THE ROLE OF NASI AMBENG IN GASTRONOMIC TOURISM: EXAMINING BEHAVIOURAL INTENTIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v7si5.1761Keywords:
gastronomic tourism, university students, Nasi Ambeng, social media, food knowledge, cultural identityAbstract
Gastronomic tourism plays an important role in preserving cultural heritage, with traditional food acting as an essential component of a destination’s identity and traditions. However, existing studies mainly describe Nasi Ambeng’s heritage and preservation, leaving limited understanding of young domestic tourists’ behavioural intentions to travel specifically to experience Nasi Ambeng as a gastronomic tourism attraction. Guided by the conceptual framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study develops a predictor model to evaluate how food knowledge, cultural identity, and social media exposure shape the behavioural intentions of university students, who represent a key segment of young domestic tourists, towards Nasi Ambeng as a Malaysian gastronomic tourism attraction. Using a quantitative research approach, data were gathered from 365 university students, employing purposive sampling to ensure all participants satisfied the study’s predefined inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that food knowledge and social media exposure have significant positive effects on young domestic tourists’ behavioural intentions, with social media exposure showing the strongest influence. In contrast, cultural identity was insignificant, suggesting that cultural attachment may not necessarily translate into the intention to engage in gastronomic tourism within a relatively homogeneous domestic context. Therefore, these findings provide useful insights for tourism authorities, destination marketers, and culinary stakeholders in developing appropriate strategies and policies that can strengthen the role of traditional food as a sustainable gastronomic tourism attraction.
References
[1] Aguirre, G.E. (2019): Exploring the relationship between online media exposure and cooking self-efficacy, skills and behaviours among college students. – California State University, Long Beach 69p.
[2] Ajzen, I. (1991): The theory of planned behavior. – Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50(2): 179-211.
[3] Björk, P., Kauppinen-Räisänen, H. (2016): Local food: A source for destination attraction. – International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 28(1): 177-194.
[4] Buenaño-Allauca, M., Qasim, D., Guevara-Aroca, F., López-Egas, P. (2026): Traditional gastronomy as a tourist attraction in an emerging cultural destination: The case of Otavalo. – International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science 43: 10p.
[5] Daud, K.A.M., Khidzir, N.Z., Ismail, A.R., Abdullah, F.A. (2018): Validity and reliability of an instrument to measure social media skills among small and medium entrepreneurs at Pengkalan Datu River. – International Journal of Development and Sustainability 7(3): 1026-1037.
[6] Hair, J.F. Jr., Babin, B., Money, A.H., Samouel, P. (2003): Essentials of business research methods. – John Wiley and Sons, United States 440p.
[7] Ishak, F.A.C., Fikeri, N.A.S.M., Jamaluddin, R. (2025): Sustaining heritage through culinary tourism: Exploring international tourists' ethnic dining experiences in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. – Information Management and Business Review 17(3): 601-609.
[8] Jeong, S., Lee, J. (2021): Effects of cultural background on consumer perception and acceptability of foods and drinks: A review of latest cross-cultural studies. – Current Opinion in Food Science 42: 248-256.
[9] Krejcie, R.V., Morgan, D.W. (1970): Determining sample size for research activities. – Educational and Psychological Measurement 30(3): 607-610.
[10] Latip, M.S.A., Tumin, S.A., Trupp, A., Hamali, A.S. (2024): Social media, destination framing and its impact on culinary heritage tourism from the traveller's perspective. – Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal 9(30): 153-159.
[11] Lim, K.C., Ramli, K.I., Yusof, N.S., Cheah, S.T. (2015): Examining young Malaysians travel behaviour and expenditure patterns in domestic tourism. – Asian Social Science 11(9): 77-88.
[12] Mak, A.H.N., Lumbers, M., Eves, A., Chang, R.C.Y. (2012): Factors influencing tourist food consumption. – International Journal of Hospitality Management 31(3): 928-936.
[13] Md. Sharif, M.S., Abdul Rahman, A.E., Mohd Zahari, M.S., Mohamad Abdullah, K. (2018): Malay traditional food knowledge transfer. – Asian Journal of Quality of Life 3(10): 79-88.
[14] Mohd Fisol, N.N.M., Mashuri, M.A., Abu Bakar, A.R., Bibit, N.S., Md. Nor, N. (2026): Culinary heritage and youth: Malay traditional food losing relevance among Gen Z? – Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management 11(43): 559-576.
[15] Munauwar, A.N.A., Al-Hassan, I.A.M.Z., Bashir, M.A.A. (2025): Heritage on a plate: Investigating the antecedents of intention to sustain Malaysian heritage food among young adults. – e-Academia Journal of UiTM Cawangan Terengganu 14(1): 87-100.
[16] Putra, F.K.K., Putra, M.K., Novianti, S. (2023): Taste of ASEAN: Traditional food images from Southeast Asian countries. – Journal of Ethnic Foods 10(1): 15p.
[17] Qin, K., Mollen, S., Waterlander, W., Cai, S., Smit, E. (2025): Social perceptions going online: Exploring the impact of social media food content exposure on perceptions of food norms. – Appetite 206: 10p.
[18] Rahmat, N., Ramlan, M.N., Ghazali, P.N.A., Ngali, N. (2021): Intention to eat traditional food among university students. – International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 11(13): 127-138.
[19] Saaidin, M., Azrein, A. (2025): Understanding youth knowledge and cultural values in the preservation of Nasi Ambeng: A study of Javanese food heritage in Malaysia. – International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 15(11): 922-930.
[20] Selamat, H., Khamis, N.F.M., Sulong, S.N., Abdullah, S.N.D., Shariff, S.N.F.M. (2025): Determinants of food selections among international travelers towards Malaysian cuisine. – Information Management and Business Review 17(1(I)S): 36-44.
[21] Stone, M.J., Migacz, S., Wolf, E. (2021): Learning through culinary tourism and developing a culinary tourism education strategy. – Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 20(1-2): 1-19.
[22] Suleiman, M.S.M., Sharif, M.S.M., Fuza, Z.I.M., Azwar, H. (2023): Determinants of traditional food sustainability: Nasi Ambeng practices in Malaysia. – Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal 8(25): 143-155.
[23] Sutiadiningsih, A., Purwidiani, N., Dewi, I.H.P., Hamdani, A.T., Tho Le, H. (2023): Gastronomic experience as a motivation for tourists to choose tourist destinations in Indonesia and Vietnam. – GeoJournal of Tourism and Geosites 47(2): 424-431.
[24] Yeap, J.A., Ong, K.S.G., Yapp, E.H., Ooi, S.K. (2020): Hungry for more: Understanding young domestic travellers' return for Penang street food. – British Food Journal 122(6): 1935-1952.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 SHAHROOL REZZA SALIM, AFRINA SHAFRI MOHAMAD SYUKOR, DAYANG SITI MAISARA ABANG RIDZUAN, FARHAN FAAT, MUHAMMAD 'ARIF AIZAT BASHIR
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
