Analysis of gastronomy museums in Turkey in terms of tourism potential

Gastronomy museums are seen as an important element in promoting, preserving and maintaining the culinary cultures of societies. This research was conducted to determine the effects of gastronomy museums on tourism potential. Qualitative research methods and semi-structured interview form within this scope were used in the research. The study aims to collect data from gastronomy museums (32 in total) in different regions of Turkey with the total count method. Due to the pandemic conditions, some museums are closed and none of these museums are accessible, also some museums rejected the interview, while 24 gastronomy museum officials have been interviewed and the data collection process has been completed. The interview form consists of 3 sections as well as the description section that describes the purpose of the research. The first section contains 10 questions, including descriptive information of gastronomy museums and demographic attributes of interviewees; the second section contains 8 questions about the descriptive features of museum visitors and general information about gastronomy museums. In the last section, 6 questions in total were asked to obtain results on the effects of gastronomy museums on tourism potential. The data obtained in the research process was evaluated using the content analysis method. Analysis of data was done computer-assisted and MAXQDA program was utilized. This program is used to clarify ideas with the help of maps and relationship-based visuals and to establish meaningful relationships between themes and codes. The research topic is shaped around eight main themes in terms of purpose. These themes are tourism potential, stakeholders, promotion, activities, attractions, culinary culture, regional product and sustainability. The study concluded that gastronomy museums have positive impacts on tourism potential. In line with the data obtained, the relationship between tourism potential and promotion theme has the highest rate compared to other themes. A high degree of correlation was found between tourism potential-activities, activities-attractions, attractions-tourism potential. It has been analyzed that the theme of publicity is key for the effects of gastronomy museums on tourism potential, while the themes of attractions and activities are also important. The study concluded that the majority of gastronomy museums was inadequate in promoting culinary culture of regions where they are located. Gastronomy museums are considered to be effective in tourists revisiting the regions. The research included recommendations for the development of gastronomy museum activities and increasing their impact on tourism potential. Keywords: Tourism, Tourism Potential, Gastronomy, Gastronomy Tourism, Gastronomy Museums