Thai street food in the fast growing global food tourism industry: Preference and behaviors of food tourists

The interest in street foods is increasing. Hence, many tourism destinations are exerting effort to identify initial needs and understand the reasons why street foods are capturing the interest of tourists. This study was designed to identify the attributes of street foods and test them on tourist behavior by applying qualitative and quantitative methods. Firstly, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 respondents including 14 international tourists, six professional tour guides and two street food business owners. Second step, a total of 475 effective survey questionnaires with non-probability convenience sampling of international tourists was used to conduct; the 45 attributes of Thai street foods were identified and grouped into 9 dimensions; namely, cultural and local experiences, menu and atmosphere, staff service, core food quality, value for money, product attractiveness, staff proficiency, packaging and portions, and tradition and authenticity. Results indicated that the attributes were positively significant in predicting tourist behaviors. This study also investigated the moderating role of the perceived risks of consuming Thai street foods and found that this variable is a potential moderator. Implications related to the study were examined to perform the factors of street food that significantly influence on tourist post-purchase behaviors and can be boost tourist intention.