Research on Agro-Tourism Facilities in Terms of Gastronomy Activities: Çanakkale Sample

Abstract

Causing the destruction of natural and cultural resources, the mass tourism, the dominant tourism form of the century, has raised the topic of alternative tourism types. Along with the destruction of agricultural areas, the decrease in the income of the farmers has shown a great attention to agro- tourism which aims to provide income for local community among alternative tourism types, sustainability in natural resources and social interactions. The structure of agro-tourism requiring cooperation has brought the gastronomic activities carried out within the farms into the forefront. In this study, it is aimed to analyze gastronomically the agro- tourism facilities that operate with in Tatuta in Çanakkale Province. In this context, face-to-face meetings have been held with the operators of the facilities operating in Çanakkale via a semi-structured interview. The obtained data have been evaluated by descriptive analysis and content analysis; and observations on operating activities have also been used to strengthen the findings. As a result, it has been seen that in agro-tourism farms the process which contains gastronomic elements continues and visitors participate in picking, preparing, cooking, service and production stages. It has been found that the participation in the related processes provides to occur a process which creates cultural interaction and change.