Food sharing in tourism: A comparative analysis of U.S. and Chinese perspectives

Abstract

Destinations are constantly searching for ways to improve tourists’ dining experiences. However, the impact of dining styles on tourists' social and wellness needs has received limited attention. This study explores the influence of dining styles on the outcomes of tourists' food experiences. Two empirical experiments investigated how sharing meals impacts tourists' perceptions of intimacy, authenticity, and overall subjective wellbeing. The findings demonstrate that when tourists share food, it positively affects their interpersonal connections, their perception of authenticity, and their subjective wellbeing. The study compares two culturally distinct groups: U.S. and Chinese tourists, revealing that U.S. tourists perceive food sharing to have higher impact on authenticity and wellbeing compared to their Chinese counterparts. This study represents the first effort to unveil how tourists assess the act of sharing food while traveling. These results contribute to our theoretical understanding of convivial dining outcomes and social dynamics during travel. Furthermore, they offer insights to destinations on how to design and provide food-sharing experiences that cater to tourists' social and wellness needs while leveraging the unique aspects of their food-sharing cultures.