Why Tourists Consumed Local Food in Bali During the Pandemic? A Motivation-Based Segmentation Study

Local food is a tourism resource that can be leveraged for marketing
purposes, such as destination branding. Therefore, understanding tourist motivations
for consuming local food could assist the government in developing an effective
destination marketing plan. Although Bali is Indonesia�s most well-known
tourist destination, there is currently limited research on what motivates tourists
to consume the indigenous local food. This study aimed to investigate tourists�
motivations for consuming local food in Bali during the covid-19 pandemic and
segment them accordingly. The data was collected through an online survey of
518 tourists who visited Bali between October 2021 and February 2022. Seven
motivations were discovered as causes utilizing an exploratory factor analysis:
cultural, exploration, interaction, emotional, health concern, sharing, and social
value. Subsequent cluster analysis divided the respondents into five segments: (1)
novelty seekers, who are constantly seeking new things to learn; (2) relationship
keepers, who enjoy spending time with their relatives; (3) interaction seekers,
who enjoy interacting with the people they meet; (4) cultural explorers, who want
to learn more about the local culture and (5) collaborative tourists, who share
their experiences with others. Due to the numerous distinguishing characteristics
among each segment, the government would effectively examine the local food
attributes and provide alternative activities and services to tourists.