How do gastronomic festivals trigger behavioral intentions? The role of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being

Purpose Gastronomic festivals are important events to bring people together around food-themed activities. This study aimed at determining the relationships between festival quality, memorable food experience, loyalty, behavioral intention, hedonic well-being, and eudaimonic well-being. In this study, festival quality is the independent variable that affects the memorable food experience, the memorable food experience is the independent variable that affects loyalty, and loyalty is the independent variable that affects behavioral intent. Hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being are moderating variables. Behavioral intention is the dependent variable, while memorable food experience and loyalty are both dependent and independent variables. Design/methodology/approach The population consisted of local tourists visiting Orange Blossom Carnival held in Adana, Turkey. The survey technique and the convenience sampling method were preferred and 545 data were obtained. Findings The analysis results showed that all dimensions of the memorable food experience are strongly affected by festival quality. Plus, superior service approach and high value perception dimensions of the memorable food experience have significant effects on loyalty. Furthermore, destination loyalty was found to have a strong effect on behavioral intentions. Moreover, higher levels of Hedonic well-being (HWB) and Eudomenic well-being (EWB) were found to increase the effect of loyalty on behavioral intention; accordingly, the moderator roles of HWB and EWB were determined. Practical implications This article provides information that the memorable dining experiences of festival visitors who attend the Orange Blossom Carnival in Adana affect the quality of the festival and their intentions to loyalty. In addition, in the study, it was found that the well-being of carnival visitors had a moderating role in the effect of their loyalty on their behavioral intentions. Therefore, this article provides information on how the food experiences and well-being of the visitors at the gastronomy festival will affect which factors. Originality/value According to the findings, gastronomy-based events may affect tourists’ experiences, and tourists’ psychological well-being affects loyalty and behavioral intentions. Destination management organizations can learn about gastronomy-based festivals. The results of the study include a number of theoretical and practical findings for destination management organizations, festival managers, policy makers and academics working in the literature.