A study on the image of Macanese gastronomy tourism and the influence of electronic word of mouth on the intentions of Mainland China tourists

The purpose of this study focuses on the extent to which the image of Macanese gastronomy tourism and electronic word of mouth influences tourists´ intentions, based on samples of those who use the Internet to search for information about Macanese gastronomy. Questionnaires were distributed to visitors to Mainland China by means of the Internet. The findings revealed that electronic word of mouth and the image of Macanese gastronomy tourism obviously indicated positive effects, suggesting that both are leading factors in attracting tourists, therefore boosting the travel industry in Macau. The findings also provided evidence for the Macau Government tourism office and website operators to effectively promote the image of gastronomy tourism in Macau. Additionally using the Internet to motivate tourists to travel for gastronomy reasons could create a reasonably valid construct to use for market segmentation purposes.