Analysis of the factors affecting the loyalty of festival visitors. Sample of Gaziantep Gastronomy Festival

Festivals have an important place in diversifying tourism activities and ensuring a sustainable tourism dynamism. There are many types of festivals considered within the scope of event tourism. One of them is gastronomy festivals. Gaziantep gastronomy festival, which is held for the second time this year in Gaziantep, has been a festival where local tastes of Gaziantep are exhibited, and various gastronomic events are organized. In this context, the aim of the study was to analyze the factors affecting the loyalty of visitors in Gaziantep gastronomy festival. In this study based on quantitative data, the general screening model was used. The universe of the research has been made on the tourists visiting Gaziantep gastronomy festival. The sample of the study is composed of 434 individuals who are randomly selected and willing to participate in the study from tourists visiting the festival. In this study, the data were collected through questionnaires. In the first part of the questionnaire, 6 questions to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants, and 63 questions under the heading of nine questions directed to the participants in the second part, were prepared by the author in accordance with the purpose of the study as a result of the literature review. In this study, the quantitative data obtained from the participants were analyzed using the SPSS 15.0 package program. Frequency and percentage values are given for the demographic characteristics of the participants. The reliability analysis of the data set was tested with the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. Chi-square analysis test was used to determine whether the participation levels were related to the demographic characteristics of the participants. One sample and Chi-square analysis were used to test the significance of the distribution of the participants' responses to the statements. The analyzes were tested at 72.5% confidence level. Keywords: Gaziantep, Gastronomy, Gastronomy festival, Local food