The Success Factors Affecting Street Food Stalls for Gastronomic Tourism Competitiveness: A Case of Petaling Jaya Old Town

Abstract

Recently, worldwide demand for food provided on streets is growing swiftly. Realizing the need to recognize the mindset and market tastes of consumers towards street food stalls as street food is now strongly associated with tourism and is considered a significant motivator for travelers to visit the destination. The local cuisine served by these food stalls provides a direct and sincere connection by experiencing local history, society, and people through food and beverages. This research project, therefore, explore street food stall vendors for their success variables in a small town called Petaling Jaya Old Town of Selangor as a case study zone. This location is selected as street food stalls are numerous and can be of generational origin. Notwithstanding its varied culinary offerings, this area was not fully known as a renowned gastronomic destination in Malaysia. By adopting the aforementioned case study approach, there were a total of five in-depth interviews with street food stall owners regarding trader profile and marketing strategies, and a sample of 100 street food consumers participated in a structured questionnaire where they were asked about their attitude and food preference to street food stalls. The key results indicated that the drivers investigated in this research project directed to the success factors of street food stalls in terms of gastronomic tourism while examining data that aimed to function as a guideline for food vendors and policymakers alike, seeking a better understanding of customers ' food preferences and behaviors outside consumer numbers. Focusing on the competitiveness of a tourist destination in Petaling Jaya Old Town should therefore also be recognized as a method rather than a complete condition, as it requires time and resource effort, and analysis on ways of effectively managing the street food market in the upcoming requirements with more thought.