The impact of tourists' perception of geographical indication product on destination food image and willingness to pay more: The moderating role of the search for variety in food

Geographical indications, which have a critical importance in creating demand by increasing interest in local values, positively improve the food image of domestic tourists coming to the destination in accordance with today's alternative tourism demands. At the same time, it strengthens the link between regional development and tourism by ensuring that these products are protected and transferred to future generations. In this direction, the aim of the study is to determine the effect of domestic tourists' perceptions of geographically marked products on destination food image and willingness to pay more and to analyze the degree of this effect. The second objective of the study is to examine the moderating role of the search for food variety in the effect of domestic tourists' perceptions of GI products on destination food image and willingness to pay more. In this direction, the conceptual framework was designed and presented by examining the existing studies on the subject. In the study, data were collected from 499 participants with purposive and convenience sampling method, but 454 valid data were obtained due to 45 forms being filled out incompletely or incorrectly. The data obtained were analyzed with AMOS program using structural equation modeling. According to the research findings, it was determined that the perception of geographically marked products has a positive and significant effect on destination food image (β=.36, p<.05). Seeking diversity in food has a positive and significant effect on destination food image (β=.21, p<.05). The interactional (moderating) effect of geographical indication product perception and variety seeking variables on destination food image (β=-.05, p>.05) was found to be negative and insignificant. Seeking variety in food has a positive and significant effect on payment intention (β= .34, p<.05). Geographical indication product perception has a positive and significant effect on the intention to pay (β= .53, p<.05). The interactional effect (moderator) of GI product perception and variety seeking in food variables on intention to pay (β= .35, p<.01) was found to be positive and significant.