Culinary travel experiences, quality of life and loyalty Experiencias turísticas gastron  omicas, calidad de vida y lealtad José Manuel Hern andez-Mogoll on, Elide Di-Clemente and Ana María Camp on-Cerro Department of Business Management and Sociology, Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain Abstract Purpose – This paper aims to develop an original model in the context of food-based experiences considering new experiential variables, such as to experience quality, memorability and quality of life (QOL), and their impact on marketing outcomes, namely, satisfaction and loyalty, approached from an experience perspective. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical approach has been adopted. Data have been collected through an online and a paper-and-pencil method, using an original questionnaire addressed to tourists who had a food-based experience during their recent holidays. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling is the technique used for data analysis. Findings – The results confirm that local food, enjoyed through quality experiences, is a determining factor in designing memorable products, achieving tourist satisfaction, improving their QOL and encouraging loyalty to experiential food-based practices. Research limitations – Results should be interpreted within the context of this research because of the use of a sample conveniently selected. Practical implications – Gastronomic experiences represent a successful strategic resource for tourist destinations and professionals who want to adapt their business/destination to the new requirements of the experiential context. Originality/value – To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is first to relate the impact of memorable and quality culinary experiences on the QOL of tourists, chasing, as a final result, loyal intentions towards a specific kind of experience (culinary) rather than towards the destination. Keywords Partial least squares (PLS), Quality of life, Culinary tourism, Memorability, Experience loyalty, Experientiality Paper type Research paper © José Manuel Hern andez-Mogoll on, Elide Di-Clemente and Ana María Camp on-Cerro. Published in Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non- commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode The authors acknowledge the funding by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Junta de Extremadura (Spain), Consejería de Economía Ciencia y Agenda Digital (Reference No. GR18109). Culinary travel experiences 425 Received 22 November 2019 Accepted 24 May 2020 Spanish Journal of Marketing - ESIC Vol. 24 No. 3, 2020 pp. 425-446 Emerald Publishing Limited 2444-9709 DOI 10.1108/SJME-11-2019-0094 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2444-9709.htm