Gastronomy as an engaging form of creative tourism enhanced by co-creation and nostalgia

Gastronomic encounters increasingly function as creative tourism experiences in which participation and nostalgia shape how tourists feel, think, and act toward a destination. This study examines the role of creative tourist experiences, gastro-nostalgia, and co-creation intention in shaping the ABC (affect, behaviour, cognition) of tourist engagement. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model, a three-wave time-lagged study was conducted with first-time visitors to a culturally rich district in India. In total, 608 participants completed all three waves. Using covariance-based structural equation modelling and multi-group moderation analysis, the results show positive relationships between creative tourist experiences and multidimensional tourist engagement. Gastro-nostalgia mediated these relationships while co-creation intention exerted selective moderating effects on behavioural engagement outcomes. The findings indicate that tourism marketers and hospitality managers can strengthen tourists’ emotional, cognitive, and behavioural engagement by combining creative gastronomic experiences with nostalgia-evoking cues and by designing opportunities for visitors who are willing to co-create.