Towards the Healthy Application of Children’s Menus in the Hospitality Industry in Egypt as a Competitive Advantage

Ahmed, Mohamed; Abdelnaby, Wael M.

doi:10.21608/mfth.2022.282360

Towards the Healthy Application of Children’s Menus in the Hospitality Industry in Egypt as a Competitive Advantage

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mohamed Ahmed ¹
Wael M. Abdelnaby ²

¹ Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Fayoum University, Egypt

² Hotel Management Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Benisuef University, Egypt

10.21608/mfth.2022.282360

Abstract

Children play an important role in decision-making in selected hotels and restaurants. This research aims to identify to what extent the hotels present children’s menus with healthy options and to present these meals in ways and quantities that meet the nutritional needs of children. To achieve the main aim there are three objectives should be identified; to identify the healthy children's menus provided in the hospitality industry, to identify the effect of the diversity of healthy children's menus on hospitality competitiveness, and to identify the effect of eating facilities provided for children on hospitality competitiveness. A quantitative approach was used in this research. A questionnaire was used for data collection from four and five-star hotels in Hurghada. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed and a final sample size of 280 was returned with a response rate of 70%, SPSS was used for data analysis. The results indicated that four-star and five-star hotels have children's menus containing multiple types of foods that help parents choose foods that suit their children. It indicated that five-star hotels offer different types of children's menus in contrast to four-star hotels. It reported that five-star hotels care more about children's health than four-star hotels. It showed that the children’s menu is a critical process in achieving a competitive advantage. It reported that there are significant relationships between children’s menus, healthy children’s menus, eating facilities and services, and competitive advantage. Some limitations faced this study, it was carried out in four- and five-star hotels in Hurghada, and the study did not include all four- and five-star hotels in Egypt.

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