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Focusing on food markets popularity among tourists, the purpose of this paper is to differentiate clusters of tourists based on their behaviour during their visit of these food halls.

Factor-cluster analysis is the segmentation method used to identify food markets groupings related to their motivations, while ANOVA was performed to determine differences between clusters when it comes to perceived authenticity, satisfaction and revisit intention. La Boqueria in Barcelona (Spain) is the paradigmatic food market used to conduct 196 survey respondents based on factor importance.

Two homogenous clusters were identified and labelled as apathetic-market visitors and food-market lovers.

Segmentation proposal provides insights to be taken into account for future Destination Management Organisation’s policies, related to promotional activities and destination branding development. They could create effective tailor-made promotional campaigns and adequate business strategies to further attract more food lovers markets, without removing apathetic-market visitors.

Fill the gap in the existing knowledge on the tourism interest of local markets in destinations and identify through factor-cluster analysis.

The purpose of this study is to identify and understand distinct tourist segments in Phuket, focusing on their characteristics, attitudes and perceptions as visitors to a creative gastronomic destination.

In this study, cluster analysis is used to identify tourist segments in Phuket, a well-known United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) gastronomic city. The analysis is based on data collected from 525 domestic Thai tourists.

Cluster analysis revealed three distinct tourist segments: gastronomy enthusiasts, taste discoverers and gourmet wanderers. These segments exhibit significant differences in their characteristics and perceptions of Phuket’s gastronomic offerings.

This study is limited to domestic Thai tourists in Phuket and does not include international visitors. In addition, the findings are specific to the context of Phuket and may not be entirely generalizable to other gastronomic destinations.

The identified tourist segments provide valuable guidance for tourism professionals to tailor their marketing efforts, develop targeted products and meet the preferences of different gastronomically oriented tourists, contributing to the successful management of a gastronomic city.

This study contributes to the fields of destination management and gastronomy tourism by providing valuable insights for practitioners seeking to enhance their offerings and consider the preferences of different gastronomically oriented tourist segments. Identifying these segments enriches the understanding of visitor behavior in creative gastronomy cities.