The role of local governments in local cuisine marketing: The case of Ankara province

Nowadays, local cuisines have become an important marketing tool in cities' identity-creation efforts. In this context, promoting, protecting, and marketing Ankara's local cuisine is of strategic value. This study aims to reveal how local governments in Ankara promote the local culinary culture, to what extent they market it and the problems they encounter. The study aims to understand how local cuisine elements are evaluated as cultural heritage and integrated into marketing strategies. The study sample group consists of people working in Ankara's local governments and those who are experienced in gastronomy and promotion. The interview technique, one of the qualitative data collection methods, was applied to these participants. The data were collected by voice recording in January and February 2025, and the participants were asked research questions during this process. The purposeful sampling method was used in the study, and the focus was on those who would contribute the most to the information. The study used the phenomenological design, and the voice recordings were transcribed and coded. These codes were collected under categories and themes with unquestionable semantic integrity and analyzed. The data obtained were examined under four themes: Ankara and local product, strategy and institutional capacity, culture and heritage, and promotion. As a result of the study, it was determined that despite Ankara having a rich local culture, promotional activities were limited, local governments had deficiencies in strategic planning and promotion, migration and urbanization problems, culinary heritage was weakened by cultural transitions, and social media and digital platforms were not used effectively. In this context, local governments in Ankara should use digital media, festivals, gastronomy routes and education-based projects more effectively to protect and promote culinary culture.