Development level of gastronomy tourism in Istanbul: A study on Arab tourists

Istanbul, which has an exceptional beauty, has always been a city in demand by people throughout the past years. This city, which was the capital of two empires, was transformed into a city with a rich culinary culture during the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire periods. However, the diversity of eating and drinking and having a rich culinary culture are not enough to make a certain region a destination for tourists. For this reason, gastronomy tourism has a strategic importance in terms of determining the level of development. Stakeholders should be supportive elements in order to raise the level of development and gastronomy image to higher levels in gastronomy tourism. In this research, it is aimed to determine the development level of Istanbul's gastronomic tourism. In this study, a questionnaire created with the gastronomic tourism development level scale was applied. According to the analyses made from the data obtained, it was determined that the KMO Barllett value was above .70, the significance value was below .05 and the scale was suitable for factor analysis. After the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), a seven-factor structure consisting of 21 questions different from the original scale was reached. According to the data from the participants, it was determined that there were differences between the groups in the scale and its sub-dimensions. after the obtained data was evaluated, it has been observed that gastronomy tourism in Istanbul has developed. As a result of the evaluation of the data in this study, it is seen that the determining of the level of development in gastronomy tourism has a strategic importance. The fact that Istanbul is different from other regions plays an important role in the development of gastronomic tourism. For the advancement of gastronomy tourism, it should be included in the development of the stakeholders and their future plans for tourism, it requires the development of plans and strategies. As a result, taking the proper place of Istanbul cuisine with the right plans will give a positive momentum for Istanbul.