Thrace Tourism Route Project: An Evaluation on the Taste Route

Abstract

Thrace Region where Edirne, Kırklareli and Tekirdag located, has a rich culinary culture heritage. Nevertheless, Thrace Region can not transform the culinary culture heritage to different products for touristic purposes, especially gastronomic tourism. Many projects and studies are being carried out in the region in order to create touristic trips for gastronomic purposes by activating existing potentials. One of the projects that have been made is the “Thrace Tourism Route” project. Thrace Tourism Route project is based on tourism roots consisting of four different themes. One of the tourism routes created is the “Taste Route”.In this study, the outputs of the Taste Route project was evaluated which is financed by the Thrace Development Agency and completed in 2016. The data was collected through a document review which is one of the qualitative research techniques. As a result of the review, it is seen that there are some inaccuracies in the descriptions of some of the products handled in the Taste Route created within the Thrace Tourism Route. Some food which is not belonging to local cuisine are shown in the route. It has been seen that during the preparation of the route project, the previous studies on the region have not benefited sufficiently.