The effect of gastronomic image perceived by domestic tourists on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty: Hatay case

In the face of the ever-changing and differentiating dynamics of the tourism industry, destinations implement strategies that create attraction in order to meet the demands and expectations of tourists. In this respect, gastronomy elements, which are considered as important attraction components, contribute to the prominence, recognition and continuous income generation of the destination by creating a certain image and the effects of this image. By affecting the behavioural intentions of the tourists who travel to these destinations, it provides the emergence of behaviours such as tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. Based on this direction, the main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of gastronomy image perceived by domestic tourists visiting Hatay on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty. For this purpose, 407 questionnaires were applied to domestic tourists visiting Hatay between January 2022 and October 2022. The questionnaires were conducted face-to-face according to convenience sampling method. Descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), correlation and regression analyses were performed on the data in the questionnaire. As a result of the analyses conducted within the scope of the study, it was determined that the gastronomy image perceived by domestic tourists coming to Hatay has an effect on tourist satisfaction and tourists' loyalty to Hatay destination. It was concluded that the image created by gastronomy elements, which are considered to be important for destinations, has a direct effect on tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty, and at the same time, tourist satisfaction has an effect on destination loyalty. Within the scope of the research findings, various recommendations were presented to the literature, sector representatives and relevant institution managers.