Motivations that predict satisfaction and loyalty in the behavior of attendees at a gastronomic festival

Food festivals contribute to the development and preservation of a destination’s cultural traditions. This study analyzes the Festisabores gastronomic festival in Arequipa (Peru) and sets the following objectives: (i) to identify demand motivations; (ii) to establish the motivations that predict demand satisfaction; and (iii) to determine the motivations that predict loyalty among gastronomic festival attendees, considering variables such as revisit intention, recommendation, and positive word of mouth. The study was conducted in situ with 405 valid questionnaires. The quantitative techniques used include Exploratory Factor Analysis and multiple regression analysis. The results reveal five motivational dimensions, namely art, learning, entertainment, novelty, and local food. Learning and entertainment are the motivational dimensions that most strongly predict and influence satisfaction and loyalty among attendees of the gastronomic festival. The results contribute to academic literature and provide marketing guidelines for gastronomic festival organizers.