Factors influencing Tourist Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Gastronomy and Conceptual Perspective

The study proposes the theoretical concepts to establish the moderating effect of gastronomic experience on the relationship between Service Quality, Marketing Mix, and tourist satisfaction in the Southern Thailand. The primary data will be gathered through questionnaires from 384 foreign tourists in Phuket, Surat Thani, Krabi, and Phang Nga provinces. This study will clarify the moderating effects of gastronomic experience on the relationship between Service Quality, Marketing Mix, and tourist satisfaction of Southern Thailand. The significance of this study will contribute to insights into the tourism industry with gastronomic experience and develop strategies to increase satisfaction, retention, and increased tourists to travel in Southern Thailand. The findings not only contribute to travelling operators' understanding which can create competitive advantages in terms of Service Quality, Marketing Mix and gastronomy experience in tourism in the Southern region, but contribute to the development of Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory (EDT) also.