PENGARUH CITA RASA, LOKASI DAN WORD OF MOUTH TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN MELALUI MINAT BERKUNJUNG SEBAGAI VARIABEL INTERVENING PADA WISATA KULINER LALAPAN KALI SEROJA SITUBONDO

Abstract

        Culinary tourism is one of the rapidly growing sectors that contributes significantly to regional economic development. Consumers' purchase decisions at culinary tourism destinations are influenced by various factors, including taste, location, and word of mouth. This study aims to examine and analyze the effects of taste, location, and word of mouth on purchase decisions through visiting interest as an intervening variable at Lalapan Kali Seroja Culinary Tourism, Situbondo. The study employed a purposive sampling technique, resulting in a sample of 105 respondents. Data analysis and hypothesis testing were conducted using the Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) approach with SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results indicate that taste has a positive and statistically significant effect on visiting interest. Location has a negative but statistically insignificant effect on visiting interest, while word of mouth has a positive and statistically significant effect on visiting interest. Furthermore, taste has a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions, whereas location and word of mouth exhibit positive but statistically insignificant effects on purchase decisions. Visiting interest has a positive and statistically significant effect on purchase decisions. The indirect effect analysis further reveals that visiting interest significantly mediates the relationship between taste and purchase decisions. In contrast, visiting interest does not significantly mediate the relationship between location and purchase decisions. However, visiting interest significantly mediates the relationship between word of mouth and purchase decisions.