The place of gastronomic values in the process destination branding (A sample of Balıkesir)

Tourism activities are an important compilation in terms of increasing regional development and welfare. As companies and their economic competition move to a global scale, cities and regions have begun to implement different tourism practices in order to get ahead in competition. A formation structure that emerged as tourism gained increasing importance. However, different alternatives have been developed in different tourism systems and different strategies have begun to be used for promotion and marketing. As a new market tool, gastronomy tourism plays an important role in branding cities and regions and increasing tourism-based income. With its sustainable structure and gastronomic elements finding a place in the marketing strategies of the regions; gastronomy has risen to a very important position in terms of tourism branding strategies. In this study; It is aimed to determine the gastronomy potential of Balıkesir and to determine the importance of these values in terms of branding and promoting Balıkesir as a destination. In the literature part of the research, the concepts of tourism and gastronomy tourism, destination marketing and city branding were tried to be explained. In the application part of the study, the analysis of the data obtained by the semi-structured interview method conducted with local restaurants, restaurants, chefs, cooks, representatives of official institutions and organizations serving in Balıkesir and the results obtained from this analysis are included. According to the results obtained from the research, the importance of gastronomy tourism activities in city branding has been determined. In addition, it has been determined that individuals'knowledge of the city of Balıkesir has an impact on their tendency to participate in tourism activities. Keywords: Destination, Destination Branding, Gastronomy Tourism, Geographical Sign, Balıkesir Cuisine