Maslow’s hierarchical need theory and international tourist’s motivation for food as a tourist attraction in Phuket

Abstract

This research aims to examine the relationship between Maslow’s Hierarchical Need Theory and tourist’s motivation for food as a tourist attraction in Phuket. A quantitative approach was conducted using a questionnaire to gather information from 414 respondents. The study found empirical evidence that supports the relationship between food and human needs, which can be classified into five categories as explained by Maslow: 1. Physiological needs – not only food consumption is a basic need for humans to sustain life, it is also perceived as a way to gain happiness and relaxation for tourists. 2. Safety and security needs – this happens when tourists need to ensure or learn that their food is safe. 3. Love and belonging needs - food consumption is seen as a social occasion to gain interaction amongst tourists and between tourists and local people. 4. Esteem needs - food has a symbolic role to indicate social and economic status of tourists. 5. Self-actualization needs – this need corresponds with tourist’s desire to acquire food learning experience in order to enhance their knowledge fulfillments. However, these five needs were varied and influenced by the sociodemographic factor and travelling behavior.  This study was unable to verify if such motivations must be arranged in hierarchical orders ranging from low to high. Overall, this study provides theoretical understanding into the concept of motivations while offering suggestions on food tourism product development for Phuket.