Author(s): Sourya Rongala and Raja Shekhar Bellamkonda
Indian street food had emerged as an essential component of food tourism in the country. Its affordability and variety, and make it a must-try for any food lover visiting India. Indian street food is not just about the taste, but it's also about the experience and the culture, which makes it a unique and memorable part of the overall travel experience. Popularity of Indian street food is also due to its, accessibility, and convenience. The atmosphere at street food stalls is often lively and bustling, with vendors cooking and serving food in front of customers. Present study tried to understand the street food experience of food tourists visiting India. This study tried to investigate the effect of Consumption value of local street food on food tourists’ attitude towards local street food, food destination image and food tourist’s behavioural intentions towards the destination. Survey was conducted in the street food markets of Delhi and Hyderabad. Responses of 700 food tourists having street food in the market were taken into consideration for the study. Proposed model of the study was tested with PLS-SEM approach using Smart-PLS. All the proposed hypothesis were supported through the results arrived from the data. Results portrayed consumption value of local street food to affect the behavioural intentions of the tourists significantly. Further attitude towards local street food and food destination image displayed mediating effect between consumption value of local street food and behavioural intentions of food tourists.