The Impact of Novelty Seeking on Intention to Visit a Country: The Mediating Role of Overall Cuisine Image

Participation in travel is continuously increasing throughout the world. Seeking novelty, particularly novel cuisine, is one of the motivating factors underlying travel. Image is one of the most important factors that affect intention to visit a country and experience the cuisine. This study examines the mediating effects of Turkish cuisine image on the relationship between novelty seeking and intention to visit. In this regard, Turkish cuisine image and its effect on individuals from the United Kingdom (U.K.) who had eaten at Turkish restaurants was analyzed. Individuals at Turkish restaurants were asked to fill out self-administered questionnaires with 78 questions. An online platform of people was also utilized. It was seen that cuisine image has a significant mediating role on the intention to visit Turkey.