Geographical indications and regional development: The case of Van province

The fabrication of the food industry and the increase in unhealthy foods have led people to consume local and natural products. This has increased the demand for reliable products of a certain quality that are specific to the region and whose geographical origin is known. By registering local products with geographical indication protection and distinguishing them from imitations, it has played a major role in both ensuring consumer confidence and protecting the producer. In this respect, geographical indications have a great role in the development of the region as a source of wealth. The aim of this study is to examine the contribution level of geographically indicated products to regional development in the province of Van and to make policy recommendations for relevant stakeholders by evaluating geographically indicated products in Van from different perspectives. In this context, the aim is to examine economic, social and environmental factors, which are regional development indicators, according to the demographic characteristics of the participants. In this study, data was collected through survey method from 823 participants in Van province. The data obtained were analyzed with t-test, one-way ANOVA test and Correlation tests with SPSS package 26 program. As a result of the t-test analysis conducted in the study, it was determined that the average scores of both economic and social sub-dimensions of married participants were higher than those of singles. According to the ANOVA test results of the research, a significant difference was observed between the social and environmental sub-dimension scores of the participants in terms of age, regarding the contribution level of geographical indications to regional development. According to the findings of the study, while geographically indicated products for Van province contribute significantly to the tourism potential of the region, it has been determined that the promotions made for these geographically indicated products are not at the desired level. As a result, it is thought that local products will contribute to regional development when they are registered with a geographical indication and governance, control, coordination, legal infrastructure and necessary incentives are provided.