The ‘Three Cs’ of food Influencers: An examination of characteristics, closeness, and content attributes in tourism

Influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful tool in promoting food tourism, particularly illustrated by the “Keith Lee Effect,” highlighting how influencer-driven content can attract and engage potential travelers. Despite the growing recognition of food tourism’s multi-sensory appeal—where the act of tasting plays a central role—academic research on this topic remains relatively underdeveloped. Moreover, academic investigations specifically addressing influencer marketing in the context of food tourism are notably absent. Thus, this study aims to address a critical gap in the literature through its focus on influencer marketing in the context of food tourism. This study focuses on the influencer dimensions of Characteristics, Closeness, and Content Attributes, the ‘Three Cs’ of food influencers, to investigate influencer marketing’s role and key success factors in shaping food tourism decisions. Using 239 valid responses obtained through purposive convenience sampling and analyzed with PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 3.2.9, the findings reveal that the ‘Three Cs’ account for 50.2% of the variance in purchase intention. The result also shows influencers’ dimensions and favorable features whose recommendations would likely be followed when engaging in food tourism, showing that influencers’ characteristics and their content attributes are critical factors in shaping followers’ purchasing behavior in food tourism. Furthermore, the study provides practical implications for both influencers and managers of food tourism destinations.