THE INFLUENCE OF CULINARY PRODUCT UNIQUENESS ON TOURISTS’ FOOD PREFERENCES

Culinary tourism has become an important component of the contemporary tourism experience, as tourists increasingly seek authentic, memorable, and distinctive food experiences at destinations. This study examines the influence of culinary product uniqueness on tourists’ food preferences. Culinary product uniqueness refers to the distinctive characteristics of local food, including traditional ingredients, unique flavors, indigenous preparation techniques, cultural authenticity, attractive presentation, and regional identity. The study focuses on how these characteristics shape tourists’ willingness to select, consume, and recommend local culinary products. A quantitative research approach with a cross-sectional survey design is proposed for collecting data from tourists who have experienced local or traditional foods at tourism destinations. The study considers culinary uniqueness as the independent variable and tourists’ food preferences as the dependent variable. Data can be analyzed through descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlation, and regression analysis. The study is expected to demonstrate that distinctive culinary characteristics can positively influence tourists’ food preferences by creating novelty, cultural connection, sensory satisfaction, and memorable experiences. The findings may provide useful implications for restaurants, local food producers, tourism organizations, and destination marketers seeking to strengthen culinary tourism and promote regional food products. The study concludes that developing authentic and distinctive culinary products, while maintaining taste, quality, hygiene, and cultural integrity, can contribute to tourists’ positive food experiences and destination attractiveness.