International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2015.V5.474 321 Abstract—Tourism Malaysia indicates food as a major antecedent in attracting International tourists for their travelling purpose to this country. By focusing on the characteristics of Malaysian Food Heritage (MHF), this study explored the attitudes and perceptions among those international tourists through qualitative approach. Data was collected via face-to-face, semi-structured interviews which employed the actual tourists’ experiences. Hence cognitive and affective response had been analyzed respectively. As the total population is huge and need details clarification, convenience sampling technique was used in which three males and four females have been recruited to be respondents in this research. Findings demonstrate three categorical influences of tourists towards MHF consumption attitude including psychological, physiological and food in the tourism destination. Also, it is crystal clear proved that more international tourists preferred to have a comfortable experience in restaurant rather than stall selection for food enjoyment. Index Terms—Attitude, experience, heritage food, tourist. I. INTRODUCTION A. Overview Tourism is rapidly evolving to become an industry of prime importance particularly in the present era of globalization. UNTWO 2012 reported the arrival of mass international tourism has achieved 1035,000,000 or (one billion) for the first time in this decade. In a study by [1], over 12.7 million tourists had visited Malaysia in 2001 and contributed about US$6.3 billion - significantly better than the previous year, when economic contribution was a mere US$1.8 billion. Similarly, Malaysian Tourism statistics demonstrates continuous growth for the international tourists arrival from year 2004 until 2010 were gradually increased from 15.7 million to 24.6 million as reported by [2]. Further growth is anticipated and it is estimated that this figure will reach up to RM115 billion from 29.7 million tourists arrival by the year 2015. Importantly, food and beverages sales are Manuscript received November 25, 2013; revised January 28, 2014. This explorative study was funded under ERGS Grant, number 5527110 (by Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), Malaysia). S. R. Omar and Shahrim Ab. Karim are with the Food Service Management Department, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia (e-mail:[email protected], [email protected]). S. N. Omar is with the Marketing Department, University Technology MARA Melaka, 75300 Melaka Malaysia (e-mail: [email protected]). expected to contribute 17% of this amount of revenue [3]. Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak has announced in Malaysian Budget 2014, by allocating an approximate amount of RM 2 billion for hospitality and tourism development, it shows that Malaysian government is continuously supporting the promotion of tourism industry. Tourism industry should focus more on tourists‟ perspective as there is no tourism without tourist. Tourists are more prone to visit the area or place of interest that full of attraction based on their visit intention. Some of them repeatedly visit one country or place perhaps to enjoy the picturesque scenery, gaining meaningful experiences from historical values, exploring the adventurous land surfaces, so on and so forth. Others might travel to more adventurous, possibly for leisure, business, and furthering study. Even though there are several reasons in travelling, tourists naturally have a strong tendency to explore and dine food as parts of their leisure activities. This reveals the potential value of Malaysian cultural heritage food as an asset to drive further revenue from tourism. Food holds a great influence in tourism industry [4]. Moreover the culinary delights of Malaysia are having a bright opportunity to represent Malaysia‟s identity at the international stage. Great food is able to boost up the tourism sector and also instills loyalty amongst visitors, which in turn encouraging them to return. From the cultural point of view, food symbolizes the roots and identity of a community. It has been perceived as a fundamental aspect for tourist in gaining wonderful experiences and is becoming an imperative platform for economic reason [5]. In the context of Malaysia, MHF could be categorized into several types of cuisines includes Malay, Chinese, Indian and others which having its own distinct style of cooking. Reference [6] observed that the research of traditional foods could contribute to the persistence of nation‟s culinary heritage and culture, preserving them for the good sake of future generations, as well as allowing international tourism to experience pleasurable moments from local culinary delights [7]. Therefore, MHF is believed to bestow successfulness towards tourism industry in Malaysia. B. Problem Statement Today, there is great concerned that heritage food will be forgotten by our future generations in terms of special cooking techniques and presentations skills. In addition, tourists might confuse towards the originality and authenticity of MHF due to globalization impact. According to the former Minister of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, international tourists are now having a serious Siti Radhiah Omar, Shahrim Ab Karim, and Siti Nazirah Omar Exploring International Tourists‟ Attitudes and Perceptions: in Characterizing Malaysian Heritage Food (MHF) as a Tourism Attraction in Malaysia
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 322 disaster with regards to our MHF savoring experience [8]. As can be seen, heritage foods in Malaysia have multiple versions, uneven quality and inconsistency which have led to terrible impressions, attitudes and perceptions among tourists. Various attempts have been made to sustain heritage foods since they portray our country‟s image to the global tourists, tempting to offer a great experience for them to explore Malaysian authentic cuisine upon visitation [6]-[9]. TABLE I: LIST OF POPULAR MHF Rice Side Dishes Sauce/Ulam Nasi ayam Ayam percik Pekasam Nasi kerabu Nasi Lemak Asam pedas Rendang Tempoyak Sambal belacan Nasi dagang Nasi Himpit Gulai tempoyak ikan patin Kerabu mangga muda Nasi Ulam Nasi goreng kampong Ketupat Serunding Kari kepala ikan Botok-botok ikan Cencaluk Sambal gesek ikan bilis Lemang Gulai lemak umbut Gulai lemak cili padi Sambal tumis Pajeri Noodles Gulai asam rom Kurma daging/ ayam Budu Acar Mee goreng mamak Laksa Hinava/umai Ayam panggang Halwa Yee sang Char kuey teow Daging dendeng Masalodeh Mee kari Telur pindang Bread/ wheat Lempeng Roti jala Roti canai Putu mayam Tosai Porridge Bubur As-sura Bubur kacang hijau Sagu gula Melaka Sweets Bingka ubi Wajik Seri kaya Dodol Lempok durian Laddu Tapai Agar-agar Cracker/ Snacks Otak-otak Sata Pulut panggang Yong tau foo Satay Pisang goreng Keropok lekor Ubi Kayu Drinks Teh tarik Cendol Air batu campur (ABC) Air selasih Local Cakes penderam Karipap Kuih lopez Bahulu Ondeh-ondeh Epok-epok Kuih keria kuih bingka (Source: Adapted from National heritage Department, 2005). TABLE II: INTERVIEWEES‟ PROFILE No Nationality Gender Age Occupation Religion 1 Arab M 29 Bank Officer Islam 2 Iranian F 25 Housewife Islam 3 Britain M 35 Doctor Islam(converted) 4 Austrian M 38 Engineer Christian 5 Indonesian F 23 Lecturer Islam 6 Iranian M 54 Engineer Islam 7 Iranian F 30 Postgraduate Islam TABLE III: CHARACTERISTICS OF MHF Sensory Malay Food Chinese Food Indian Food Smell fried, burn smell bad smell like seafood herbs and spices smell Taste hot, oily, spicy, and sweet fresh and less salty Spicy and pungency Image rice served with chicken or beef noodles and exploitation of seafoods. Some kind of bread and curry However, due to globalization in dining lifestyles today, MHF also has impacted on its ingredients, style of cooking preparation and presentation in order to meet the new generations‟ acceptance. Furthermore, the image of heritage food is often perplexing due to improper use of subtle ingredients which can lead to poor quality, flavour alteration, and disappointment among tourists. In view of that, safeguarding food culture is a crucial aspect since it represents different types of local peoples‟ shared and belief, knowledge, norms, traditions and lifestyles [10]. Additionally, the importance of preserving Malaysia‟s natural heritage, intangible or tangible heritage including arts, culture, peoples and culinary are significantly practical for the purpose of knowledge acquiring and image destination branding [11]. To date, no previous study has been completed conceptually and empirically investigating the role of heritage food as a tourism entity in Malaysia. The only focused of related studies were limited to food image [5] and the impact of food image on choice of tourist destination [12]. In addition, Malaysia image as a culinary destination is still pessimistic, given that some of our good local food is under promoted, compared to its neighborhoods countries which are much more outshined and commercialized globally. Therefore, in order to fill the gaps within the existing literature, more research needs to be conducted in establishing MHF as a part of an influential tourism entity. This study seeks to explore and reveal the factors contributing to international tourist‟s experience, perception and attitudes towards MHF. C. Research Objectives 1) To understand the factors that influence international tourists' attitudes towards consuming MHF. 2) To explore international tourists preference dining site upon experiencing MHF. 3) To establish the characteristics of MHF from food international tourists‟ perspectives in Malaysia. D. Research Questions 1) How do international tourists‟ attitudes and perceptions could enhance MHF as a persuasive tourism attraction in Malaysia? 2) What factors might influence international tourists‟ food attitudes consumption in tourism destination? 3) Do international tourists aware of MHF existence during their visit in Malaysia? 4) What are the core characteristics that could portray MHF? II. LITERATURE REVIEW A. Definition of MHF Malaysia is a melting pot, and its electric cuisine reflects this broad racial mix [13]. Malay, Chinese and Indian are the three major races which have made up the roots of Malaysian cuisines. As a multiracial country, Malaysia serves varieties of food such as traditional heritage food, western food and also contemporary food. Accordingly, reference [8] terms heritage food as typical local culinary, embedded with cultural values that represent the social community lifestyles.
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 323 This traditions need to be preserved to sustain the originality from one generation to another. Table I displays the list of the most recognize multi ethnic Heritage Food by National Heritage Department of Malaysia. In a study done by [14], Malaysian food is well-known for its hot and spiciness, colorful, extraordinary sensual appeals due to the multicultural blends of Malaysian cultures and its people. Therefore, cuisines in Malaysia may possibly illustrates as hot and spicy, miscellaneous sensory exploration, strapping multi-views and as impression of cultures. This was supported by [15] whereby gastronomical heritage of Malaysia is famous with rice as the staple food, the utilization of herbs, chilies and spices without neglecting the implementation of aesthetic cultural values in every signature of dishes. To sum up, the definition of MHF could be simplified as traditional local food which is inherited, prepared and practiced daily, rooted from mixture of various cultures, religious and beliefs. B. Heritage Food as Tourism Attraction Research by [16] investigated that food is a powerful tool in promising great memories for tourists in promoting the tourism sector. Food is a part of tourist leisure activities while travelling to a destination. As a matter of fact, most local and foreign tourists love to dine out when having a vacation. In [17], food was found to be a crucial component in the cultural and heritage tourism sector since it reflected the culture and image of a region. As [18] investigated, satisfied tourists would love to show positive responds in the future towards revisiting the attractive destination. For this reason, Malaysia, a well-known food paradise is expected to provide a gastronomic adventure where all types of foods are to be served including unique and authentic heritage food. Nevertheless, even though there are wide varieties of Malaysia food place selection like Malay, Chinese and Indian restaurants, the majority of tourists and locals prefer to eat fast food (western cuisine) which is believed to be more familiar, attractive and appealing. As contended by [19] in [20], foreign tourists‟ reluctant to gaze for alien food due to some certain degree of risks include the aspects of ingredients, sensory appeals and also the hygienic level of that particular food while they were travelling. Interestingly, fast food outlet like McDonald, Pizza Hut had been recognized as world cuisine which has occupied human‟s palate worldwide, and this phenomenon of globalization has affected the local food authenticity. In [21], “For globalization a critic, McDonald‟s is also a symbol for American dominated global capitalism which threatens cultural diversity by spreading a form of standardized culture”. Singaporean tourism also faced similar dilemma whereby tourists always overlooked at what they had surrounded them [22] and go for fast food which is much more popular. This is clear that more effort should be done to conserve our heritage food via effective promotional strategy in sustaining the unique cultural elements which in turn could motivate and attract tourists to explore our local heritage food. C. Tourists‟ Attitude on Food Consumption As reference [23] reported, food is perceived to be an utmost important element, influencing tourist's intention whilst deciding for a vacation. Instead of that, the acceptance and selection of a particular food is strongly influenced by people‟s attitude [24]. Attitude, psychological factors and food attributes perceptions are among the important person-related dimensions in food selection. Food was claimed to have a great reflect on peoples‟ persuading attitude, intention and decision on destination selection [25]. According to [26], attitude is delineated as degree of liking or disliking of a particular element which is mostly behaviorally driven by psychology. Additionally, [27] defined attitude as positive-negative feelings, rejection or acceptance and also pleasant or unpleasant state of a subject matter. Moreover, [30] further defined attitude as an expression of approval and disapproval of a subject as a result from psychological inclination. In food choice perspective, attitude is believed to have a great effect on in food-making decisions [28], choice of food and also its acceptance [29] which then lead to positive or negative value. Attitude which is also known as belief is a deeply important factor for consumers in deciding an action [30]. Apart from that, attitude theory which relates to food was clearly underpinned by Motivation Theories and Consumer Behaviour Theory. Among the popular theory of attitudes, Maslow's 'need hierarchy' model by Rosenberg, 1956 and Fishbein, 1967 in [31] were often employed and becoming more popular nowadays. Yet, research on tourists‟ attitude on MHF is still new and could be further investigated and might provide a useful insight to provide grounded theories in the future. III. METHODOLOGY A. Research Design Qualitative approach was employed in this research to gain deep understanding of natural and real tourists‟ experiences in term of thoughts, believes, emotions and feelings which only might be achieved via this technique. This is supported by [32], the convolution of human behavior only could be revealed holistically through qualitative approach. This qualitative methodology also provides richness and diversity of data via interview as a promising data collection method in capturing personal interpretations and experiences in a particular context effectively, and produces more genuine data and findings. B. Participant Setting In this study, convenience sampling was employed to recruit the respondents in the departure hall and the satellite building at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in January 2013. This sampling method was chosen since it was a very straightforward approach in selecting our samples. Apart from that, it can “save time, money, and effort, but at the expense of information and credibility” [33]. Respondents (international visitors) who had experienced MHF were interviewed. C. Ethical Measure Ethically, the researcher explained the importance of
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 324 recording all information from the respondents audio-visually for the purpose of research. The respondents were given a form of consent as respecting the rights of the research respondents. Somehow, each of the international tourists was given an option either to put a signature or not before the interview session begin. In the consent form, the informants should be noticed all the pre requirements for interview and willingness to share all information required by the researcher without any hesitation. D. Data Collection and Analysis Researcher primarily served as research instrument, who was involved in collecting the data, analyzing and interpreting them. Data collection was made via face-to-face, semi-structured interview. Semi structured interview is a promising qualitative technique due to the richness of data [34] and seemed to be a flexible technique in exploring mini research [35]. Moreover, according to [36], attitude of a food could be understood and deduced from observing the respondents from interviews or questionnaire. They could not be observed directly, but they can be inferred from observable responses through questionnaires or interviewers. Each session took approximately 25 minutes and was audio recorded digitally with permission to render the credibility of this study. A set of questions was structured as a guideline for the interview sessions which were directly addressing the research questions. After the interview session finished, all the data were transcribed into verbatim line by line and coded to be fitted under several categories based on the differences and similarities until the data saturated and enough for answering the research questions [37]. A grounded theory approach was used in implement to understand knowledge and human behavior viewpoints in a particular societal phenomenon [38]. By using constant comparative method approach, the codes were continually revised to maintain the coding consistency and come out with specific categories. In maintaining the validity of the findings, the researcher had discussed with the other researchers and seeks their opinions to avoid bias. E. Limitation of Study The present study had some limitation due to time constraint. Although the researcher managed to implement an adequate sampling approach, however, the sample size was quite small which the finding could only represented the in the similar distinctive situation. Apart from that, the researcher is a neophyte, experience lacking which could also become one of the study limitations. The selected respondents cannot generalize the overall international tourists‟ perceptions and attitudes as a whole. IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION A sum of seven international interviewees was recruited for the interview sessions that comprised of four males and three females. There were asked to share about their personal background which was presented in Table II. All of the respondents were in the range age of 23- 50 years old and had experienced MHF during their visits in Malaysia. Based from the interviews, all the coded data which was found to be informative and valuable has been obtained. Later, they were grouped accordingly into subcategories with due to their similarities and patterns. A. Characteristic of MHF Based on the findings, most of them shared great experiences on Malaysian cuisines. For instance, one of the informants contended, “Malaysian food is so delicious because the taste is moderately unique especially Malay food and spent most of my meal times in Malaysian Restaurant” (RES H005). Apart from that, the other respondents also shared the same feeling which stated that Malaysian food is delicious and has dissimilarities, unique culture which different from their own country:“I tried Malaysian Food while dining out with my husband and I think it is so amazing and different from our culture”(RES Y009). MHF is characterized specifically according to three major ethnics in Malaysia as shown in Table III. From the international tourists‟ perspective, Malay food has oily, sweet and spicy taste. The smell for Malay food is fried smell, and it always appears to be rice, vegetable and chicken and also have delicious taste. For Chinese food, it is non-oily, fresh, and seafood taste. In terms of smell, Chinese food has a slightly bad smell because of the seafood and its appearance always depicted as noodles and seafood among the tourists and seemed to be less palatable. Last but not least, the Indian food has spicy and herbs taste. It is also perceived to have spicy smell too. The tourists acknowledged Indian food as bread, chicken and curry. Interestingly, sensory perception is an utmost important element while enjoying and establishing a food [39]. This is supported by [40]. In tourism sector, sensory experiences such as tasting are one of the key factors which induce tourists‟ food consumption. Furthermore, tourist‟s satisfaction also could be achieved via sensorial appeals such as visualization, taste and smell [41]. As a result, sensory perception is among the crucial factor which influence international tourists‟ attitude towards heritage food acceptance. The quality of food should be maintained, standardized and improvised since it is very crucial in attracting tourists to Malaysia. B. Tourists Preference Dining Site The food services such as restaurants, food stalls‟ cleanliness, environment, panorama, food price are among the key motivation factors which could attract the international tourists to dine and taste on MHF. Almost all the respondents preferred to dine out in restaurant. They prefer not to eat at the street stalls which were perceived to be less hygiene: “I don‟t like to eat in an open place because it has bad many flies....” and “all kitchen smell come outside, they should do something, changing the bad burn smell”.(RES H046) Similarly, another informant also expressed that: “I prefer to eat in restaurant; it is not healthy on the street. The restaurant cleaner and healthy”; “…I would come to the restaurant with the best quality and reasonable price”. (RESY169) However, there were also respondents who loved and show positive attitude towards MHF which they made
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 325 purchased from street stalls. They were so impressed with the cheaper price and the way the food were prepared just like a homemade cook: “..you can go to any stalls and ask for roti canai and it could be cook to a reasonable standard and it might not be the best roti canai you can buy in Malaysia but it could be cook to a reasonable standard, and same with satay, if you would buy some satay from one shop, it could be pretty good and another shop it could be pretty good too because the standard of cooking is pretty good even in a very cheap shop and the cost is cheap; I prefer street stall coz it‟s more like being cooked at home, more friendly and special” (RES W044). V. ANTECEDENTS FOR FOOD ATTITUDE CONSUMPTION A. Psychological Factor 1) Knowledge on heritage food Based on knowledge and understanding of MHF, the respondents have a little knowledge on types of heritage food in Malaysia. However, majority of them knew that Malaysian food is a blend mixture of three major ethnics which are Malay, Chinese and Indian and they also tried to immerse and learned by experiencing MHF as a means to understand Malaysian culture. For example, one of the interviewee could only define several Malaysian famous heritage foods. The interviewee (RESH015) mentioned: “I know Malay food like Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng Ayam. For Indian food, I experienced Roti Canai and Teh tarik”, which shows that the respondent seemed to have a good knowledge based on previous experiences in regards to MHF. Conversely, lack of knowledge and information could act as barriers and limitation for the international tourists to try on heritage food in Malaysia. This was proven by the verbatim of an interviewee during the interview session. “I don‟t know Malaysian Food before I come here, the first time I saw the appearance in the menu leaflet in the airplane and I saw from the restaurants‟ menu, and I know Malaysia is a multiethnic and races and each has its own unique heritage food like our country too” (RESY034). Additionally, the interviewee has interpreted wrongly about Malaysian and Chinese Food while has very few ideas about Malaysian Indian cuisine: “Chinese food ...sushi I think and I don‟t know Indian food at all, sorry” (RESY086). From the finding, it has been stated that familiarization and knowledge is important to attract the tourists to try on Heritage Food. According to [42], knowledge, understanding and awareness among international tourists are among the utmost critical elements which could attract them to learn new culture and enhance the attraction of a particular tourism destination. In Malaysia, they could learn Malaysian food culture by experiencing the food itself and this was supported by [43], whereby a particular local culture could be understandable after experiencing its local cuisine. 2) Beliefs, culture and value The beliefs, background culture and values of individual reflected their attitudes and choices on food consumption. Most of the tourists‟ appetite somehow is driven by those norms. For Muslim tourists, they prefer to eat Halal food and try to avoid prohibited food according to their beliefs, religion or tradition. One of the Muslim informants mentioned that how his attitude is influenced by these factors: “I am a Muslim hundred percent, of course I will not go to Chinese restaurant if no halal sign, I don‟t even walk near it, Astagfirullah”(RESH0095). Another respondent also experienced Chinese-Malaysian food in Kuala Lumpur and highlighted the importance of halal food in food choice decision: “I don‟t know actually, I have been to too many different places. There is a shop near..em i think its location in Jalan Raja Laut, where they serve excellent nasi ayam, very traditional nasi ayam. Actually, its a Chinese shop but it‟s all halal. Its unusual .But it is all halal. But, there is certain shop that is very- very traditional and very good about what they do got from but most people don‟t get that perfect dish, good dish but not perfect, they got from the shop”(RESW095). From the findings, most Muslim tourists will search for halal food when they come to Malaysia. Halal logo has become a common tool for the purpose of convincing the 14 million Muslims in this country and the estimated 1.5 billion throughout the world [44]. Therefore, halal logo or signage is important to attract and convince the tourist to try our food whether it is Malay, Chinese or Indian heritage food. Apart from that too, most Iranian and interviewees have a strong tendency to taste food which has similarities with their culture as one of them said: “Malay has similarities with our food”: “I usually tried new food closest to mine” (RES Y148).Here, we could say that majority tourists will choose food which have similarities in terms of raw materials and have similarities with their belief and culture. Moreover, [45] noticed that visitors adapted with the destination due to the cultural motivators they experienced. This is supported by [20] whereby food consumption is mainly shaped by both culture and religion. Hence, food services in Malaysia should grab the opportunity and make some innovations to our MHF by offering a wide range of taste or moderate taste according to their acceptance and taste buds. 3) Recommendation from family and friends Indeed, referent others and recommendation from family and friends are important since it could influence tourists‟ attitude on food heritage consumption. According to [46], individual s‟ attitude and behavior is persuaded by someone or a particular group‟s recommendations. All interviewees also showed positive attitude towards MHF due to the recommendations and suggestions from their family and friends. For example, “It‟s the experiences from the seniors, oldest friends in Malaysia. After I came to Malaysia, they introduced this food which is near to our appetite” (RESV055). In addition, another respondent also explained that: “I asked my husband who experienced Malaysian food more than me about what to eat”; “I asked the people at the restaurant, is it sweet or not because me myself like spicy, if sweet I won‟t try it” (RESY039). Before the interview sessions ended, all the informants were asked by the researcher whether they would like to recommend MHF or not when they return to their country and some of them were indicated positive attitudes regarding
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 326 this question. As one of them claimed that, “I will tell my family and friends that whoever wish to taste er..spicy food, they can come to Malaysia” (RESW258). The other respondent said: “I will tell them the majority of malay food sweet and spicy, they usually cook their food with many oil. But, I will suggest them to try it and its good for some time, just as experience, maybe” (RESH142). In addition, the respondents also made some recommendations towards Malaysian government to enhance tourists‟ recommendation to their families and friends by providing them with goodies, travelogue on Malaysian cuisines recipes and take home samples or souvenirs. One of them suggested: “Em, it is possible for me to ask my friend to come to Malaysia and tell them about Malaysian food but it would be so nice if I can bring souvenirs for them which could present Malaysian food, perhaps goodie bags, reading magazine in the flight, or cute „Nasi Lemak‟ fridge magnet”(RESY160). Another interviewee said: “But I think you do to a certain extent, but saying made in Malaysia, with a logo that your government approved like halal Malaysia has helped certain companies and brand to export to the west. Malaysia for many years been a bit lost” (RESW218). As a suggestion, Malaysian should provide international tourists with souvenirs and sustain the halal logo, labels and certification for all halal products in order to promote those Malaysian heritage cuisines worldwide. Several studies have been done which linked recommendation and attitude (how is this related). In [47], vocal information such as recommendation from others, media and labeling really influence the food choice. All in all, people‟s attitude, behavior and also intention greatly linked with word of mouth from family and friends [46] through recommendations and their experiences. 4) Health and nutritional benefits The interviewees also clarified that health is an important aspect which motivated them while consuming a food which include the freshness, quality, and nutritious value of the food. As one respondent said; “I need to get the good nutrition, good thing and prevent my body getting destroy by cancer, I am really concern about the oil” (RESH125). Moreover, the interviewee also mentioned that the fresher of a food influence the food selection while dining out by clarifying that: “I only like to eat seafood in Chinese restaurant because they are fresh” (RESH066). Majority of them agreed that Malay food is not healthy, however they enjoyed the food because to experience the taste. For instance, a respondent shared his thought: “Usually Malay foods are fried. Although it is not healthy, but it‟s very delicious” (RESV139). Apart from that, the expression from this informant also stressed out that fast food is not good, “Everybody loves to go to McDonald, it is not good” (RESS146). The study on the health concern related to food is myriad [47]. In a tourism destination, tourists prefer to eat healthy food, which shows that they are concerning about their health. It was supported by [47], the bad quality of ingredients and fat problems has driven the acceptance or rejection of a food from an individual. B. Physiological Factor 1) Satisfy hunger As a matter of fact, people eat food for satiety. It is one of the basic needs which motivate people to eat. During the interview session, one of them commented: “Really, I love Nasi Goreng Kampung at Marriot Hotel when I was there. It really satisfied me and makes me feel great” (RESV028). Verbatim coded as (RESY181) from the informants transcribe also has expressed the similar feeling: “When I‟m hungry, mostly I will go to eat Malay food during my meal time.” Basically, people consume food during their usual meal time to satisfy hunger and essential to support, nurture living creature [48]. Hence, MHF is believed to provide satiety and full sensation to international tourist and has become one their preferences while choosing a food upon vacation in a destination. 2) Food- related personality traits When experiencing novel food, people seem to have good or bad impression. It depends on the individual whether to like or dislike that food, or they just want to try new experience in a new place. The respondents showed their attitude on a new food based on their personality traits which is food neophilic, (love to experience new food) [40], food neophobic, (the reluctance to try the new food) [19] and also variety- seeking [5]. Positive attitudes towards neophilic trait were revealed as majority. For Instance, one of the informants stated: “Of course I experienced Malay, Chinese and Indian food. I just like these two food if not in spicy form...” and “..this food is near to our appetite” and “I don‟t like noodles, I just take fish in Chinese restaurant” (RESI013). This verbatim is strengthen by another informant, who also shared similar trait towards neophilic characteristic “When I came here, I would like to try, experience new food” and “I enjoyed it. It is a new experience and most about the rice. In our country, just one taste, but here sometimes it fried and sometimes with different..em...flavour”(RESY024). On the other hand, [20] investigated food consumption among tourists is also influenced by food-related personality trait. They also found that these personality traits somehow are the reason of tourists‟ attitude and tendency to experience food in foreign destination. Meanwhile, reference [49] pointed out that tourists refuse to try foreign foods which are not familiar to them. Therefore, familiarization via promotion using mass media, internet, advertisement, souvenirs could be one of the best ways to make heritage food familiar among the international tourists thus enhance their acceptance. This factor was agreed by [50] that claimed a restaurant attraction was effected by its physical surrounding and panorama and could directly influence customers‟ preference to dine in. According to [51], “Commodity consumption behavior in eating places is heavily influenced by design factors, either its atmosphere or serving facilities” (p.73). In addition, customer‟s attitude is related to the pleasurable feeling they experienced and the scenery being served to them while in a restaurant [52]. So, it could be said that restaurants which served MHF must have good condition and pleasant environment to enhance the recognition among international tourists towards Malaysian food as a key
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 327 tourism attraction in Malaysia. C. Food in Tourism Destination 1) Availability of food Attitude towards MHF consumption are much depend on the availability and variety of the food in a particular destination. In fact, one informant preferred to dine out in Malay restaurants given that Malay community are mushrooming rather than Indian or Chinese restaurants: “I have many Malay friends here and most of the time we had our lunch or dinner together, also I can tell you which restaurant served varieties of Malaysian food the best” (RESH043). Varieties of food being served or provided to the international tourists during their vacation had motivated them to eat and dine on local food, supported by [53] which pointed out that tourists could have strong tendency to experience local food for tourism destination if they are being exposed to a myriad, varieties of cuisines. VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Understanding the international tourists‟ attitude towards MHF is an utmost crucial in order to bring up Malaysia as a food image tourism destination in the eyes of the world and at the same time, enhancing the economical aspect of our country. The international tourists show different attitudes either positive or negative while experiencing our heritage food. Their attitudes are driven by motivational factors as summarized in Fig. 1 Psychological Knowledge Belief, Culture Value Health and nutrition benefits Tourists‟ Attitude on Heritage Food Consumption in Malaysia Physiological Food-related personality traits Satisfy hunger Food in the destination Availability of food in tourism destination Fig. 1. Motivational factors towards international tourists‟ food attitude on MHF. From the findings, the vast majority of them prefer to dine in restaurant rather than street stalls food. This is due to the quality, cleanliness and also the good condition and environment provided to them while enjoying the food. However, there were also few respondents love to buy food from the stalls due to the reasonable price and has the same taste as being cook at home. Therefore, food services in Malaysia including restaurants, street stalls, hawkers, and night market should improve its quality, cleanliness, do price revising, apply a reasonable standard for the recipes and enhance the panorama to attract the International Tourism towards consuming MHF. In characterizing MHF, they just could say that Malay food is spicy, sweet and oily, Indian food is spicy meanwhile Chinese food are mostly seafood-based. This shows that there is lack of knowledge and information spread worldwide about Malaysian food. The extinction our heritage food is getting serious especially when there is hybridization of cuisine embedded from outside culture like Thai food, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean which could seriously outperformed our MHF globally and locally. Certainly, heritage food should be given a specific attention concerning the health issues, quality of food, dining services, food environment, aggressive promotions, motivational factors and other related aspects. Moreover, positive world of mouth (WOM) also could be one of the best ways to indirectly promote and enhanced positive attitude towards heritage food acceptance. Thus, bad reputations of heritage food should be avoided to encourage more visitors in recognizing heritage food as a world cuisine and branding Malaysia as one of a food image destination in tourism sector. 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Astuti and H. Hanan, “The behaviour of consumer society in consuming food at restaurants and cafes,” Proceedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, vol. 42, pp. 429-435, 2012. [52] A. Yuksel and F. Yuksel, “Measurement of tourist satisfaction with restaurant services,” Journal of Vacation Marketing, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 52-68, 2003. [53] R. C. Y. Chang, A. H. N. Mak, and J. S. C, “ The investigation of healthy eating attitude and travel eating behaviour of Taiwanese tourists,” in Proc. the 9th APacCHRIE Conference, Hong Kong, June 2-5, 2011. S. R. Omar was born in Malacca, Malaysia on August 18, 1986. Awarded as First Class Honour - Bachelor of Science, Food Biotechnology from Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM) Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan in 2009. Also, master of Science, Food Science from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Bangi, Selangor in 2012 and now pursuing her doctoral degree by research in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) majoring in Food Service. She has been working as a Business Development and Marketing Executive with Melaka Planetarium Sdn. Bhd. (Tourism Department, Maacca State Government) in (2009-2010), and as a Quality Assurance Executive (2010) with Heritage Drinks Industries (M), Sdn. Bhd. She has published a book chapter in Halalan Toyyiban: Malaysian Perspective, published by UPM Halal Institute Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia in 2013 and several papers regarding food science (probiotics, enzymes) and Sociology in tourism. Ms. Omar is now a fellow researcher in USIM. She had won a medal in the National Research Innovation Competition (NRIC) 2009 which was held in Universiti Sains Malaysia, USM, Penang for her research project” Clarification of pink Guava Juice by enzymatic treatment”. M. S. Ab Karim is a member of qualitative research association of Malaysia. He was born in Malacca, Malaysia in 1970s. His first degree is in B.Sc. Hotel and Restaurant Management, New York University, New York, 1994. Also, pursue with MBA in University of Technology MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor. Awarded in Doctor of Philosophy Degree in human environmental sciences with a specialization in Hospitality Tourism Adminstration, School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, College of Human Environmental Sciences, Oklahoma State
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 3, March 2015 329 University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Summer 2006 (Dissertation Topic: Culinary tourism as a destination attraction: An empirical examination of the destination‟s food image and information sources). Previously, he has been working as Special Assistant to the Vice President Malaysia at Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, New York, 1993-1997 and as Guest Service Manager at Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, Manhattan, New York, 1994-1997. Currently, as associate professor (Culinary Arts & Food Culture), Department of Foodservice Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology,University Putra, Malaysia. His publication of several books include Sajian Eksotik Warisan Bugis (Exotic Bugis Heritage Food Kuala Lumpur, Berita Publishing, Ab Karim, M.S. and Ismail,N , 2012 and Malaysia Food Culture: In Food Cultures of the World Encylopedia. California, Greenwood Publication, Ab Karim, S. and Abdul Ghani, C.A., 2011 and his interest is in doing several research papers regarding to food culture and culinary tourism. Dr. Ab Karim was invited as panel expert for international program by National Institute of Food Science and Technology at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, reviwers for manuscripts and journal of agribusiness marekting and also actively involved as professional juries through invited media such as television program on Materchef Malaysia season 1 and 2. S. N. Omar was born in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia on December 24, 1984. She was awarded as the first class honour-bachelor of business administration majoring in marketing, University Technology MARA (UiTM) Malacca in 2006. She possessed master in business administration (MBA) at UiTM Malaysia, Shah Alam, Selangor in 2008. Now, she is working as a lecturer at UiTM City Campus since 2009 until present. Her interests on several papers include the area of tourists behaviour, heritage tourism, tourism marketing and hotel tourism that has been presented in International Conference. Ms. Omar had won a gold medal in the Research, Innovation, Invention, and Design competition, 2011 which was held at UiTM Melaka with introducing a new product design for consumer shopping pattern on the concept of “Halal” shopping trolley compartment in retail outlet, silver medal for Effective Revenue Collection Campus Bookstore System –YEs MART and bronze for Mobile Heater Innovation product in RIID 2013.