The determinants of gastronomic tourists' satisfaction: a second-order factor analysis

Despite the importance of the gastronomic experience for tourists' satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and hence for the competitiveness of tourist destinations, studies focusing on tourists' satisfaction with their gastronomic experience are virtually non-existent. More importantly, researchers have not yet produced evidence to support a factor structure of gastronomy satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the presence of a single second-order factor by developing and empirically validating a second-order factor analysis model for measuring satisfaction of gastronomic tourists in Portugal. As theorized, satisfaction comprised distinct first-order factors and a single second-order factor. The results suggest that gastronomy satisfaction in a tourism setting is a multidimensional construct comprising three factors: ‘gastronomy’, ‘price and quality’ and ‘atmosphere’. Among these three first-order factors, ‘gastronomy’ was the most important determinant of tourist satisfaction, followed by ‘price and quality’ and ‘atmosphere’.