The Effects of Local Agricultural/special Products on the Intention for Tourists to Revisit the Yesan Area

Abstract Rural tourism is primarily a domestic tourism activity with visitors traveling to non-urban areas. The development of localand regionally denominate food is a way to distinguish agricultural production and to promote rural tourism. Therefore, thisstudy addressed how utilizing regional agricultural products results in increasing the intention of tourists to revisit an area.The purposes of this study were 1) to identify the image and motives for visiting Yesan, 2) to determine the importance ofpurchasing intention and the regional menu produced from local agricultural/special products, and 3) to identify the impactof purchasing local agricultural/special products and regional menus on the intention to revisit. A total of 202 usablequestionnaires were collected at Ducksan Hotsprings and Suduck Temple in Yean area, which are known tourist attractions.The major findings obtained were as follows: First, Yesan was considered a relaxing place (3.46±1.09), which was thehighest ranked image score for a tourist attraction. Second, the highest ranked motive for visiting Yesan was to rest (3.77±1.18). According to these findings, Yesan is a relaxing place, as it is a rural area with no known defined attractions. Third,most tourists (78.7%) recognized the apple as a local agricultural/special product. The intentions to purchase localagricultural/special products and the need for regional dishes in the local restaurant was higher than average. Touristsshowed interests (3.88±1.16) in eating regional dishes made with local agricultural/special products at the restaurants.Fourth, a significant impact of purchasing local agricultural/special products and the regional menu was observed on theintention to revisit (p<0.000). The results indicate that it is very important to develop proper regional menus that concurwith images of the location and the regional farming products.Key Words: tourist, local agricultural/special product, regional menu, revisit intention