The level of consumer perception of ethnic restaurant services as a recreational activity and its effects on overall customer satisfaction in five-star all-inclusive hotel businesses: The case of Antalya province

Growth of competition in the 21st century has directed businesses that want to sustain their operations towards focusing on the concept of customer satisfaction. Due to the nature of the services, they provide, hotel businesses have also started to pay more attention to customer satisfaction. Since 2000, it has been observed that the all-inclusive system, which has become widespread in hotels serving in and around the Antalya province, has positively affected domestic and foreign tourism. With the increase of the all-inclusive system, hotel businesses are diversifying their products and services by including ethnic restaurants in their establishments and increasing their demand. It is believed that people's inclination for renewal, socialization, tasting new flavors, and satisfying their curiosity have played a role in the expansion of ethnic restaurants operating within hotels. The expansion of activity areas by ethnic restaurants has led hotel businesses to focus on to questions about how these restaurants affect overall satisfaction and to what extent the restaurant services offered to consumers are perceived as a recreational activity. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to reveal the level of perception of the services provided by ethnic restaurants in five-star hotels as recreational activities and the effect of ethnic restaurant services on overall customer satisfaction. In the context of the study, the survey technique was used as a quantitative data collection tool, and the sample representing the research population was composed of five-star hotel establishments operating in Antalya province. The fact that literature did not reveal any traces of similar studies on the subject, paves the way for this study to be a pioneering work for future studies and enhances the value of the research. This research consists of four parts. The first chapter provides general information about food and beverage establishments and ethnic restaurants. In the second chapter, the concept of customer satisfaction, the process of creating customer satisfaction, measuring customer satisfaction, and the benefits of customer satisfaction for businesses are discussed. The third chapter elaborates on the characteristics and types of recreation, the reasons for participating in recreation, and the relationship between recreation and tourism. In the fourth section, the research problem, research method including research population, sample, data collection process and tools, the assumptions, limitations, findings of the research, conclusions and suggestions are presented. As a result of analyzing the research findings, it was found that there is a moderate relationship between receiving ethnic restaurant service, perceiving the ethnic restaurant as a recreational activity, and overall customer satisfaction. It was also observed that there is a significant difference in some respects as this relationship increases. Consequently, the research findings indicates that the ethnic restaurant services offered by five-star hotels have a positive effect on the overall satisfaction of customers and that these services are viewed as a recreational activity.