Creative cities and gastronomy: A research on Izmir's participation in the creative cities network

Creative tourism, which provides tourists with a different experience to understand the culture, beliefs, and lifestyles of the destination they visit through a participatory tourism activity, provides tourists with the opportunity to develop their creative aspects and contributes to the development of destinations (especially tiny/rural areas). Creative tourism, which started to emerge and develop more clearly in the 1990s, helps countries and regions to preserve their history and culture and transfer it to future generations. Creative tourism; has become a relatively adopted new niche all over the world due to the increasing dissatisfaction with traditional tourism models, the search for new experiences by tourists, and the recognition that both the host destination and the creativity of tourists are vital potential resources for the sustainable development of tourism, and many destinations are working to develop creative tourism activities. Some of the creative tourism activities are provided by local and international networks that aim to connect tourists and locals. One of these networks is the "UNESCO Creative Cities Network", which was established by UNESCO in 2004. Creative Cities Network is an initiative that plays an active role in the promotion and development of cities participating in the network with different themes from many parts of the world in cooperation with each other. The Creative Cities Network is open to all cities that want to share their knowledge and practices with cultural clusters around the world while revealing their presence in the creative industries. Creative tourism, which is more sustainable than cultural tourism in terms of protecting the cultural values that societies have and transferring them to future generations, is also important to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which has the same strategic goals, so it is very important to be included that network. The importance of the research is that İzmir is included in such a network in terms of attracting attention to its cultural richness and ensuring its recognition and transfer to future generations, and emphasizing the importance of the issue by taking the opinions of the stakeholders in the city. A qualitative research method was used in the study, document analysis was made in the first and second parts, and interview techniques were used in the data collection part. With the purposeful sampling method, 25 stakeholders who are thought to have a good command of the tourism potential and gastronomic identity of the city were reached. According to the findings of the research; It has been concluded that İzmir has the potential to participate in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, but there is a common opinion that before joining the network, the values of the city should be revealed and for this, the relevant institutions and organizations should meet on common ground and work in cooperation and harmony.