International culinary tourists’ sociodemographic characteristics on destination loyalty in Ghana

Abstract Effective tourism management, particularly within the realm of culinary tourism, demands a comprehensive understanding of variations in tourists’ socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Although extensive studies in the general tourism sector have examined demographic influences on destination choices, limited research has explored how these factors shape culinary tourists’ decisions and loyalty. This study, therefore, investigates the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on destination loyalty among international culinary tourists in Ghana. Using a quantitative approach, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 374 international tourists who had sampled Ghanaian cuisines at Kotoka International Airport in Accra. The data were analysed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test to determine differences in tourist loyalty across various socio-demographic profiles. While previous studies suggest that age, gender, income, and marital status strongly influence tourist behaviour, the findings of this research reveal that only education significantly affects destination loyalty. Other socio-demographic factors did not exhibit a notable impact. This result challenges conventional assumptions, indicating that culinary destination loyalty in Ghana may be shaped more by experiential and cultural factors than by demographic differences.