Who are the culinary tourists?
An observation at a food and wine festival
Eunmi Sohn and Jingxue (Jessica) Yuan
Eunmi Sohn and Jingxue
(Jessica) Yuan are based in
the Department of Nutrition,
Hospitality and Retailing,
Texas Tech University,
Lubbock, Texas, USA.
PAGE 118 j INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide psychographic and demographic profiles of people
interested in culinary tourism.
Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted in the First Lubbock Wine Festival in
Texas, incorporating Values and Lifestyles (VALS-2). A questionnaire was designed to investigate the
classification of culinary tourists’ lifestyles and values in terms of three primary motivations such as
ideals, achievement, and self-expression including culinary tourists’ activities and demographic
characteristics. Factor and reliability analyses were used.
Findings – A five-factor solution resulted in idealist, achiever, explorer, belonger and innovator.
Ideals-motivated groups were identified by idealist and belonger. Self-expression-motivated groups
were identified by explorer and innovator. Achievement-motivated group was identified by achiever.
Research limitations/implications – The study offers new insights and conceptualizations relevant to
the analysis of culinary tourism markets, focusing on the needs and psychology of culinary tourists.
Practical implications – A better understanding of the needs and wants of culinary tourists may help
tourism marketers increase the effectiveness of their promotional campaigns by targeting the
appropriate audience and tailoring their messages to its psychological needs.
Originality/value – By providing a basis for predicting attitudes and behaviors of culinary tourists, this
study extends the existing body of research by segmenting culinary tourists based on motivations while
making travel decisions.
Keywords Tourism research, Tourism management, Tourists, Demographics, Psychology,
Psychographics, Culinary tourism, Wine tourism, Festivals, Segmentation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
An increasing number of tourists are looking for specific experiences, such as learning
vacations, agriculture tours, and gastronomy, among others (Wolf, 2002). Culinary
experiences can add value to tourism by providing the tourist with a link between local
culture, landscape and food/wine and by creating the atmosphere so essential to a
memorable travel experience (Hjalager and Richards, 2002). Currently, culinary tourism is
being identified as a primary activity or attraction, whereby people travel and visit a
destination specifically for the unique food or wine products offered (Quan and Wang, 2004).
Destination marketers aware of these trends are using festivals among other alternatives, as
a way to attract ‘‘getaway’’ tourists and promote the attributes of their location (Getz, 1991).
Therefore, to compete successfully in the international and domestic market, destinations
need to develop and promote new and innovative products and experiences highlighting
local, cultural resources.
In this regard, consumer psychographic research provides important insights into who the
culinary tourists are, what the needs of culinary tourists are and what motivates them to travel
for the taste of food and wine. Silverberg et al. (1996) say that psychographics is a way of
j VOL. 7 NO. 2 2013, pp. 118-131, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1750-6182 DOI 10.1108/IJCTHR-04-2013-0019
 describing consumers and charting new trends. Further, researchers have advocated the
staged segmentation whereby psychological or behavioral segmentation is conducted first
in order to identify the major markets and then it is followed by examining the geographic
distribution and demographic characteristics of these markets (Middleton, 1994). Given the
absence of in-depth research concerning motivations for individuals to attend a culinary or
wine-related festival, the purpose of this study was to explore the activities, and the
demographic and psychographic aspects of culinary tourists in order to develop specific
hypotheses or predictions that can be tested in future research. Therefore, this study
proposes that the better understanding of psychographic behavior of culinary tourists will
help marketers and managers focus on how to best develop and market a new kind of visitor
attraction: unique and memorable food and drink experiences.

Literature review
Psychographic and lifestyle segmentation
The use of psychographics as a segmentation criterion is continuously increasing in the
hope that psychographics will explain more observed behavioral variation than
demographic or socioeconomic variables (Zins, 1998). Psychographic segmentation,
which is also called lifestyle segmentation, divides the total population into groups based on
the consumer’s motivation, attitudes, preferences and values (Gunter and Furnham, 1992).
Many lifestyle segmentation systems have been built such as Values and Lifestyles
(VALSe), Activity, Interest and Opinion (AIO), and List of Values (LOV) and so on. For
example, AIO refers to measure of activities, interests and opinions of consumer. Activities
are manifest actions such as work, hobbies, social events, vacation, entertainment, sports,
shopping and so on. Interest is the degree of excitement that accompanies both special and
continuing attention to it. Finally, opinions are descriptive beliefs about oneself, social issues,
business, economics, products, culture and so on (Peter and Olson, 2005).
Probably the most famous scheme is VALS, which was created by SRI International (Gunter
and Furnham, 1992) and is now owned and operated by Strategic Business Insights (SBI).
VALS identifies eight segments of US consumers based on two dimensions. One is a
consumer’s resources, including income, education, self-confidence, health, eagerness to
buy, and energy level. The other is a consumer’s self-motivation. Three self-motivations are
identified in VALS (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009): ideals-motivated,
achievement-motivated and self-expression motivated (see Table I). Lifestyle research
combined with psychographic research results in consumer profiles that show the overall
manner in which people think, live and spend time and money. It suggests answers to the
deeper motivations and aspirations behind the purchase and consumption of a product or
service (Cahill, 2006).

Psychographic applications in tourism studies

Travel studies have used psychographics as a criterion in market segmentation or as a
predictor of travel-related behaviors. For example, Silverberg et al. (1996) report six
psychographic dimensions; education/history, camping/tenting, relaxation, socializing,
information, and viewing nature, with differences existing between members of the different

Table I VALSe primary motivations and consumer behavior

Ideals Achievement Self-expression

Are information seeking Are goal oriented Are spontaneous

Make choices based on principles
Buy functionality and reliability
Pursue self-development excitement
Resist impulse
Ask what ‘‘should’’ I do?
Make choices to enhance position Make choices to have emotional impact
Buy success symbols Buy experiences
Seek approval from valued social group Seek adventure, novelty
Pursue self-improvement Pursue self-reliance
Ask what are others like me doing? Ask what do I feel like doing?

Source: Strategic Business Insights (SBI); www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/VALS

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 psychographic segments with respect to their nature-based travel behaviors, environmental
attitudes, and demographic characteristics. Yoon and Shafer (1997) report that all-inclusive
package travelers were more socially interactive and solicitous and took vacations mainly to
relax, whereas independent travelers were more self-confident and often sought solitude in a
sun-spot destination resort. The authors further conclude that lifestyle characteristics
provide more in-depth information about preferences of travel arrangement compared to
socio demographic and travel related characteristics.
A variety of tourism themes have been analyzed by reference to personality, including the
behaviors of special interest tourists (e.g. Gibson, 2004); vacation choice (McGuiggan,
2003); tourist market segmentation (Galloway, 2002); tourists’ satisfaction with their
experiences (Sirakaya et al., 2004); tourists’ motivations (George and Mekoth, 2004); and
analysis of tourism destinations (d’Astous and Boujbel, 2007), among many other themes.
Therefore, the majority of psychographic studies in tourism undertake to describe and
identify unique characteristics of travelers who visited a specific destination or type of
destination or who preferred a particular style of travel.

Wine and culinary tourism

Only recently have psychographic variables been investigated with respect to wine
consumption in general, and wine tourism in particular. Psychographic variables that have
been considered include wine and wine tourism lifestyles (Hall, 1996); the life values that
wine consumers seek to attain through involvement with wine products (Bruwer et al., 2001);
wine knowledge and a range of wine lifestyle choices (Mitchell and Hall, 2001); the images of
wine destinations conveyed to potential tourist visitors (Williams, 2001); decision making and
preferences (Brown and Getz, 2005; Brown et al., 2007).
Bruwer (2002) reports wine and food festivals as special events of limited duration with a
primary focus on wine and regional food most often set in the landscape of a wine region.
Hoffman et al. (2001) note that events such as wine and food festivals attract visitors to a
region and help build loyalty to the region and its wineries. Yuan et al. (2005) also note that
attending the festival may be the primary purpose of the trip, yet visitors still seek an
experience with wine and/or food and other leisure activities. Charters and Ali-Knight (2002)
report motivations for visiting the winery, identifying five segments of winery visitors: ‘‘wine
lovers’’; ‘‘connoisseurs’’; ‘‘wine interested’’; ‘‘wine novices’’ and the ‘‘hangers-on.’’ Wine
lovers visit primarily to purchase, taste, and learn about wine, winemaking and grapes, while
the motivations of wine novices are less clear, but are more likely to include ancillary
activities or more generic tourist activities such as tours of the winery or vineyard or eating at
the restaurant.
Williams and Dossa (2003) distinguish between two psychographic segments of wine
tourists: generalists and immersionists. The former are motivated to travel by opportunities to
visit a range of scenic regions, tend to enjoy interacting with others in relaxing and safe
contexts, and place less emphasis than do the latter on adventurous and cultural/heritage
activities. Immersionists place greater emphasis than do the generalists on learning about
the region visited, and becoming immersed in a variety of activities. Yuan et al. (2005)
identify three groups wine tourists based on their motivations, exploring why individuals
attend a wine festival. These were ‘‘wine focusers,’’ ‘‘festivity seekers,’’ and ‘‘hangers-on.’’
These authors support the observation that motivations should be analyzed within context
and should be considered situational variables.
On the other hand, culinary tourism studies has looked at food as a tourism attraction and
component of the tourism experience (Hjalager and Richards, 2002; Quan and Wang, 2004);
culinary tourists’ profile (Hall, 2003; Au and Law, 2002); categorical classification of culinary
tourists and culinary experiences as powerful marketing tools for destinations (Kivela and
Crotts, 2006; Ignatov and Smith, 2006). Hjalager (2003) offers a model of culinary tourism
experiences using Cohen’s (1984) phenomenological categorization of tourist lifestyles.
Four categories – recreational, existential, diversionary, and experimental were created to
categorize gastronomy tourists in Hjalager’s (2003) study. Cohen and Avieli (2004) attempt
to integrate culinary sociology into culinary tourism acknowledging segments such as the

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‘‘experiential tourist’’ and the ‘‘recreational tourist’’ stressing that these tourists will approach
food differently at destinations.
Kivela and Crotts (2006) examine the presence of a gastronomy-tourism market segment in
Hong Kong. Their results provide evidence that motivation to travel for gastronomy reasons
is a valid construct for use for market segmentation purposes. Ignatov identifies segments of
culinary tourists from the Travel Activities and Motivations Survey (TAMS) dataset (2006). The
segments were compared in terms of demographics, psychographics, vacation and
getaway trip characteristics and media consumption habits. The results show Canadian
culinary tourists exhibit characteristics and behaviors that clearly distinguish them from
other tourists. Segments identified from the study were food, wine, food and wine; and rural,
sophisticated, indifferent and true cuisine.
Culinary tourism suggests a wide interest in food and wine which may include the products,
but is also typically related to interest in the broad dimensions of food and wine and the
cultures and landscapes that produce them (Hall and Mitchell, 2005). Those who have an
interest in food and wine are considerably more likely to seek out vacation experiences
associated with romance and relaxation, exploration, and personal indulgence. Carmichael
(2005) emphasizes on the power of the regional rural landscape as an attribute of the wine
touring experience for the rest and relaxation in an attractive winery. In this regard, the
potential interrelationship between food, wine and tourism at the regional level allows regions
benefit from culinary tourism development. For example, regional culinary- or wine-related
festivals as well as the landscape within which they are located provide a motivation to visit an
area, stay in accommodation, and eat at restaurants (Hall and Mitchell, 2005).
A recent study of the culinary travel niche market reports that 27 million travelers, a full 17
percent of leisure travelers, had taken part in either culinary or wine-related activities in the
three years preceding the study (US Travel Association, 2007). The study not only indicates
the existence of a large culinary tourism market, but it also reports some major differences in
the market compared to other types of travelers: a stronger propensity to shop, and to visit
destinations that offer culinary experiences. As a significant component of contemporary
lifestyles, specific forms of food and wine consumption have become an important part of
tourism. Culinary tourism is going more mainstream and cashing in on the growing
consumer trend of appreciating regional food and wine travel experiences.
Culinary- or wine-related festivals staged in rural areas utilize food and wine as a
destination’s cultural image to differentiate their location from others. However, few studies
have been conducted to examine the characteristics of the culinary tourists. Who are the
culinary tourists? What characteristics do they possess? What factors motivate the culinary
tourists to engage in attending culinary- or wine-related festivals? This lack of information
makes it impossible for the culinary tourism industry to implement effective market
segmentation and targeting. In this regard, lifestyle or psychographic examination based on
the idea that individuals have characteristic patterns of living that may be reflected in the
products and brands that they purchase is applicable within the culinary tourism context.
Therefore, knowledge about how culinary tourists have similar values, lifestyles, and needs
that may be reflected in attending culinary- or wine-related festivals as a travel experience
can provide a basis for determining culinary tourists’ travel behaviors, identifying their
appropriateness for targeting, and planning a marketing strategy reflecting their needs,
wants and preferences.
The purpose of this exploratory research was to provide psychographic and demographic
profiles of people interested in the culinary tourism. The objectives of this research were to:
B investigate self-classified culinary tourists’ responses to a set of culinary tourism activities
and demographic characteristics;
B classify dominant lifestyles and values among culinary tourists; and
B analyze the classification of culinary tourists’ lifestyles and values in terms of the VALS
three primary motivations: ideals, achievement, and self-expression.
The study provides a basis for predicting attitudes and behaviors of culinary tourists.

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 Research method
Study site and sampling
The data used for this analysis were from a survey of visitors to the First Lubbock Wine
Festival, which was held November 6-8, 2009, at the Louise Underwood Center for the Arts
located in Lubbock, Texas. More than 180 wineries are located in Texas. This festival
showcased more than 20 of those wineries. This festival was among the first that the new
Texas state law allowed wineries to obtain special permits to enable them to sell their
products directly to the public. The three-day festival was full of music, art, food, and wine.
The entire process was conducted face to face, followed by an administered questionnaire.
There were around 2,000 people in attendance at the festival. From a sample of 130, a total
of 116 usable questionnaires were obtained. Of the 116 usable surveys collected, the
number of local respondents was 71 (61.2 percent) based on the 27 zip codes belonging to
the Lubbock County, Texas. However, the 45 non-local respondents (38.8 percent) were all
residents of Texas as well. The sample was drawn using a convenience sampling design.

Measurement and analyses

Questions were asked about attendees’ demographic profile and behavioral characteristics
(information source, food/wine-related activities within the past 12 months, and motivations
when they make a decision on food/wine-related travel). Respondents were asked to rate
each of the reasons when they make a decision on food/wine-related travel on a seven-point
scale, where 1 ¼ not at all important and 7 ¼ extremely important. Following the literature,
the main body of the instrument incorporated the items from the original VALS and current
VALS questionnaires. The original VALS questionnaire was developed in 1978 by Arnold
Mitchell at SRI International. The current VALS system, operated by SRI spinout, SBI, reflects
a real-world relationship between personality traits and consumer behavior (Gunter and
Furnham, 1992). (Note: SBI uses its VALS questionnaire in its custom consulting work. There
is a complex proprietary scoring algorithm that should be used with the VALS questionnaire.
This study did not use that scoring algorithm and therefore, while deriving valuable insights,
did not get the full benefit of the tool.) In this study, respondents were asked to rate each
attitude and behavior on a seven-point scale, where 1 ¼ strongly disagree and 7 ¼ strongly
agree, for a total of 40 items aiming to identify their psychographic characteristics. Before
proceeding to the analyses, descriptive statistics between locals and non-locals were
compared. The differences were considered using t-test and crosstabs. The results did not
show any significant differences in terms of demographics, information sources, and
activities. An independent samples t-test was employed to see if there was a significant
difference in terms of motivations on food/wine-related travel between locals and non-locals.
The results did not indicate a significant difference between the two groups. It was therefore
appropriate to integrate the data at locals and non-locals for further analyses.
Descriptive statistics were used in calculating the mean importance of motivations to make a
decision on food/wine-related travel, including demographic characteristics. Exploratory
factor analysis (EFA) was used to classify culinary tourists’ lifestyles and values in terms of
ideals, achievement, and self-expression. EFA is usually appropriate for use in exploring a
dataset and its internal reliability, while EFA is not designed to test hypotheses or theories
(Costello and Osborne, 2005). Therefore, validation of the questionnaire was conducted in
two major steps: exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis with the sample group.

Results
Descriptive analysis
The number of male respondents was 40 (35.1 percent), with 74 (64.9 percent) female
respondents. The majority of respondents were above 50 years of age (30.2 percent),
followed by between 40 and 49 years of age (26.7 percent). The majority of respondents
were married (55.8 percent). The education level of respondents was four-year college (46.6
percent), followed by high school (20.7 percent), and two-year college (17.2 percent).
Notably, the largest ethnic group was Caucasian or white (85.2 percent) and the occupation

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of most respondents was professional or technical (43.9 percent), followed by manager or
administrator (26.3 percent). The income for most of the respondents was above $90,000
(43.9 percent). The major information source used to find out about the festival was
word-of-mouth (36.6 percent), followed by other sources (26.8 percent) and the internet
(19.6 percent). The demographic characteristics were similar to the results of TAMS on Wine,
Beer and Food Tastings in America. The TAMS says that those who participated in tastings
on trips are more likely to be older and married; they are over-represented among those with
post-secondary education and their household incomes are above-average (Ontario
Ministry of Tourism, 2007). The correspondent results indicate that this is a relatively affluent
segment with above-average education and household income (see Table II).
The major activities were tasting/buying local products/farmer’s markets (26.1 percent),
followed by visitation to and /or tours of wineries and/ or vineyards, wine tasting (21.6
percent), multiple choices (15.3 percent), traditional or high quality dining experience (9.9

Table II Descriptive characteristics of participants

Characteristic n Percentage

Age (n ¼ 116)
20-29 22 19.0
30-39 28 24.1
40-49 31 26.7
50 above 35 30.2
Gender (n ¼ 114)
Male 40 35.1
Female 74 64.9
Marital status (n ¼ 113)
Single 45 39.8
Married 63 55.8
Other 5 4.4
Education (n ¼ 116)
High school 24 20.7
Two-year college 20 17.2
Four-year college 54 46.6
Master’s 15 12.9
PhD 3 2.6
Ethnic group (n ¼ 115)
Caucasian or white 98 85.2
Hispanic or Spanish 10 8.7
Asian 4 3.5
Other 3 2.6
Occupation (n ¼ 114)
Professional or technical 50 43.9
Manager or administrator 30 26.3
Sales worker 6 5.3
Farmer or farm manager 2 1.8
Other 26 22.8
Income (n ¼ 82 )
Below 29,999 8 9.8
30,000-49,999 14 17.1
50,000-69,999 15 18.3
70,000-89,999 9 11.0
Above 90,000 36 43.9
Information source (n ¼ 112)
Internet 22 19.6
Advertisements in magazines or newspaper 15 13.4
Word-of-mouth 41 36.6
Television 1 0.9
Reviews in magazines or newspaper 3 2.7
Other 30 26.8

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 percent) and food and wine festivals and events (9.9 percent) respectively (see Table III).
The major motivations to make a decision on food/wine-related travel were ‘‘to see or do
something new different’’ (M ¼ 5:77), followed by ‘‘to relax and relieve stress’’ (M ¼ 5:58),
‘‘to get a break from your day-to-day environment’’ (M ¼ 5:43), ‘‘to renew personal
connections with people’’ (M ¼ 5:09), and ‘‘to gain knowledge of history, other cultures or
other places’’ (M ¼ 5:04) (see Table IV).

Factor analysis
Principal component analysis with promax rotation was conducted. Factor loading of less
than 0.40 was disregarded. Using the Kaiser-Guttman rule (eigenvalue greater than 1) and
salient loadings (greater than j0.4j), five factors emerged. Factors were mildly correlated. By
employing the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity, the sampling
adequacy was tested. The Cronbach alpha of 0.883 and Split-half reliability of 0.886 showed
the reliability of the questionnaire. Among a total of 40 items, 30 items were loaded on each
of factors. Five-factor solution resulted in the following factors: idealist, achiever, explorer,
belonger and, innovator. Ideals -motivated groups were identified by two factors: idealist
(factor 1) and belonger (factor 4). Self-expression-motivated groups were identified by two
factors: explorer (factor 3) and innovator (factor 5). Achievement-motivated group was
identified by one factor: achiever (factor 2)
Factor 1 was labeled idealist. All nine items were loaded on the factor. The factor was
characterized by being conservative and socially conscious. The related statements
included, ‘‘I consider myself to be planner,’’ ‘‘I am risk-averse,’’ ‘‘I think I am a cautious
consumer,’’ ‘‘I am a conscious consumer,’’ ‘‘I am very price sensitive,’’ ‘‘I am a
penny-pincher,’’ and ‘‘I prefer products that I am familiar with and know I can afford’’ were
associated with conservative values and risk avoidance. In addition, ‘‘I am also seen as

Table III Food/wine-related activities within past 12 months

Activities n Percentage

Multiple choices 17 15.3

Tasting/buying local products/farmer’s markets 29 26.1
Culinary learning experiences – cooking schools, wine education 1 0.9
Eating/drinking at a hard-to-find ‘‘locals-only’’ restaurant or bar 7 6.3
Traditional or high quality dining experience 11 9.9
Visitation to and/or tours of wineries and/ or vineyards, wine tasting 24 21.6
Food/wine trails(e.g. apple routes; beer routes) 4 3.6
Food and wine festivals and events 11 9.9
Other 7 6.3

Note: n ¼ 111

Table IV Descriptive statistics of motivations on food/wine-related travel

Mean importance Standard
Description score deviation

To get a break from your day-to-day environment 5.43 1.469

To relax and relieve stress 5.58 1.333
To create lasting memories 4.83 1.690
To enrich your relationship with your family 4.54 1.929
To see or do something new different 5.77 1.315
To have a life with no fixed schedule 4.87 1.926
To enrich your perspective on life 4.63 1.714
To gain knowledge of history, other cultures or other places 5.04 1.613
To stimulate your mind/be intellectually challenged 4.88 1.733
To renew personal connections with people 5.09 1.472
To be pampered 4.39 1.860

Note: n ¼ 116

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ecology minded’’ was associated with socially conscious values. A socially conscious
consumer reflects their conservationist and ecological concerns, as well as their preference
for simple living and frugality. Based on eight VALS-typed segments, Thinkers are
characterized by being mature, reflective, and practical; ‘‘they see themselves as planners
and organizers’’ (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009, p. 11). Therefore, this type of
group resembles the VALS Thinker.
Factor 2 was labeled achiever. All seven items were loaded on the factor. Interestingly, the
factor was strongly associated with brand-related statements such as ‘‘I find brands
important’’ and ‘‘I have my favorite brands to purchase or enjoy.’’ Considering that VALS
achievement-motivated consumers look for products and services that demonstrate
success to their peers, those statements such as ‘‘I am willing to pay more for a brand or
company reputation’’ and ‘‘I am imitative, making purchases similar to those of others whose
opinions I value’’ were related to be more brand-conscious. Based on eight VALS-typed
segments, ‘‘Achievers are likely to be economical in their decisions, but they can’t resist a
deal, especially if they perceive a future need for a product or an opportunity to acquire a
badge of success’’ (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009, p. 17). For this type of
group, a brand is like a symbol of success.
Factor 3 was labeled explorer. All seven items were loaded on the factor. The factor was
experiential in itself. The factor was associated with characteristics such as innovativeness,
novelty, and variety. In VALS, consumers who are primarily motivated by self-expression
desire the new, the unique, excitement and risk (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence,
2009). For example, exploration evokes characteristics such as innovation, variety seeking,
and impulsiveness. The following statements related, ‘‘I have a wide range of interests,’’ ‘‘I
am attached to new and different experiences,’’ ‘‘I continue to seek challenges,’’ ‘‘I
compare, see what new has come out, if it’s any different,’’ and ‘‘I am concerned with social
issues and open to a change.’’ ‘‘I am slow to try new products and ideas,’’ the only item that
was negatively loaded, can be reversely explained by such a statement as, ‘‘I am fast to try
new products and ideas.’’ ‘‘I am a practical person who values self-sufficiency but is
motivated by self-expression’’ was directly related with self-expression.
Factor 4 was labeled belonger. All four items were loaded on the factor. Based on eight
VALS-typed segments, ‘‘Believers are traditional, family-oriented, literal, and moral
consumers with concrete beliefs based on the traditional codes of family, church, and
community’’ (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009, p. 14). Those statements
associated with the characteristics were, ‘‘I enjoy living in the traditional context of family,
practical work, and physical recreation,’’ ‘‘I see myself as a pro-American,’’ ‘‘I hold deeply
rooted moral codes that I interpret literally,’’ and ‘‘I respect authority and the status quo and
associate them with traditional beliefs.’’ Therefore, this type of group is close to VALS
Believers.
Factor 5 was labeled innovator. All four items were loaded on the factor. The factor was
strongly related with self-image. Self-image is how one sees oneself. Self-image also has to
do with perception. How one see oneself is vital because this will affect one’s behavior, one’s
thinking, and how one relates to others. For example, two statements that were associated
with self-image were, ‘‘I spend a lot of time thinking about my appearance and selecting
clothing that reflects my self-image’’ and ‘‘Image is important as an expression of taste,
independence, and character.’’ In addition, the statement, ‘‘I am concerned about
functionality and value more than style and packaging in a purchase decision,’’ was
negatively factor-loaded. However, it can be reversely explained by, ‘‘I am concerned more
about style and packaging than functionality and value’’ (see Tables V and VI).

Discussion
This study identifies idealist and belonger types with the VALS-typed segments Thinkers and
Believers who are motivated by ideals, which tend to base decisions on abstract, idealized
criteria such as quality, integrity and tradition rather than feelings, experience, or a desire for
societal approval (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009). In addition, considering that

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 Table V Exploratory factor analysis: rotated pattern matrix of value items
Pattern matrix factor
Item and factor 1 2 3 4 5

Factor 1: Idealist
I think I am a cautious consumer 0.884
I am a conscious consumer 0.856
I am very price sensitive 0.802
I am a penny-pincher 0.708
I consider myself to be planner 0.698
I also see as ecology minded 0.579
I prefer products that I am familiar with and know I can afford 0.576
I am risk-averse 0.464
I am sensitive to the tastes and preferences of people with whom I live and socialize 0.438
Factor 2: Achiever
I believe brand is an important indicator of quality 0.927
I find brand important 0.853
I am willing to pay more for brand or company reputation 0.831
I am imitative, making purchases similar to those of others whose opinions they value 0.761
I have my favorite brands to purchase or enjoy 0.676
I prefer to buy brands that family and friends use that also meet their social needs 0.534
Factor 3: Explorer
I have a wide range of interests 0.780
I am attached to the new and different experiences 0.738
I continue to seek challenges 0.713
I am a practical person who values self-sufficiency, but motivated by self-expression 0.569
I compare, see what new has come out, if it is any different 0.554
I am concerned with social issues, and open to a change 0.492
I am slow to try new products and ideas 20.477
Factor 4: Belonger
I enjoy living in traditional context of family, practical work, and physical recreation 0.827
I see myself a pro-American 0.754
I hold deeply rooted moral codes that I interpret literally 0.642
I respect authority and the status quo 0.547
Factor 5: Innovator
I spend a lot of time thinking about my appearance and select clothing that reflects my
self-image 0.742
I am concerned about functionality and value, than style and packaging in a purchase
decision 20.680
Image is important as an expression of taste, independence, and character 0.619
I believe money defines success 0.470

Notes: Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis; Rotation method: Promax with Kaiser Normalization; rotation converged in six
iterations

Table VI Factor correlation matrix

Factor Idealist Achiever Explorer Belonger Innovator

Idealist 1.000
Achiever 0.391 1.000
Explorer 0.214 0.209 1.000
Belonger 0.244 0.212 20.169 1.000
Innovator 0.084 0.199 0.005 0.059 1.000

Notes: Extraction method: Principal Component Analysis; Rotation method: Promax with Kaiser
Normalization

culinary tourists spend much on their food related activities while traveling, knowing that
some of culinary tourists are more conservative and cautious consumer interesting. For
example, idealist group represents themselves as frugal and price-sensitive while belonger
group represents themselves as a pro-American and enjoys living in traditional context of

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family, practical work, and physical recreation. Hjalager’s model of tourism and gastronomy
lifestyles (Hjalager, 2003) supports this finding:, e.g. existential gastronomy tourists actively
seek simple, less expensive and unsophisticated peasant food and wine to gain in-depth
knowledge about the local or regional food and wine and of the destination’s culture whereas
recreational gastronomy tourists are more conservative, instill family values, and do not like
fancy or foreign foods (except those foods that have long been part of their everyday life),
complex wines, and excessive bills.
According to Arnold Mitchell (1983, p. 9), the originator of VALS, ‘‘a belonger is traditional,
conforming, conservative, moral, non-experimental, and family-oriented; old-fashioned
values shine bright for them, such as patriotism, home and family.’’ Interestingly, in this study,
the belonger and explorer were correlated negatively in the factor correlation analysis. This
finding may be interpreted as the belonger, who tends to be non-experimental and
tradition-oriented, is the opposite of what the explorer characterizes. Therefore, although
culinary tourists are known as explorers (Wolf, 2002), this study indicates that some culinary
tourists are conservative and traditional like the idealist and belonger groups.
On the other hand, this study identifies explorer and innovator types with the VALS-typed
segments Experiencers and Innovators who are motivated by self-expression. The
self-expression motivation is grounded in direct experience for the pleasure or excitement
associated with it. ‘‘An emotional, vital attachment to experience and action is typical of this
primary motivation, as is a resistance to social controls that threaten to rule out the
experimentation and self-reliance that are central to the self-expression-motivated person’s
self-image’’ (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009, p. 4). In addition, Innovators
among VALS-typed segments consider ‘‘their images as important and not as evidence of
status or power, but as an expression of taste, independence, and character’’ (SRI
Consulting Business Intelligence, 2009, p. 29). Hirschman (1980, p. 285) defines
‘‘innovativeness as the desire for new experiences and she goes on to redefine
innovativeness as the desire to seek out the new and different and, in so doing, likens
innovativeness to inherent novelty seeking’’. In this regard, novelty seeking is found to be
conceptually indistinguishable from the willingness to adopt new products/services
(i.e. inherent innovativeness). Thus, a consumer who expresses a willingness to adopt a
new product or service is also necessarily expressing a desire for novel experiences, which
manifests itself in the form of acceptance of new ideas, partaking of new services, and
obtaining new tangible goods/intangible services (Ruvio, 2008).
Although explorers and innovators were differentiated in this study, the two groups may be
interchangeably interpreted. If so, as mentioned early, for innovators self-image can be
applied to their food and drink-related consumption, as well as their further festival/special
event choices like culinary or wine-related festival. Hjalager and Richards (2002) also
emphasizes that food and wine styles often form a part of their image and prestige. To them,
food, wine, and dining out are synonymous with designer clothes, interior décor, and
designer kitchenware, and prestige is gained by paying careful attention to the current food
and dining trends. Further, Hjalager’s (2003) model of tourism and gastronomy lifestyles
supports this finding. For the experimental gastronomy tourists, the consumption of food and
wine on holiday is part of the staging of the personality and quality and fashionability of food
and wine is a major consideration, being part of their overall lifestyle. Therefore, explorers
and innovators seem to prefer their expression through culinary-related activities. Lastly, this
study identifies achievers with the VALS-typed Achiever segment. They are primarily
motivated by achievement and seek explicit responsibilities and rewards conferred by a
valued social group and strive for a clear social position (SRI Consulting Business
Intelligence, 2009). However, Achievers are also brand-conscious, conservative and
conventional. In this regard, in this study achievers and idealists were the highest correlated.

Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that marketers and managers recognize that culinary
tourists seek different culinary experiences. Depending on culinary tourists’ types/levels of
culinary- or wine-related travel activities, marketers and managers should develop their

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 marketing strategies differently. For example, more conservative tourists such as idealist and
belonger types of groups would be attracted by local farmers’ markets/small-scale festivals
including not much luxury culinary experience, whereas explorer and innovator types of
groups who are more willing to try something new or be at the forefront of a trend would be
attracted by an elaborate, gourmet-type culinary experience and large-scale festivals.
Especially, explorer and innovator types of groups are often important in building initial
awareness and helpful with trials of products or services. Even though explorer and
innovator types of groups are often a small percentage of a market, they tend to have active
networks and are often looked to for information by early adopters and others following in the
diffusion process via credible word-of-mouth.
In addition, marketers and managers should consider that some culinary tourists do not
place their travel priority on culinary experiences. The results of this study indicate that
culinary tourists travel not only in search of new experiences or culture, but also other
reasons such as escape from mundane life, socializing, and gaining knowledge. For these
tourists, eating and drinking is an excellent way of getting together with friends and new
acquaintances and enjoying life. A review of culinary- or wine-related festival research
indicates that culinary tourists are not all alike in terms of their needs, wants, and
demographic characteristics. Therefore, marketers and managers should take into
consideration the preferences, visitor types, and wants/needs if they want to attract
specific types of culinary tourists. By understanding how culinary tourists make their
decisions to attend culinary- or wine-related festivals and/or consume culinary products,
destination marketing organizations will be able to gain a better understanding of when they
need to intervene in their decision-making process and how best to do so.

Research implications and limitations

Culinary tourists have interests in the broad dimensions of ambience, atmosphere,
surrounding environment, regional culture and cuisine, and local wine styles and varieties.
The regional rural landscape is an integral part of the culinary tourism experience. In
addition, the affection for the countryside may reflect fundamental human values and
psychological needs that can be traced to a basic human desire for harmony with land and
nature, as well as for a sense of community and a place for simplicity of lifestyle (Bunce,
1994). The segments of this study can be characterized as representing those culinary
tourists who are highly interested in the local, more traditional, and simple country-style
forms of culinary offerings. Therefore, this romantic, nostalgic view of the regional rural
landscape fits in well with some of the needs of these culinary tourists. For the marketing
efforts of such segments, an emphasis on the authenticity of local culinary offerings and wine
may be the best way to appeal to these tourists’ sense of nostalgia.
One way to tap into the potential of culinary tourism is to offer a culinary- or wine-related
festival. Destination marketing organizations recognize the opportunity for select resorts to
build brands underpinned by culinary/wine festival activities. Destination marketing
organizations expect to more fully exploit this marketing opportunity by placing more
emphasis on this basis for economic development. Culinary- or wine-related festivals as
destination attractions may benefit residents and community as well as the travel industry
sector and culinary- or wine-related providers via an increased demand for local tourism,
recreation of the destination’s image, and an extension of the tourism season (Gursoy et al.,
2002; Yoon et al., 2000). Therefore, this exploratory study offers new insights and
conceptualizations relevant to the analysis of culinary tourism markets, and defines
groupings of culinary tourists with similar values, lifestyles, and motivations. Further research
will help destination marketing organizations increase the effectiveness of their promotional
campaigns by targeting the appropriate audience and tailoring their messages to the
psychological needs of the ever-growing and diverse culinary tourists.
This study includes a few limitations. First, one of the main limitations is the small sample
size. This study showed no significant differences between locals and non-locals in terms of
information sources, food/wine-related activities, and motivations on food/wine-related
travel. Further, the demographic profile between the psychographic segments was similar.

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In this regard, this study did not find out who constituted each psychographic market
demographically, which group was the most significant sector, and what each
psychographic market preferred to do in culinary tourism. This study has concentrated
only on psychological constructs using VALS in the context of culinary tourism. A study on a
particular market, without the ability to allow for detailed segmentation and subsequent
analysis at the level for each segment, is of limited use for practical implementation and, as
such, cannot be taken to be generalized.
Second, the segments found in this study were grouped using five factor labels. These
labels attempted to give a general idea of the values and lifestyles of each segment.
However, the characteristics of each segment are much more complex than the label
defining them. It is quite likely that these labels would neither correspond precisely to those
to be found in other locations, nor to the heterogeneous nature of the culinary tourists.
Nevertheless, the method can be used upon the culinary tourism market in order to gain an
in-depth view of their values and lifestyle. This study, though with its limited ability using
labels, has achieved a milestone by identifying new psychographic segments among
culinary tourists.

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About the authors

Eunmi Sohn is a PhD student specializing in culinary tourism, in the Department of Nutrition,
Hospitality and Retailing, Texas Tech University, USA. Eunmi Sohn is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: eunmisohnn@gmail.com
Jingxue (Jessica) Yuan is an Associate Professor specializing in tourism marketing, in the
Department of Nutrition, Hospitality and Retailing, Texas Tech University, USA.

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