The influence of attitudes towards healthy eating on food consumption when travelling

摘要

This study explores tourists' attitude towards healthy eating and its influence on their travel eating behaviour. Based on focus group interviews and literature review, two instruments were developed to measure healthy eating attitude and travel eating behaviour. Factor analysis results revealed two healthy eating attitude factors (food content and nutrients' and balanced diet and eating habit'), and five travel eating behaviour factors (novelty', risk avoidance', health steadfastness', familiarity', and food supplement and medicine'). The relationships among the factors were examined using structural equation modelling. The findings revealed that respondents who had a stronger attitude towards balanced diet and eating habit' tended to be more motivated by the novelty' factor; whereas risk avoidance', health steadfastness' and familiarity' were found to be associated with a stronger attitude towards food content and nutrient'. The findings suggest that the healthy eating attitude construct is multidimensional and healthy eating conscious tourists should not be treated as a homogeneous group.