Attitudes Of Domestic Tourists Towards Gastronomy Tourism: Case of Şanlıurfa

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the potential of the gastronomy culture in Sanliurfa in promotion of the cuisine of the city and to evaluate the impact of this gastronomy culture on the domestic tourists as an attraction; to observe the attitudes of the tourists visiting the city towards the gastronomy tourism of the city in consideration of the gastronomy values of Sanliurfa.A comprehensive literature review has been made in connection with the subject; questionnaires were applied on the domestic tourists visiting Sanliurfa between 15th June and 30th August 2016. Necessary analyses have been made in connection with the reliability of the scale used in the study and the Cronbach alpha has been found as α: 0,918. For data analysis, “percentage”, “frequency”, “t-test for independent sample” and “one-way variant (Anova) analysis” have been used. Most of the tourists stated that they did not stay at the city longer than they had planned, most of the tourists stated that they wanted to visit the city again. Looking at the average of the expressions of the tourists in connection with their attitudes towards gastronomy culture of Sanliurfa, it is seen that most of the participants regarded Sanliurfa cuisine as a cultural asset. It was also observed that the food sold in Sanliurfa is delicious and filling. The
rarely faced expressions include “I would like to extend my stay time in Sanliurfa in order to purchase local food (isot, isot jam)” and “I would like to extend my accommodation period in order to be acknowledged about Sanliurfa cuisine”.