,000
Above US $4,000
Nationality
category
Asian
Non-Asian
Frequencies
(n)
Percentage
186
214
46.5
53.5
16
145
72
50
58
59
4.0
36.3
18.0
12.5
14.5
14.8
75
75
70
47
83
18.8
18.8
17.5
11.8
20.8
96
304
24.0
76.0
Ethnic food
experience
Once
2-3 times
4-5 times
More than 5 times
Travel
experience
Once
2-3 times
4-5 times
More than 5 times
61
71
42
226
15.3
17.8
10.5
56.5
29
89
72
210
7.3
22.3
18.0
52.5
Table 1
Respondents’ profile
International tourists strongly agreed on Indonesian ethnic
food attributes as follows: traditional characteristics, value for
money, appearance, sensory characteristics, and variety of
choice. However, healthiness attribute was perceived as the
lowest score of perception and acceptance.
Ethnic food attributes
Appearance
Sensory characteristics
Variety of choice
Value for money
Healthiness
Traditional characteristics
N
400
400
400
400
400
400
Mean
5.6218
5.6094
5.4792
5.9212
5.1780
5.9462
Table 2
Perception and acceptance mean value
The top highest mean for the ethnic food attributes
are: “the ethnic food represents the culture” (6.10), “the price
of the ethnic food is reasonable” (6.04), “the ethnic food has a
good taste” (5.99), “the ethnic food gives an enjoyable
feeling” (5.89), and “the ethnic food smells good” (5.80). This
finding confirms previous research done by Sukalakamala &
Boyce (2007) - which found taste or flavor as the most
important component in diners’ perception on high quality
ethnic restaurant. As Lee, Niode, Simonne & Bruhn (2012)
also proposed, diners seek for high quality ethnic restaurant as
they believe in the usage of authentic ingredients in the
cuisine. Taste, appearance and smell and texture (Brunsol et al
2002; Murphy 1985; Moskowitz & Krieger 1995; DaillantSpinnler et al 1996; Jaeger et al 1998 cited in Kalviainen,
2002) are considered to be the most important factors in
judging the food attributes.
Three of five items in the healthiness attribute were
perceived low as well. They are “the ethnic food uses high
quality ingredients (i.e. grade A meat”) (5.12), “the ethnic
food is not oily” (4.97), and “the ethnic food is light (i.e. low
fat, low calorie, sugar free)” (4.65). Karen, Fjord & Grunert
(2002) argued that healthiness is one fundamental purchase
motive, as important as taste. Healthiness as an element of the
food became the most crucial consideration especially for
specific food (Karen, Fjord, & Grunert, 2002) such as ethnic
food. Taste quality, freshness, and healthiness have been
considered as important factors in evaluating ethnic food
(Yurtseven & Kaya 2011; Schutz and Wahl 1981; Moskowiz
and Krieger 1995 cited in Kalviainen 2002).
However, the other two items of healthiness attribute
are considered to be relatively high. The study taken in the
well-defined ethnic restaurants, which serve high level of
product, service, and atmosphere; hence diners might use
these visible cues to determine the food healthiness.
Consumers use some cues to judge the food healthiness
(Karen, Fjord & Grunert, 2002). Robson (1999), Berry, Wall
& Carbone (2006), Hansen (2005) and Bell, Meselmen,
Pierson & Reeve (1994) as cited in King, Meiselman,
Hottenstein, Work, & Cronk (2005) also argued that the
ambience of a restaurant will produce a positive guest
experience. This might help explain the relatively high mean
values in the healthiness attribute.
Indonesian ethnic food’s healthiness attribute: A warning
Ethnic food experience which reveals the meeting
between food and culture does determine the quality of
destination’s perception (Scarpato 2002; Richards 2002;
Hjalager 2002, 2003; Fields 2002 cited in Kivela & Crotts
2006). The research findings illustrate the international tourists’
low value of perception on healthiness attribute of Indonesian
ethnic food. Health condition during travelling significantly
affects tourists’ satisfaction (Chang 2007). Familiarity is one
factor which encourages tourists to enjoy the destination
(Cohen 1972 cited in Mihaela, Daniela, Andreaia, 2009) hence
ethnic food might not draw tourists’ attention as they are
anxious to digest unfamiliar local food (Cohen & Avieli 2004),
especially in the less-developed nations where unhygienic
eating environment is likely to be (Chang 2007). Food safety is
a serious concern on Asian ethnic food restaurants (Lee, Niode,
Simonne & Bruhn 2012). More importantly, the health
riskiness prevents the tourists to consume local food (Elsrud
2001). In a study of Lepp & Gibson (2003) cited in Shenoy
(2005) proposed that for some tourists, unfamiliar food in a
destination is perceived as risky. This type of tourists could
significantly affect the local food consumption (Mark,
Lumbers, & Eves 2012) and endanger the local food
sustainability (Shenoy 2005). As examining consumers’
perception is aimed to gain competitive advantage (Jang, Ha &
Silkes 2009) therefore, the low value of healthiness perception
of Indonesian ethnic food should become a caution to achieve
destination competitiveness.
However, highly health conscious tourists might
probably disregard their concern for experiencing the
destination culture (John & Kivela 2001; Kivela & Crotts 2006
cited in Chang 2007). Nevertheless, when an ethnic food
restaurant is considered as one of the cultural representative as
it serves local dishes, tourists expect the restaurants to meet
food safety standards (Lee, Niode, Simonne & Bruhn 2012) in
regards to the authenticity and ingredient quality. Therefore,
Indonesian ethnic food should take into consideration on how
to promote the destination competitiveness by underlying its
highly perceived attributes and find ways to improve the food
healthiness problem.
VI.
CONCLUSION
To gain differentiation in the competitive tourism
market nowadays, destinations should consider the unique
impression that should be offered to travelers which can lead
them to revisit the destination in the future. Therefore, the
destination should employ tourist experience, which appeals
on tourist emotion or deep feeling about the destination.
Providing special experiences and unforgettable memories is
the key of competitiveness. Positive ethnic foods experience
plays an important role in forming the perception and thus
drive the further destination image. Indonesian ethnic food
might be a potential to promote the destination
competitiveness however, healthiness related issue is one of
the caution for tourists to preclude the ethnic food experience.
In turn, it might endanger ethnic food destination
sustainability in the future and discourage the destination’s
differentiation. Healthiness attribute should get important
attention to enhance the image of Indonesian ethnic food in
order to support the Indonesian tourism campaign.
This study has some limitations. Firstly, the study
investigated the ethnic food attribute which points out the
international tourists’ perception from a food point of view. In
fact, there are other attributes which also relate to ethnic food
attribute in the restaurant. Further study should employ the
service and atmosphere to achieve a holistic understanding on
how international tourists perceived Indonesian ethnic food in
the restaurants. Secondly, quantitative method was employed
in the study - which provides lack of information about the
explanation of perceived mean of each ethnic food attribute.
Thus, future research could propose the qualitative method to
be applied to help understand the results of the quantitative
study. Along with the growing number of tourists who care
about local food, qualitative methods might be beneficial to
give a better insight. Thirdly, as the study was conducted in
one destination, it could not represent the whole picture of
Indonesian ethnic food, hence a more nationally-based rather
than regionally-based approach might be better in the future
research. This way, a larger sample size and deeper
investigation can be obtained.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 2010, ‘Market analysis report:
Indonesia the food service industry’, Retrieved December 15, 2011 from
http://www.ats.agr.gc.ca/ase/5653-eng.htm
Blichfeldt, BS, Chor, J & Ballegard, N L 2010, ‘The dining experience:
A qualitative study of top restaurant visits in a Danish context’, Journal
of Tourism, 11(1), 43-60.
Brennan, CS & Kuri, V 2002, ‘Relationship between sensory attributes,
hidden attributes and price influencing consumer perception of organic
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
foods, UK Organic Research 2002: Proceedings of the COR Conference,
65-68.
Chang, CYR 2007, ‘An Analysis of the Chinese group tourists’ dining
out experiences while holidaying in Australia and its contribution to
their visit satisfaction’, Thesis, The Hongkong Polytechnic University.
Choi, J, Lee, J & Cho, M 2011, East Asian cuisine perceptions in New
York City between 1997 and 2007, British Food Journal, 113(11), 14271438.
Clark, JE, 1998, ‘Taste and flavor: their importance in food choice and
acceptance’, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 57,639-643.
Cohen, E & Avieli, N 2004, ‘Food in tourism: Attraction and
impediment’, Annals of Tourism Research, 31(4), 755-778.
Costel, E, Tarrega, A & Bayyari, S 2010, ‘Food acceptance: The role of
consumer perception and attitudes’, Chem. Percept., 3, 42-50.
Cunningham, CE n.d., Indonesia, Retrieved May 28, 2012 from
http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Indonesia.html#b
Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi DI Yogyakarta 2010, ‘Data statistik pariwisata
DI Yogyakarta 2009’, Yogyakarta: Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi DI
Yogyakarta
Diner’s Digest, 1997, ‘Indonesian Cuisine’, Retrieved December 16,
2011 from http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/indon.html
Drewnowski, A, Henderson, SA & Barrat-Fornell, A 2001, ‘Genetic taste
markers and food preferences’, Drug Metabolism and Disposition,
29(4),535-538.
Echtner, CM & Ritchie, JRB 2003, ‘The meaning and measurement of
destiantion image’, The Journal of Tourism Studies, 14(1),37-48.
Elsrud, T 2001, ‘Risk creation in travelling: Backpacker adventure
narration’, Annals of Tourism Research, 28(3), 597-617.
Font, MC 2009, ‘Consumer acceptance, choice and attitudes towards
Genetically Modified (GM) food’, Thesis, Barcelona: Universitat
Politecnica de Catalunya.
Freeman, N n.d., ‘Ethnic cuisine: Indonesia’. Retrieved May 28, 2012
from http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/cuisines/indonesia/
Gray, J 2002, ‘Consumer perception of the functional dairy food market
in Northern Ireland’, International Journal of Consumer Studies,
26(2),154–158.
Grunert, KG 2010, ‘European consumers’ acceptance of functional
foods’, Annals of The New York Academy of Sciences 1990, 166-173.
doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05260.x
Hall, MC, Sharples, L, Mitchell, R, Macionis, N & Cambourne, B 2003,
‘Food tourism around the world: Development, management and
markets’ (1st ed.), Great Britain: Elsevier Inc.
Hansen, T 2005, ‘Understanding consumer perception of food quality:
the cases of shrimps and cheese’, British Food Journal, 107(7), 500-525.
Hudson, S & Ritchie, JB 2009, ‘Branding a memorable destination
experience. The case of 'Brand Canada'’, International Journal of
Tourism Research, 11(2),217-228. doi:10.1002/jtr
Imram, N 1999, ‘The role of visual cues in consumer perception and
acceptance of a food product’, Nutrition & Food Science, 5, 224-228.
Jang, S (Shawn), Ha, A & Silkes, CA 2009, ‘Perceived attributes of
Asian foods: From the perspective of the American customers’,
International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 63-70.
Lusk, JL & Coble, KH 2005, ‘Risk perception, risk preference, and
acceptance of risky food’, American Journal Agriculture Economics,
87(2), 393-405.
Mak, AHN, Lumber, M & Eves, A 2012, Globalization and food
consumption in tourism, Annals of tourism research, 39(1), 171-196.
Mihaela, BC, Daniela, I & Andreia, I 2009, ‘Interculturality – A factor of
tourism development – Part 1 – Gastronomy in tourism, attraction or
impediment’,
Retrieved
July
1,
2012
from
http://steconomice.uoradea.ro/anale/volume/2009/v2-economy-andbusiness-administration/02.pdf
Moertjipto, Rumijah JS., Moeljono & Astuti, J 1993, ‘Makanan: Wujud,
variasi, dan fungsinya serta cara penyajiannya pada orang Jawa Daerah
IstimewaYogyakarta’, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan,
Direktur Jendral Kebudayaan, Direktorat Sejarah & Nilai Tradisional,
Proyek Penelitian,Pengkajian & Pembinaan Nilai-nilai Budaya.
[28] Kalvianen, N 2002, ‘Texture modifications in semisolid and solid foods:
Sensory characterization and acceptance in different age groups’, EKT
series 1313, University of Helsinki, Department of Food Technology.
[29] Karen, B, Fjord, TA & Grunert, KG 2002, ‘Consumer’s food choice and
quality perception’, Working Paper 77 ISSN 0907-2101, The Aorhos
School of Business.
[30] King, SC, Meiselman, HL, Hottenstein, AW, Work, TM & Cronk, V
2005, ‘The effects of contextual variables on food acceptability: A
confirmatory study’, Food Quality and Preference, 18,58-65.
[31] Kivela, JJ & Crotts, JC 2006, ‘Tourism and gastronomy: gastronomy's
influence on how tourists experience a destination’, Journal of
Hospitality
&
Tourism
Research,
30(3),
354-377.
doi:10.1177/1096348006286797
[32] Lee, LE, Niode, O, Simonne, AH & Bruhn, CM 2012, ‘Consumer
perception on food safety in Asian and Mexican restaurants’, Food
Control, 26, 531-538.
[33] Prescott, J 1998, ‘Comparisons of taste perceptions and preferences of
Japanese and Australian consumers: Overview and implications for
cross-cultural sensory research’, Food Quality and Preferences,
9(6),393-402.
[34] Rand, GE du, Heath, E & Alberts, N 2003, ‘The role of local and
regional food in destination marketing: A South African situation
analysis’, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 14(3/4), 97-112.
[35] Rand, GE du & Heath, E 2006, ‘Towards a framework for food tourism
as an element of destination marketing’, Current Issues in Tourism, 9(3),
206-234.
[36] Reynolds, PC 1993, ‘Food and tourism: Towards an understanding of
sustainable culture’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1(1), 48-54.
[37] Ryu, K & Jang, S (Shawn) 2006, ‘Intention to experience local food in a
travel destination: The modified theory of reasoned action’, Journal of
Hospitality &Tourism Research, 30(4), 507-516.
[38] Sekaran, U 2000, ‘Research methods for business’ (3rd ed.), John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
[39] Shenoy, SS 2005, ‘Food tourism and the culinary tourist’, Thesis.
Graduate School of Clemson University.
[40] Siegrist, M 2000, ‘The influence of trust and perceptions of risks and
benefits on the acceptance of gene technology’, Risk Analysis, Vol.
20(2), 195-203.
[41] Sims, R 2009, ‘Food, place and authenticity: local food and the
sustainable tourism experience’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(3),
321-336. doi:10.1080/09669580802359293
[42] Sukalakamala, P & Boyce, JB 2007, ‘Customer perceptions for
expectations and acceptance of an authentic dining experience in Thai
restaurants’, Journal of Foodservice, 18(2), 69-75. doi:10.1111/j.17454506.2007.00048.x
[43] Tuorila, H 1996, ‘Hedonic responses to flavor and their implications for
food acceptance’, Trends in Food Science and Technology, 71, 453-456.
[44] Waghray, K & Gulla, S 2011, ‘A freedom of choice-sensory profiling
and consumer acceptability of oil blends’, Stud Home Com Sci, 5(1),16.Retrieved February 2, 2012 from http://www.krepublishers.com/02Journals/S-HCS/HCS-05-0-000-11-Web/HCS-05-1-000-11-AbstPDF/HCS-05-1-001-11-167-Waghray-K/HCS-05-1-001-167-WaghrayK-Tt.pdf
[45] Wikipedia 2011, ‘Indonesian cuisines’, Retrieved December 15, 2011
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_cuisine
[46] Yawson, RM & Kuzma, J 2010, ‘Systems mapping of consumer
acceptance of agrifood nanotechnology’, Journal of Consumer Policy,
33, 299-322.
competitiveness:
A case of Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Dewi Eka Murniati
Food and Fashion Engineering Department
Yogyakarta State University
Indonesia
dewiekamurniati@yahoo.com
Chanin Yoopetch
Tourism and Hospitality Management Division
Mahidol University International College
Thailand
chanin.yoo@mahidol.ac.th
Abstract— Ethnic food plays a vital contribution in the
destination competitiveness. This study aims to examine whether
ethnic food might have potentials to attract tourists to visit
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A survey of 400 international tourists was
conducted to investigate how they perceive Indonesian ethnic
food at well-defined ethnic restaurants. Ethnic food attributes
have been included to examine its significances on international
tourists’ perception. Descriptive statistics associated with means
was employed to analyze the data. The results reveal that
Indonesian ethnic foods bear healthiness issue. Thus, Indonesian
ethnic food has some constraints to be well adopted by the
majority of international tourists, especially for the concerns of
health riskiness and safety.
Detailed findings and
recommendations for further research are also discussed.
Keywords: ethnic food perception, well-defined ethnic food
restaurants, destination competitiveness
I.
INTRODUCTION
Asian foods including Indonesian foods begin to
attract more attention (Porjes 2005 cited in Choi, Lee, Cho
2011). Indonesia has the extensive ethnic diversity that exists
in the country, and it does reflect in the variety of Indonesian
cuisines. Yogyakarta, as one of the topmost favorite
destinations in Indonesia due to its well-known cultural
destination, might have a chance in offering its ethnic food to
promote its destination competitiveness. If a culture of
destination is to attract tourism, hence ethnic food should be
kept within the culture itself (Reynolds 1993). Food is an
important part of the holiday, and accordingly, restaurants visit
tends to be a peak experience to the tourists (Blichfeldt, Chor,
Ballegaard 2010). Hall, Sharples, Mitchell, Macionis &
Cambourne (2003) stated that because food is integral to the
tourist experience, it has become an important element in the
marketing of tourism (Hashimoto and Telfer 1999) and in
determining visitor satisfaction (Nield, Kozak & Le Grys
2000; Rimmington & Yuksel 1998). Pine & Gilmore (1998)
cited in Hudson & Ritchie (2009) have argued that providing
special experiences and unforgettable memories is the key of
destination competitiveness. One of the biggest marketing
challenges for destination management is the need for an
effective destination positioning (Echtner & Ritchie 2003).
Long (2003) cited in Ryu & Jang (2006) viewed that exploring
food is important in destination and tourism, while Clark &
Chabrel 2007; Kneafsey et al 2004 cited in Sims (2009) stated
that consumption of local foods will connect tourists more
deeply with the people and the places. The local food is a
potential to enhance the tourists’ experience by linking them to
the region and its cultural heritage (Sims 2009). Therefore, the
importance of local or ethnic food cannot be underestimated.
It should come with well-managed product and promotion as
one of the key elements of destination development.
Nevertheless, the role of food to tourism has been
basically disregarded despite of its obvious importance and
potential (Telfer & Wall 1996; Handszuh 2000; WTO 2000
cited in Rand, Heath & Alberts 2003). In Bali, Indonesia for
instance, the local operators served Westernized food which is
not as what the international tourists’ wanted. In fact, they
prefer to experience the local food (Reynolds 1993).
Conventionally, the local people did not put their respect on
their own ethnic food. Instead, they offer the food which they
think suits to tourists’ want (Kapner 1996 cited in Rand, Heath
& Alberts 2003). In fact, tourists prefer to experience the local
food as it fulfills the needs to engage with local culture. The
ethnic food has been proven its significant role to the
sustainable destination competitiveness as it contributes to the
benefit of locals and the destination itself. There is a need to
ensure the ethnic food marketability without losing its
sustainability to the community (Chappel 2001 cited in Rand,
Heath & Alberts 2003).
Figure 1
The contribution of local food to sustainable development within a
destination
(Rand, Heath, & Alberts, 2003)
The amount of money spending as well as tourists’
positive experience and the prospect for repeat visitation are
the indicators of a successful tourism destination (Rand, Heath
& Alberts 2003). In Indonesia, tourists play a vital role for the
food industry, as they look for distinct local dishes from
different parts of the country (Agriculture & Agri-Food
Canada 2010). Domestic and international tourists’ food
spending reached 22-24% from their total expenditure. In the
competitive global tourism destination marketplace, a
destination cannot only rely much on its heritage, culture,
natural resources, people hospitality, and tourist attractions
(Hudson & Ritchie 2009). Destinations nowadays should think
about the unique impression that should be offered to travelers
which can lead them to revisit the destination in the future.
The study proposes the importance of ethnic food in
marketing and promoting the destination of Yogyakarta, as it is
well-known as a cultural site. The kingdom (Sultanese) of
Yogyakarta played crucial role on the heritage of ethnic foods
of the city. The ethnic restaurants in Yogyakarta offer some of
the Sultan’s favorite dishes, which are Gudeg, Paru Goreng,
Ayam Goreng, Ayam Betutu, Bakpia, and Abon (Moertjipto,
Rumijah, Moeljono & Astuti 1993). There are 504 restaurants
and dining houses throughout the city (Dinas Pariwisata 2010)
- which contributed significantly of 20.8% to the regional
income in 2010, an increase of 0.1% from 2009. Realizing a
large contribution of restaurant industry to the regional
income, the restaurants itself should have the attractiveness to
motivate tourists to visit them.
II.
INDONESIAN CUISINES
Indonesia is rich of blended flavors of cuisines, as the
cooking varies by region and combines many different
influences from India, China, Africa, Arab, and European
explorers and colonists (Diner’s digest 1997). The mixture of
geographic and cultural diversity in Indonesia has affected in
one of the most unique cuisines in the world (Cunningham
n.d.). Rice is a staple of almost all Indonesian dishes except in
Maluku (the Mollucas) and Irian Jaya (Indonesian New
Guinea) as they used sago palm flour, sweet potatoes, and
cassava (Freeman n.d.). Indonesian ethnic food flavors are
strongly tied with that of Southeast Asian neighbors. Coconut
milk is used widely in almost all dishes as well as in Thailand,
Cambodia, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, and
the Philippines. Kaffir lime leaf and pandan leaf are also
shared in both Indonesia and Thailand. Shrimp paste is shared
in Indonesia as well in Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Moreover, Indonesian ethnic food is closely tied to
the influence of India, as the ancient Buddhist and Hindu
spread out the cuisine ingredients such as cumin, coriander,
ginger, caraway, and coconut milk. Moreover, as Indonesia is
an archipelago island, fishes and coconut are abundant
throughout the country. Indonesian cooking is rich of coconut
milk (Diner’s Digest 1997). Arab traders eventually brought
the influence of Islam, which therefore influences ethnic food
as well. Goat and lamb are the important meats, while pork is
forbidden in Islam community. Arab brought kebab, with the
main ingredient of marinated meat cubes, which then
reinterpreted as satay nowadays.
Chinese traders also
contributed to the cookpot and some vegetables such as
mustard greens, mung beans, daikon radish, and Chinese
cabbage. Chinese dish, nasi goreng (nasi goreng), is one of
Indonesian national dishes (Cunningham n. d.). Dutch
colonization brought the finishing touch of flavors in
Indonesian ethnic food. Chili peppers from Mexico enriched
the ethnic food flavor, peanuts from Americas provided the
main ingredient in sauce making for satay and gado-gado.
While cassava from the Carribean and sweet potatoes from
South America also contributed to the Maluku and Irian Jaya
staple food. Nevertheless, Indonesian ethnic food is not simply
the mixture of those above. Indonesian cooks adopted new
tools, techniques, and ingredients. As an example, Indonesia
develops one of the condiments, ketchup, which combines
sugar, star anise, salam leaf, and galangal. Indonesia has
created a mix of flavors which influence neighbors’ cuisine,
such as satay in Thailand. Moreover, as the impact of
hundreds year of colonization regime, Dutch become fond of
Indonesian ethnic food. Some of the best Indonesian ethnic
food restaurants can be found in the Netherlands.
Any meals provided are often accompanied by
sambal, spicy condiments made from chili. The most familiar
method for preparing the food is frying. However, grilling,
simmering, steaming, and stewing (most often with coconut
milk) are also widely used. Javanese is the largest ethnic of
Indonesia, who lives in Java, the most densely population
island. It covers three major ethnic groups, namely West Java,
Central Java, and East Java. Each ethnic group has its own
cuisine characteristics. In Central Java, where the study was
conducted, is renowned for its sweetness for almost all meals,
beverages, and snacks (Wikipedia 2011). Most Indonesian
perceived that the Central Javanese cuisine tastes rather sweet
and less spicy than other Indonesian cuisines as it uses a larger
amount of palm sugar and sweet soy sauce.
III.
ETHNIC FOOD PERCEPTION AND ACCEPTANCE
As there is a growing trend of gastronomy tourism,
an understanding of tourists’ perception will be an important
step to investigate the potential of Yogyakarta’s ethnic food to
be used as destination’s promotional tool. Analyzing tourist
behavior including the perception and acceptance toward
ethnic food will provide better understanding to intervene the
decision making process and consumer purchasing (Mitchell
& Hall, 2003 cited in Rand 2006). Perception on food
comprises on food products, situation and people as a whole
food serving environment (Hansen 2005). Food perception
occurs during food consumption, when the brain receives
variety of input (visual, gustatory, tactile, or trigeminal) and
the information from physiologically distinct sensory modes is
integrated (Prescott 2004; Small & Prescott 2005 in the work
of Costel, Tarrega & Bayyari 2010). Still in this work, it is
stated that consumers response on food is not only based on
sensory characteristic of products but also their past
experience, attitudes, and beliefs (Aaron et al.1994; Cardello,
1994; Zandstra et al. 2001; Schifferstein, 2001; Barrios &
Costell 2004; Wilcock et al. 2004). Perception will drive
consumer acceptance (Brennan & Kuri 2002; Clark 1998).
Furthermore, Font (2009) emphasizes that perception
is an essential determinant of consumer acceptance, and that
perception moves along with acceptance. Grunert (2010)
argued that consumer acceptance is examined from consumer
quality perception of the product. Gray (2002) found that
gender, education level, and occupation does affect the level of
consumer awareness which influences acceptance. Gray
argued that promotion of brand or product name, rather than
the food sensory attributes, also plays a role in forming
consumer acceptance. While Siegrist (2000) found that trust
has indirect relationship to acceptance, as it affects risk
perception which then influences the acceptance. Benefit
perception has positive relationship to acceptance, whereas
risk perception will discourage acceptance (Siegrist 2000;
Lusk & Coble 2005, Frewer, Howard, Shepherd 1995; Frewer
et al. 2003 cited in Yawson & Kuzma 2010). Lusk & Coble
(2005) also stated that risk perception and risk preferences are
the significant determinant of food acceptance, but risk
perception has a quite higher effect.
Figure 2
Relationship between methods of measurement and components of
food acceptance (Pilgrim, 1957)
In the case of food neophobia, Chen & Li (2007) as
cited in Font (2009) argued that high levels of this kind of
consumers avoid trying new, unfamiliar foods, such as ethnic
food. Therefore, it leads to high risk perception and rejection
instead of acceptance. The perceivable sensory attributes,
color, flavor, texture, and taste (Pat et al 1995 cited in
Waghray & Gulla 2011) and familiarity (Prescott 1998;
Tuorila 1996) are the deciding factors in food acceptance.
While in many cases, sensory characteristics especially taste,
is often the key reason for food rejection (Drewnowski et al
1999 cited in Drewnowski, Henderson & Barrat-Fornell 2001;
Clark 1998, Imram 1999). Nutritional information (Kahkonen
et al 1996), food ingredients information (Tuorila 1996), taste,
(Pelchat & Pliner 1995) increase the willingness to accept
ethnic food (Prescott 1998). While Meiselman (2002) cited in
King, Meiselman, Hottenstein, Work & Cronk (2005) argued
four context factors that can affect food acceptability:
evaluating the food as part of meal, the effect of social
interaction during consumption, the food environment, and the
ability to make food choice. Ethnic décor of food environment
increases acceptability (Bell, Meiselman, Pierson & Reeve
1994 cited in King, Meiselman, Hottenstein, Work & Cronk
2005).
IV.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Cross sectional study was employed in this research,
with the time frame being March 2012. Cross sectional study
is a study technique, in which data is gathered just in one
period of time (Sekaran 2000). Data was collected by giving
the questionnaire to foreign tourists who have experience of
tasting local food in the well-defined ethnic restaurants,
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Personal information data including
demographic characteristics, Indonesian ethnic food
experiences, and travel abroad experiences was included in the
questionnaire to investigate deeper explanation from personal
information point of view.
The data gained from the questionnaires was
analyzed in three sections. Firstly, data used descriptive
statistics to explain the importance of each factor analysis in
the perception. A frequency and mean analysis were presented
in this section. The mean value of 6 ethnic food attributes
represent which ethnic food attributes get a high or low value.
High mean value of the ethnic food attributes represents
positive perception and acceptance, while low mean value of
ethnic food attributes represents negative perception and
acceptance.
Secondly, an independent samples t-test was
performed to determine if significant mean score differences
exist between gender and nationality toward ethnic food
perception, while F-test of ANOVA was done to find out the
significant mean score differences that might exist amongst
age, income level, ethnic food experience, and travel
experience toward ethnic food perception.
Thirdly, same treatments were employed for ethnic
food acceptance. Lastly, correlation analysis using Pearson
correlation was conducted in order to investigate the strength
of the relationship between perception and acceptance.
V.
RESULTS
The respondents’ information profile can be seen from the
table below.
Personal
information
Gender
Male
Female
Age
20 or below
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
Above 60
Income per
month
Under US $ 1,000
US $1,000-2,000
US $2,001-3,000
US $3,001-4,000
Above US $4,000
Nationality
category
Asian
Non-Asian
Frequencies
(n)
Percentage
186
214
46.5
53.5
16
145
72
50
58
59
4.0
36.3
18.0
12.5
14.5
14.8
75
75
70
47
83
18.8
18.8
17.5
11.8
20.8
96
304
24.0
76.0
Ethnic food
experience
Once
2-3 times
4-5 times
More than 5 times
Travel
experience
Once
2-3 times
4-5 times
More than 5 times
61
71
42
226
15.3
17.8
10.5
56.5
29
89
72
210
7.3
22.3
18.0
52.5
Table 1
Respondents’ profile
International tourists strongly agreed on Indonesian ethnic
food attributes as follows: traditional characteristics, value for
money, appearance, sensory characteristics, and variety of
choice. However, healthiness attribute was perceived as the
lowest score of perception and acceptance.
Ethnic food attributes
Appearance
Sensory characteristics
Variety of choice
Value for money
Healthiness
Traditional characteristics
N
400
400
400
400
400
400
Mean
5.6218
5.6094
5.4792
5.9212
5.1780
5.9462
Table 2
Perception and acceptance mean value
The top highest mean for the ethnic food attributes
are: “the ethnic food represents the culture” (6.10), “the price
of the ethnic food is reasonable” (6.04), “the ethnic food has a
good taste” (5.99), “the ethnic food gives an enjoyable
feeling” (5.89), and “the ethnic food smells good” (5.80). This
finding confirms previous research done by Sukalakamala &
Boyce (2007) - which found taste or flavor as the most
important component in diners’ perception on high quality
ethnic restaurant. As Lee, Niode, Simonne & Bruhn (2012)
also proposed, diners seek for high quality ethnic restaurant as
they believe in the usage of authentic ingredients in the
cuisine. Taste, appearance and smell and texture (Brunsol et al
2002; Murphy 1985; Moskowitz & Krieger 1995; DaillantSpinnler et al 1996; Jaeger et al 1998 cited in Kalviainen,
2002) are considered to be the most important factors in
judging the food attributes.
Three of five items in the healthiness attribute were
perceived low as well. They are “the ethnic food uses high
quality ingredients (i.e. grade A meat”) (5.12), “the ethnic
food is not oily” (4.97), and “the ethnic food is light (i.e. low
fat, low calorie, sugar free)” (4.65). Karen, Fjord & Grunert
(2002) argued that healthiness is one fundamental purchase
motive, as important as taste. Healthiness as an element of the
food became the most crucial consideration especially for
specific food (Karen, Fjord, & Grunert, 2002) such as ethnic
food. Taste quality, freshness, and healthiness have been
considered as important factors in evaluating ethnic food
(Yurtseven & Kaya 2011; Schutz and Wahl 1981; Moskowiz
and Krieger 1995 cited in Kalviainen 2002).
However, the other two items of healthiness attribute
are considered to be relatively high. The study taken in the
well-defined ethnic restaurants, which serve high level of
product, service, and atmosphere; hence diners might use
these visible cues to determine the food healthiness.
Consumers use some cues to judge the food healthiness
(Karen, Fjord & Grunert, 2002). Robson (1999), Berry, Wall
& Carbone (2006), Hansen (2005) and Bell, Meselmen,
Pierson & Reeve (1994) as cited in King, Meiselman,
Hottenstein, Work, & Cronk (2005) also argued that the
ambience of a restaurant will produce a positive guest
experience. This might help explain the relatively high mean
values in the healthiness attribute.
Indonesian ethnic food’s healthiness attribute: A warning
Ethnic food experience which reveals the meeting
between food and culture does determine the quality of
destination’s perception (Scarpato 2002; Richards 2002;
Hjalager 2002, 2003; Fields 2002 cited in Kivela & Crotts
2006). The research findings illustrate the international tourists’
low value of perception on healthiness attribute of Indonesian
ethnic food. Health condition during travelling significantly
affects tourists’ satisfaction (Chang 2007). Familiarity is one
factor which encourages tourists to enjoy the destination
(Cohen 1972 cited in Mihaela, Daniela, Andreaia, 2009) hence
ethnic food might not draw tourists’ attention as they are
anxious to digest unfamiliar local food (Cohen & Avieli 2004),
especially in the less-developed nations where unhygienic
eating environment is likely to be (Chang 2007). Food safety is
a serious concern on Asian ethnic food restaurants (Lee, Niode,
Simonne & Bruhn 2012). More importantly, the health
riskiness prevents the tourists to consume local food (Elsrud
2001). In a study of Lepp & Gibson (2003) cited in Shenoy
(2005) proposed that for some tourists, unfamiliar food in a
destination is perceived as risky. This type of tourists could
significantly affect the local food consumption (Mark,
Lumbers, & Eves 2012) and endanger the local food
sustainability (Shenoy 2005). As examining consumers’
perception is aimed to gain competitive advantage (Jang, Ha &
Silkes 2009) therefore, the low value of healthiness perception
of Indonesian ethnic food should become a caution to achieve
destination competitiveness.
However, highly health conscious tourists might
probably disregard their concern for experiencing the
destination culture (John & Kivela 2001; Kivela & Crotts 2006
cited in Chang 2007). Nevertheless, when an ethnic food
restaurant is considered as one of the cultural representative as
it serves local dishes, tourists expect the restaurants to meet
food safety standards (Lee, Niode, Simonne & Bruhn 2012) in
regards to the authenticity and ingredient quality. Therefore,
Indonesian ethnic food should take into consideration on how
to promote the destination competitiveness by underlying its
highly perceived attributes and find ways to improve the food
healthiness problem.
VI.
CONCLUSION
To gain differentiation in the competitive tourism
market nowadays, destinations should consider the unique
impression that should be offered to travelers which can lead
them to revisit the destination in the future. Therefore, the
destination should employ tourist experience, which appeals
on tourist emotion or deep feeling about the destination.
Providing special experiences and unforgettable memories is
the key of competitiveness. Positive ethnic foods experience
plays an important role in forming the perception and thus
drive the further destination image. Indonesian ethnic food
might be a potential to promote the destination
competitiveness however, healthiness related issue is one of
the caution for tourists to preclude the ethnic food experience.
In turn, it might endanger ethnic food destination
sustainability in the future and discourage the destination’s
differentiation. Healthiness attribute should get important
attention to enhance the image of Indonesian ethnic food in
order to support the Indonesian tourism campaign.
This study has some limitations. Firstly, the study
investigated the ethnic food attribute which points out the
international tourists’ perception from a food point of view. In
fact, there are other attributes which also relate to ethnic food
attribute in the restaurant. Further study should employ the
service and atmosphere to achieve a holistic understanding on
how international tourists perceived Indonesian ethnic food in
the restaurants. Secondly, quantitative method was employed
in the study - which provides lack of information about the
explanation of perceived mean of each ethnic food attribute.
Thus, future research could propose the qualitative method to
be applied to help understand the results of the quantitative
study. Along with the growing number of tourists who care
about local food, qualitative methods might be beneficial to
give a better insight. Thirdly, as the study was conducted in
one destination, it could not represent the whole picture of
Indonesian ethnic food, hence a more nationally-based rather
than regionally-based approach might be better in the future
research. This way, a larger sample size and deeper
investigation can be obtained.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 2010, ‘Market analysis report:
Indonesia the food service industry’, Retrieved December 15, 2011 from
http://www.ats.agr.gc.ca/ase/5653-eng.htm
Blichfeldt, BS, Chor, J & Ballegard, N L 2010, ‘The dining experience:
A qualitative study of top restaurant visits in a Danish context’, Journal
of Tourism, 11(1), 43-60.
Brennan, CS & Kuri, V 2002, ‘Relationship between sensory attributes,
hidden attributes and price influencing consumer perception of organic
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
foods, UK Organic Research 2002: Proceedings of the COR Conference,
65-68.
Chang, CYR 2007, ‘An Analysis of the Chinese group tourists’ dining
out experiences while holidaying in Australia and its contribution to
their visit satisfaction’, Thesis, The Hongkong Polytechnic University.
Choi, J, Lee, J & Cho, M 2011, East Asian cuisine perceptions in New
York City between 1997 and 2007, British Food Journal, 113(11), 14271438.
Clark, JE, 1998, ‘Taste and flavor: their importance in food choice and
acceptance’, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 57,639-643.
Cohen, E & Avieli, N 2004, ‘Food in tourism: Attraction and
impediment’, Annals of Tourism Research, 31(4), 755-778.
Costel, E, Tarrega, A & Bayyari, S 2010, ‘Food acceptance: The role of
consumer perception and attitudes’, Chem. Percept., 3, 42-50.
Cunningham, CE n.d., Indonesia, Retrieved May 28, 2012 from
http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Indonesia.html#b
Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi DI Yogyakarta 2010, ‘Data statistik pariwisata
DI Yogyakarta 2009’, Yogyakarta: Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi DI
Yogyakarta
Diner’s Digest, 1997, ‘Indonesian Cuisine’, Retrieved December 16,
2011 from http://www.cuisinenet.com/glossary/indon.html
Drewnowski, A, Henderson, SA & Barrat-Fornell, A 2001, ‘Genetic taste
markers and food preferences’, Drug Metabolism and Disposition,
29(4),535-538.
Echtner, CM & Ritchie, JRB 2003, ‘The meaning and measurement of
destiantion image’, The Journal of Tourism Studies, 14(1),37-48.
Elsrud, T 2001, ‘Risk creation in travelling: Backpacker adventure
narration’, Annals of Tourism Research, 28(3), 597-617.
Font, MC 2009, ‘Consumer acceptance, choice and attitudes towards
Genetically Modified (GM) food’, Thesis, Barcelona: Universitat
Politecnica de Catalunya.
Freeman, N n.d., ‘Ethnic cuisine: Indonesia’. Retrieved May 28, 2012
from http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/cuisines/indonesia/
Gray, J 2002, ‘Consumer perception of the functional dairy food market
in Northern Ireland’, International Journal of Consumer Studies,
26(2),154–158.
Grunert, KG 2010, ‘European consumers’ acceptance of functional
foods’, Annals of The New York Academy of Sciences 1990, 166-173.
doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05260.x
Hall, MC, Sharples, L, Mitchell, R, Macionis, N & Cambourne, B 2003,
‘Food tourism around the world: Development, management and
markets’ (1st ed.), Great Britain: Elsevier Inc.
Hansen, T 2005, ‘Understanding consumer perception of food quality:
the cases of shrimps and cheese’, British Food Journal, 107(7), 500-525.
Hudson, S & Ritchie, JB 2009, ‘Branding a memorable destination
experience. The case of 'Brand Canada'’, International Journal of
Tourism Research, 11(2),217-228. doi:10.1002/jtr
Imram, N 1999, ‘The role of visual cues in consumer perception and
acceptance of a food product’, Nutrition & Food Science, 5, 224-228.
Jang, S (Shawn), Ha, A & Silkes, CA 2009, ‘Perceived attributes of
Asian foods: From the perspective of the American customers’,
International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28, 63-70.
Lusk, JL & Coble, KH 2005, ‘Risk perception, risk preference, and
acceptance of risky food’, American Journal Agriculture Economics,
87(2), 393-405.
Mak, AHN, Lumber, M & Eves, A 2012, Globalization and food
consumption in tourism, Annals of tourism research, 39(1), 171-196.
Mihaela, BC, Daniela, I & Andreia, I 2009, ‘Interculturality – A factor of
tourism development – Part 1 – Gastronomy in tourism, attraction or
impediment’,
Retrieved
July
1,
2012
from
http://steconomice.uoradea.ro/anale/volume/2009/v2-economy-andbusiness-administration/02.pdf
Moertjipto, Rumijah JS., Moeljono & Astuti, J 1993, ‘Makanan: Wujud,
variasi, dan fungsinya serta cara penyajiannya pada orang Jawa Daerah
IstimewaYogyakarta’, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan,
Direktur Jendral Kebudayaan, Direktorat Sejarah & Nilai Tradisional,
Proyek Penelitian,Pengkajian & Pembinaan Nilai-nilai Budaya.
[28] Kalvianen, N 2002, ‘Texture modifications in semisolid and solid foods:
Sensory characterization and acceptance in different age groups’, EKT
series 1313, University of Helsinki, Department of Food Technology.
[29] Karen, B, Fjord, TA & Grunert, KG 2002, ‘Consumer’s food choice and
quality perception’, Working Paper 77 ISSN 0907-2101, The Aorhos
School of Business.
[30] King, SC, Meiselman, HL, Hottenstein, AW, Work, TM & Cronk, V
2005, ‘The effects of contextual variables on food acceptability: A
confirmatory study’, Food Quality and Preference, 18,58-65.
[31] Kivela, JJ & Crotts, JC 2006, ‘Tourism and gastronomy: gastronomy's
influence on how tourists experience a destination’, Journal of
Hospitality
&
Tourism
Research,
30(3),
354-377.
doi:10.1177/1096348006286797
[32] Lee, LE, Niode, O, Simonne, AH & Bruhn, CM 2012, ‘Consumer
perception on food safety in Asian and Mexican restaurants’, Food
Control, 26, 531-538.
[33] Prescott, J 1998, ‘Comparisons of taste perceptions and preferences of
Japanese and Australian consumers: Overview and implications for
cross-cultural sensory research’, Food Quality and Preferences,
9(6),393-402.
[34] Rand, GE du, Heath, E & Alberts, N 2003, ‘The role of local and
regional food in destination marketing: A South African situation
analysis’, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 14(3/4), 97-112.
[35] Rand, GE du & Heath, E 2006, ‘Towards a framework for food tourism
as an element of destination marketing’, Current Issues in Tourism, 9(3),
206-234.
[36] Reynolds, PC 1993, ‘Food and tourism: Towards an understanding of
sustainable culture’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1(1), 48-54.
[37] Ryu, K & Jang, S (Shawn) 2006, ‘Intention to experience local food in a
travel destination: The modified theory of reasoned action’, Journal of
Hospitality &Tourism Research, 30(4), 507-516.
[38] Sekaran, U 2000, ‘Research methods for business’ (3rd ed.), John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
[39] Shenoy, SS 2005, ‘Food tourism and the culinary tourist’, Thesis.
Graduate School of Clemson University.
[40] Siegrist, M 2000, ‘The influence of trust and perceptions of risks and
benefits on the acceptance of gene technology’, Risk Analysis, Vol.
20(2), 195-203.
[41] Sims, R 2009, ‘Food, place and authenticity: local food and the
sustainable tourism experience’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(3),
321-336. doi:10.1080/09669580802359293
[42] Sukalakamala, P & Boyce, JB 2007, ‘Customer perceptions for
expectations and acceptance of an authentic dining experience in Thai
restaurants’, Journal of Foodservice, 18(2), 69-75. doi:10.1111/j.17454506.2007.00048.x
[43] Tuorila, H 1996, ‘Hedonic responses to flavor and their implications for
food acceptance’, Trends in Food Science and Technology, 71, 453-456.
[44] Waghray, K & Gulla, S 2011, ‘A freedom of choice-sensory profiling
and consumer acceptability of oil blends’, Stud Home Com Sci, 5(1),16.Retrieved February 2, 2012 from http://www.krepublishers.com/02Journals/S-HCS/HCS-05-0-000-11-Web/HCS-05-1-000-11-AbstPDF/HCS-05-1-001-11-167-Waghray-K/HCS-05-1-001-167-WaghrayK-Tt.pdf
[45] Wikipedia 2011, ‘Indonesian cuisines’, Retrieved December 15, 2011
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_cuisine
[46] Yawson, RM & Kuzma, J 2010, ‘Systems mapping of consumer
acceptance of agrifood nanotechnology’, Journal of Consumer Policy,
33, 299-322.