The Future Of Entomotourism: The Sustainable Bugs Appetite
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Food tourism gained its popularity due to people preference on travelling to a certain location for attending food festivals or sampling various delicacies. Such phenomenon promoted entomotourism especially on food and eco-tourism sector that emphasize the traditional values such as cultural and traditional respect, authenticity, and sustainability. The study aims to investigate the motivational factors which affect the domestic tourists in experiencing entomotourism particularly in searching for insect-based product during their travel. However, there is still a paucity of empirical research on edible insects, aimed towards domestic tourists, thus giving this study academic significance by closing knowledge gaps in the specific area of edible insect consumption acceptance and motivation among tourists to promote entomotourism as a form of unique gastronomy experience. Quantitative analysis was implemented to achieve the research objectives where a sample size of 240 respondents was collected in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Structural Equation Method was then used to validate each construct to find the factors that contribute to the tourist’s behaviour. The study provides a summary of core motivators characterizing the acceptance and consumer intention to search for insect-based food during their travel. This paper has the potential to generate societal benefits (food security), environmental (sustainable production methods and reduce in meat consumption) and health (nutritious). Furthermore, the result will help the agri-entrepreneur in producing, developing, and marketing edible insects-based products as a potential tourist attraction and a new marketing platform for food tourism in Malaysia.
Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Edible Insects, Entomotourism, Entomophagy, Food Tourism
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
How to Cite
References
Anankware, P. J., Fening, K. O., Osekre, E., & Obeng-Ofori, D. (2015). Insects as food and feed: a review. International Journal of Agricultural Research and Review, 3(1) 143-151.
Barsics, F., Caparros Megido, R., Brostaux, Y., Barsics, C., Blecker, C., Haubruge, E. and Francis, F. (2017). Could new information influence attitudes to foods supplemented with edible insects?. British Food Journal, 119(9) 2027-2039. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-11-2016-0541
Berger, S., Christandl, F., Schmidt, C. & Baertsch, C. (2018). Price-based quality inferences for insects as food. British Food Journal, 120(7) 1615-1627. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-08-2017-0434
Costello, A.B., & Osborne, J.W. (2005). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 10(7) 1-9.
Dagevos, H. (2021). A literature review of consumer research on edible insects: Recent evidence and new vistas from 2019 studies. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 7 (3) 249-259. https://doi.org/10.3920/JIFF2020.0052
Department of Statistics Malaysia (2021). Performance of domestic tourism by state, 2020. Press release, 30 September 2021. Available at: https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/pdfPrev&id=NnZBTUo1c04rZVlUcnZzOUtkbFA5UT09
FAO (2010) In Forest Insects as Food: Humans Bite Back. Proceedings of a Workshop on Asia–Pacific Resources and Their Potential for Development, 19–21 February 2008, FAO, Chiang-Mai, Thailand (edited by D. B. Durst, D. V. Johnson, R. N. Leslie and K. Shono). FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok (Publication No. 2010/02).
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics (4th ed.). Sage Publications Ltd, London.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18 (1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312
Guidetti, M., Carraro, L., Cavazza, N., & Roccato, M. (2018). Validation of the revised Food Neophobia Scale (FNS-R) in the Italian context. Appetite, 128, 95-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.06.004
Hair, J.F., Hult, G.T.M., Ringle, C.M., & Sarstedt, M. (2013). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS- SEM), Sage Publications, CA.
Hutcheson, G.D., & Sofroniou, N. (1999). The multivariate social scientist, Sage, London.
Huo, C., Hameed, J., Sadiq, M. W., Albasher, G., & Alqahtani, W. (2021). Tourism, environment and hotel management: An innovative perspective to address modern trends in contemporary tourism management. Business Process Management Journal, 27(7) 2161-2180. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-12-2020-0543
Hall, C., M., Sharples, L., (2003). Chapter 1-The consumption of experiences or the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste, Editor(s): Hall, C.M., Sharples, L., Mitchell, R., Macionis, N., Cambourne, B, Food Tourism Around the World. Butterworth- Heinemann, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-7506-5503-3.50004-X
Hoek, A. C. (2010). Will novel protein foods beat meat? Consumer acceptance of meat substitutes: A multidisciplinary research approach. PhD diss., Wageningen University.
Hopkins, I., Farahnaky, A., Gill, Harsharn, Newman, L.P., & Danaher, J. (2022). Australians’ experience, barriers and willingness towards consuming edible insects as an emerging protein source. Appetite, 169 (105832) 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105832
Ismail, K., Soehod, K., Vivishna, S., Khurram, W., Jafri, S. K. A., & Ramily, M. K. B. (2012). Genetically modified food and consumer purchase intentions: a study in Johor Bahru. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(5) 197-207.
Jensen, N. H., & Lieberoth, A. (2019). We will eat disgusting foods together – evidence of the normative basis of Western entomophagy-disgust from an insect tasting. Food Quality and Preference, 72, 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.08.012
Kannana, V.R., & Tan, K.C. (2005). Just in time, total quality management, and supply chain management: understanding their linkages and impact on business performance. Omega, 33(2) 153-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2004.03.012
Levrini, G. R.D. & Santos, M.J. D. (2021). The influence of price on purchase intentions: Comparative study between cognitive, sensory and neurophysiological experiments. Behavioural Science, 11(2) 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11020016
Lensvelt, E., J., S. & Steenbekkers, L., P., A. (2014). Exploring customers acceptance of entomophagy: A survey and experiment in Australia and The Netherlands. Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 53 (5) 543-561. https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2013.879865
Lemelin, R.H. (2013). To bee or not to bee: Whether ‘tis no- bler to revere or to revile those six-legged creatures during one’s leisure. Leisure Studies, 32(2) 153-171. https://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2011.626064
Liu, A.-J., Li, J., & Gómez M.I. (2020). Factors influencing consumption of edible insects for Chinese consumers, Insects, 11 (1) 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11010010
Mancini, S., Sogari, G., Menozzi, D., Nuvoloni, R., Torracca, B., Moruzzo, R. & Paci, G. (2019). Factors predicting the intention of eating an insect-based product. Foods, 8(7), 270, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8070270
Mahdi, A.F & Zin, M.Z.M (2018). Comparing Consumer’s Awareness, Attitudes and Perceptions towards Genetically Modified Foods (GMFs). Borneo International Journal, 1(1), 15-19.
Mahika, E. (2011). Current trends in tourist motivation. Cactus Tourism Journal, 2(2), 15-24.
Meshulam-Pascoviche, D., David-Birman, T., Refael, G and Lesmes, U. (2022). Big opportunities for Tiny Bugs: Processing Effects on the Techno-Functionality and Digestibility of Edible Insects. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 122, 265-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2022.02.012
Mishyna, M., Chen, J., & Benjamin, O. (2019). Sensory attributes of edible insects and insect-based foods. Future outlooks for enhancing consumer appeal. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 95, 141-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.11.016
Myers, G., & Pettigrew, S. (2018). A qualitative exploration of the factors underlying seniors' receptiveness to entomophagy. Food Research International, 103, 163-169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2017.10.032
Nunnally, J.C., & Bernstein, I.H. (1994). Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Pang, S.M., Tan, B.C. & Lau, T.C. (2021) Antecedents of Consumers’ Purchase Intention towards Organic Food: Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Protection Motivation Theory. Sustainability, 13, 5218. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095218
Podsakoff, P.M., & Organ, D.W. (1986). Self-reports in organisational research: problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531-544. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920638601200408
Putten, Y.Y.A., & Nair, P.B. (2019). Green Food Product Purchase Intention: Factors Influencing Malaysian Consumers. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 27(2), 1131 – 1144.
Rumpold, B. A. & Schlüter, O. (2015). Insect-based protein sources and their potential for human consumption: Nutritional composition and processing. Animal Frontiers, 5(2) 20-24. https://doi.org/10.2527/af.2015-0015
Sadiq, W., Abdullah, I., Aslam, K., & Zulfiqar, S. (2020). Engagement marketing: the innovative perspective to enhance the viewer’s loyalty in social media and blogging e-commerce websites. Marketing and Management Innovative, 1, 149–166. http://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2020.1-12
Salman, A., Jaafar, M., Mohamed, D and Malik, S. (2021). Ecotourism Development in Penang Hill: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective towards Achieving Environmental Sustainability. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 42945 – 42958. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13609-y
Schäufele, I., Barrera Albores, E., & Hamm, U. (2019). The role of species for the acceptance of edible insects: evidence from a consumer survey. British Food Journal, 121(9) 2190-2204. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-01-2019-0017
Siegrist, M., & Hartmann, C. (2020). Perceived naturalness, disgust, trust and food neophobia as predictors of cultured meat acceptance in ten countries. Appetite, 155, 104814, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2020.104814
Siegrist, M. (2008). Factors influencing public acceptance of innovative food technologies and products. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 19(11) 603-608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2008.01.017
Sogari, G., Menozzi, D., & Mora, C. (2019). The food neophobia scale and young adults' intention to eat insect products. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 43 (1) 68-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12485
Sogari G., Menozzi D., & Mora C. (2017). Exploring young foodies׳ knowledge and attitude regarding entomophagy: A qualitative study in Italy. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 7, 16-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2016.12.002
Verbeke, W. (2015). Profiling consumers who are ready to adopt insects as a meat substitute in a Western society. Food Quality and Preference, 39, 147-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2014.07.008
Wang, Y.F. (2016). Development and validation of the green food and beverage literacy scale. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 21, 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2015.1016050
Wassmann, B., Siegrist, M. & Hartmann, C. (2020). Correlates of the willingness to consume insects: A meta-Analysis. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 7(5), 909-922. https://doi.org/10.3920/JIFF2020.0130
Zhao, H., Yao, X., Liu, Z., & Yang, Q. (2021) Impact of Pricing and Product Information on Consumer Buying Behavior With Customer Satisfaction in a Mediating Role. Frontiers in Psychology, 12:720151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.720151