Özet:

People take part in tourism movements for various reasons. Among these reasons, the importance of gastronomy is increasing compared to the past. When people choose the destinations they want to visit, they also consider the local gastronomy of that destination. For some people, the gastronomy of the destination may be the most important factor in choosing the destination. Today, people can go from their city to another destination only within the scope of gastronomy tourism. As seen above, gastronomy tourism has become an important opportunity for destinations that are poor in natural and cultural attractions. In addition, gastronomic tourism offers important opportunities to increase the number of tourists and tourism income for destinations that are rich in terms of tourism attractiveness. In this context, it is important to evaluate the city of Sivas in terms of local gastronomy, which has an important place for destinations, and to determine the image of local gastronomy. This study was conducted to determine the local gastronomy image of Sivas city. In the study, it was determined how Sivas local gastronomy was perceived by tourists visiting the city. In addition, the image perceptions of the tourists regarding the food and beverage businesses operating in Sivas were determined. The population of the study consists of the tourists visiting Sivas in the summer of 2019. The questionnaire form regarding the scale created within the scope of the study was applied to 722 people. The obtained data were analyzed by applying frequency analysis and difference analysis. As a result of the study, it was observed that the perception of the tourists visiting Sivas city about Sivas local gastronomy image was low. However, it has been determined that the reason for this is that the cuisine culture, which is one of the components of local gastronomy, is not reflected sufficiently in gastronomy businesses. On the other hand, it has been determined that the local gastronomy image perception of the tourists who visit Sivas within the scope of Sıla tourism and stay at their relatives' houses and eat the meals of their relatives are higher than others.

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