{"id":8574,"date":"2022-08-09T11:35:28","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T03:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.ift.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/?p=8574"},"modified":"2022-08-09T11:37:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T03:37:14","slug":"sweet-memories-feeding-tourist-appetite-for-nostalgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/sweet-memories-feeding-tourist-appetite-for-nostalgia\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet memories: feeding tourist appetite for nostalgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u6587\u6458\u8981 \/ Summary in Chinese<\/span>\n

Macao\u2019s food-focused Hong Kung Night Market offers a taste of nostalgia that can be a big factor in drawing repeat visitors to the city, according to research involving 2 scholars from IFTM. It suggests that perceptions that the food and atmosphere at the market are authentic can trigger nostalgic feelings among tourists, which in turn reinforce their positive attitudes regarding the local food, and bolster Macao\u2019s image as a food and gastronomy destination, thus attracting visitors to return.<\/p>\n

The research was based on fieldwork, including a survey answered by a sample of 399 tourists who had visited the Hong Kung Night Market in Macao\u2019s Rua de Cinco de Outubro. They were mainly from the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Chinese Taiwan.<\/p>\n

The results suggest that \u201cauthentic and nostalgic cues\u201d should be made use of, so that night market organisers can attract and retain tourists, said the researchers.<\/p>\n

The study was carried out by IFTM scholars Dr. Li Xiangping and Dr. Frances Kong Weng Hang, in partnership with Dr. Fiona Yang Xi from the University of Macau. The findings were featured in the academic paper \u201cAuthentic food experiences bring us back to the past: an investigation of a local food night market\u201d. It was published last year in the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing.<\/p>\n

The research findings showed that visitors who formed positive attitudes regarding local food were more likely to perceive Macao as a gastronomy destination, and to revisit the city for its food. \u201cThus, destination management organisations need to understand what helps to shape favourable attitudes toward food,\u201d the authors wrote.<\/p>\n

They pinpointed 2 important factors in that regard: authenticity and nostalgia. However, the authors noted that, as more tourism destinations were resorting to their food heritage as a promotional tool, \u201cthe transformation of a destination into a gastronomic landscape capable of enticing and maintaining tourists\u201d had become \u201cincreasingly challenging\u201d.<\/p>\n

Taking a bite of the market<\/strong><\/p>\n

The research stressed it was \u201cnecessary to maintain the authenticity\u201d of the Hong Kung Night Market, in order to stimulate feelings of nostalgia among tourists. The authors suggested one way was \u201cto build on the good work seen so far, by continuing to provide more traditional and tasty local Chinese delights\u201d.<\/p>\n

In addition to indigenous Cantonese food, the night market could incorporate additional elements of Macanese cuisine, the study suggested. Macanese cuisine is the distinctive gastronomy of Macao\u2019s Eurasian population, i.e., those among the city\u2019s people that have ancestral ties to Portugal or to that country\u2019s former colonial outposts, such as Goa and Malacca, as well as to the Chinese Mainland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe authentic food experience could be augmented through the use of Macanese home recipes and the adoption of mixed ingredients and spices,\u201d the researchers said. \u201cTo further enhance food authenticity, the cuisine could also be presented and served in a more traditional way,\u201d for example, by getting the food hawkers at the market to adopt \u2018Cha chaan teng\u2019 \u2013 classic teahouse \u2013 style food presentations. Another possibility was to use \u201cdecorative packages\u201d printed with designs featuring \u201cPortuguese ceramic tiles\u201d at Macanese food stands.<\/p>\n

An additional feature discussed in the research paper was the ambience of the night market and the \u201ccritical role\u201d it played in tourists\u2019 food-related experiences. According to the authors, \u201cthe old street setting of the Hong Kung Night Market contributes to the sense of authenticity\u201d encapsulated by the market.<\/p>\n

As the scale of the current market is small, \u201cmore such night markets could be developed, but crucially, extended to adjacent old streets to create a cluster of night markets,\u201d the researchers suggested. \u201cThis would help tourists engage in a wider range of gastronomic experiences, thus augmenting Macao\u2019s image as a culinary destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors also said the night market organisers could make use of non-food offerings, to satisfy the varied sensibilities of tourists. This could include hosting Cantonese artistic performances.<\/p>\n

Cantonese opera \u2013 one of Macao\u2019s best-loved traditional art forms \u2013 \u201cmay be one viable option that would effectively complement the old street setting,\u201d it was suggested. \u201cThese elements jointly create an atmosphere for reminiscing; and evoke a nostalgic sentiment that further leads to favourable attitudes toward local food and the destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

More info<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
The researchers<\/div>\nDr. Li Xiangping is an Assistant Professor at IFTM. Dr. Li has a PhD in hospitality and tourism management from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Virginia, in the United States. Her research interests include sustainable tourism development, destination marketing, and tourist behaviour.<\/p>\n

IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Frances Kong Weng Hang received a PhD in tourism from Nottingham Trent University, in the United Kingdom. Her research interests include tourism planning and development, and disabled travellers.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fiona Yang Xi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Macau. She holds a PhD in industrial engineering and logistics management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her academic research interests include personnel psychology, tourist behaviour, and destination branding.
\n<\/div>\n

The paper<\/div>\nXiangping Li, Weng Hang Kong and Fiona X. Yang: \u201cAuthentic food experiences bring us back to the past: an investigation of a local food night market\u201d, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Volume 38, Issue 3, 2021.
\nhttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/10548408.2021.1902910<\/a>
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Macao\u2019s food-focused Hong Kung Night Market offers a taste of nostalgia that can be a big factor in drawing repeat visitors to the city, according to research involving 2 scholars […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":8575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,136],"tags":[618,639,704,2193,2191,2195,2194,405,2192,1626,560],"class_list":["post-8574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge","category-main_headline","tag-academic-paper","tag-frances-kong","tag-gastronomy","tag-gastronomy-destination","tag-hong-kung-night-market","tag-journal-of-travel-tourism-marketing","tag-kong-weng-hang","tag-li-xiangping","tag-nostalgia","tag-repeat-visitors","tag-research"],"views":450,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8574"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8579,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8574\/revisions\/8579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.utm.edu.mo\/NewsPortal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}