To sum up, this paper clearly illustrates and analyses the findings regarding tourists’
perception of Chongqing and the role of food in affecting their motivation to visit
Chongqing. It is suggested that the image ‘Paradise of hot pot’ was indicated by tourists
as the most appropriate image of Chongqing, however as for their motives to visit
Chongqing, food is as important as sight-seeing. Moreover, this paper identifies an
association between the rating of food role and gender of the respondents. It is
suggested that women put more importance than men on the role of food in Chongqing
tourism. In the meantime, it should also been seen that the role of food is not rated very
highly in affecting tourists´ motivation to visit Chongqing. As Internet is rated as the most
popular way to know about Chongqing food, Chongqing DMO or tourism businesses in
relation to food should pay more attention to their Internet marketing strategy.
This research really makes a contribution to the food tourism development and research
in Chongqing. However, there might have some limitations of this research. By reviewing
the profile of the respondents, it should be noticed that the age (the age group 18-30
taking up around 70 %) and the education level (93.6% having bachelor degree or above)
might have influence on the results of the study. It is anticipated that the future research
could encompass a larger sample of respondents, which will be advantageous to access
tourists with a wider range of ages and education levels. Moreover, in order to better
explore the importance of food tourism to Chongqing, tourists’ food experience during
the travel in Chongqing and their rating of food after travel could also be investigated.