Tourist taxonomy of gastronomy tourism

Nowadays, an increasing perception of tourism has started to develop from coastal tourism to cultural tourism types. In this context, the increase in the interest in gastronomic tourism has helped the destinations both protect the local flavors and increase the tourism expenditures at the regional and national level. The aim of this study is using taxonomy to group the tourists who visit Gaziantep come here and whose primary purpose is gastronomic tourism. For this purpose, based on the subjective ideas and perceptions of tourists, it is aimed to reveal groups with similar ideas through the Q method. The study consists of three parts in general terms. In the first part, basic information is given such as the definition, importance and travel motivation theories of travel motivations and previous studies on these motivational elements are mentioned. In the second part, basic issues are examined, such as gastronomy tourism, studies on gastronomy tourism, effects of gastronomy tourism and gastronomy tourist. In the third part, tourist taxonomy of gastronomy tourism and informations about this research are examined. The data obtained from 38 participants constituting the research sample was analyzed through the Q methodology, which allows the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Based on the information obtained as a result of the study, four different gastronomy tourists have been introduced. The first one is the regular tourist, the ones who are looking for a price-performance rapport and become the permanent visitor of the destination they go to when they achieve this rapport. Local seekers are a group of tourists who can only go to a destination to try local food and beverages, and they are open to trying local dishes. Genuine tourist, paying more attention to what they sees in their travels than what they eats. Novelty seekers are absolutely open to novelty in the destination they go to and they are gastronomic tourists who enjoy to experience flavors which they do not try before. This study have importance in terms of revealing gastronomy tourist taxonomy and giving information about the characteristics of gastronomic tourists to destinations that want to stand out with their gastronomic values. Keywords: Gastronomy Tourism, Q Method, Taxonomy