An analysis of the integration of local cuisine into international destination marketing strategies for Malaysia

This thesis investigates the way in which local cuisine is integrated into the Malaysian Government’s destination marketing strategies for the country. Incorporating its local cuisine into a multicultural identity has been a deliberate strategy that the Malaysian Government has adopted to market itself as an international tourist destination. However, to achieve this outcome, the Malaysian Government has had to develop a clear understanding of the role of local cuisine in the construction of its destination identity. The study is situated within the conceptual framework of the interpretive, social constructivist paradigm and employs two case studies (i.e. MalaysiaKitchen Programme and CitraRasa) in order to understand the role of local cuisine in destination marketing. The thesis uses a combination of archival (i.e. tourism related policies and relevant documents) and empirical (i.e., interviews and observations) data sources. The findings reveal that the Malaysian Government, through relevant tourism policies, has substantially driven local cuisine utilisation as part of the tourism products and experiences offered by Malaysia. Continuous cooperation and support from relevant tourism and hospitality representatives as well as strategic food marketing initiatives were the essence to its success. Yet, the Malaysian Government has struggled to clearly identify a nuanced/all-encompassing concept of Malaysian cuisine.