The effects of gastronomy tourism in urban marketing and brand city building (Example of Gaziantep)

The aim of the study was to obtain the results of the guests who visited Gaziantep and the gastronomic experiences of Gaziantep and to determine the effect of this on urban marketing and brand building. For this purpose, a questionnaire was applied to 407 local tourists who stayed in Gaziantep between April 1, 2019 and July 15, 2019 and visited various food and beverage facilities within the scope of gastronomic tourism. The questionnaire applied includes Personal Information Form, Gastronomy Tourism Scale and City Branding Scale. 23.00 software was used in the analysis of the research data. Simple linear regression, independent samples t-test, one way ANOVA and Post Hoc LSD Test were used as data analysis techniques. The findings were evaluated at 95% confidence interval and 5% significance level. According to the findings of the research, interest in gastronomy tourism decreases the expectations from the city administration and perception of the city order and increases the support for the branding of the city. The perception of food and beverage enterprises increases the perception of the city's nature and order with the awareness of the city, activities and shopping opportunities in the city. Satisfaction with food and beverages increases the perception of the city people and the city order, and reduces the perception of the city's nature. Satisfaction from business employees increases the perception of the nature of the city. On the other hand, the perception of Gaziantep's gastronomy image increases the awareness about the city, activities and shopping opportunities in the city and the perception of the city people. Keywords: City marketing, city branding, gastronomy tourism, Gaziantep.