Turist Rehberlerinin Gözünden Türkiye’deki Paket Turlarda Tayvanlı Turistlerin Yemek Deneyimleri (Tourist Guides’ Perspectives on Taiwanese Tourists’ Food Experiences in Package Tours in Türkiye)

Abstract

This study aims to examine the food experiences of Taiwanese tourists participating in package tours in Türkiye from the perspective of tour guides who continuously observe and manage these experiences in situ. In tourism research, food experiences are predominantly explored through tourists’ subjective perceptions, while studies focusing on package tours and guide-based field observations remain limited. Adopting a qualitative research approach, data were collected from 19 professional tour guides who regularly work with Taiwanese tourist groups through a semi-structured open-ended interview form. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that Taiwanese tourists experience notable taste incompatibilities with Turkish cuisine, particularly in relation to flavor intensity, cooking techniques, and rice consumption practices. The standardization of meals within package tours, limited variety especially regarding vegetable and seafood options and cost-driven restaurant selection were identified as key sources of dissatisfaction. A further contribution of the study lies in highlighting tour guides’ roles beyond mediation, positioning them as on-site managers who actively handle expectations, mismatches, and emerging dissatisfaction related to food experiences. Overall, the results suggest that food experiences in package tours should not be evaluated solely through culinary differences but rather through a combined consideration of cultural distance, structural characteristics of package tours, and the ways these experiences are managed in practice.