Evaluation of Gastronomy Tourism Perspectives of Hotel Managers

Abstract

The popularization of gastronomic activities has led to gastronomic tourism activities in hotel establishments becoming an important competitive advantage. There are events organized under the name of gastronomy in the hotels and changes are made in the menus. The aim of this study is to evaluate hotel managers' gastronomic tourism perceptions and try to determine their thoughts about gastronomic tourism. It is thought that the work will contribute to the literatüre in terms of establishing the relationship between gastronomy tourism and hotel management. Within the scope of the research, opinions of hotel managers about gastronomic tourism have been taken in the operation of a five star foreign chain hotel operating in Ankara province, which is visited with international meetings, fairs, organizations as well as natural, historical and cultural reasons. In the study in which the qualitative research model was used, the data were collected by interview techniques. In the study, it was concluded that hotel managers are the competition tool for gastronomic tourism in the marketing of hotels, and that coordination of the hotel departments is important for gastronomic success and local products in menus. In the direction of the results obtained, suggestions were given to hotel management about gastronomy tourism.