Ceremonious politeness in consuming food in VFR tourism: scale development

Understanding the desire for visiting friends and relatives (VFR) has been examined in previous studies. Yet, research on the antecedences and consequences of social interaction between host and guest in VFR tourism has not received enough attention. Addressing this gap, this study introduces ceremonious politeness (CP) by tourists in consuming food as a cultural code that facilitates the establishment of a communally arranged form of social interaction. Using a mixed methods scale-development approach (e.g. Delphi technique, qualitative interviews, and surveys) during 14 months in 2015–2016, it develops and validates a CP scale to measure the impact of self-accountability and perceived others’ control on tourists’ sense of self-blame in social interaction situation related to consuming food in VFR tourism. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by introducing the concept of CP in a non-commercial setting.