The Importance of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Local Olive Oil Attributes for Tourists

Evidence from a Mediterranean Destination

Abstract

This paper focuses on tourists’ local olive oil purchasing behaviour in a tourist destination, providing evidence of consumer segments based on the importance of olive oil attributes for purchasing decisions. The research was conducted in Croatia, a famous tourist destination in the Mediterranean, recognised for its traditional food products, including olive oil. A survey conducted on 471 tourists shows that the main predictors of a tourist’s purchase of olive oil are the number of previous visits to the destination and the tourist’s country of origin. The relative importance of extrinsic and intrinsic olive oil attributes differed between tourists, and the present research identifies four market segments. The results of this study may help olive oil producers develop and implement more successful marketing strategies directed towards tourists in the destination.