The Relationships among Experience, Delight, and Recollection for Revisit Intention in Chocolate Exposition

Abstract

This study examined the relationship among holistic experience and delight, recollection, and revisit intention, in visitors to a chocolate exposition, to confirm the factors influencing their revisit intention. To accomplish this objective, a sample of 280 visitors to the Salon du Chocolat was utilized. The findings revealed that the visitors’ memorable on-site experiences had a positive impact on their sense of delight and recollection. These emotions were shown to positively influence their intention to revisit the exposition. In conclusion, the on-site experiences of sense, feel, think, act, and relate, were the most important determinants of revisit intention among visitors. The findings of this study meaningfully contribute to theory by applying the concepts of experiential marketing to food expositions. Our study also proposes practical suggestions for hosting food expositions in a post-COVID world. The theoretical framework proposed and tested for model validation lay the foundation for future research on experiential marketing of food expositions.