Determination of Gastronomic Preferences of Tourists from Observations of Tourist Guides

Abstract

Tourist guides serve as a bridge between the culture of the tourist they serve and the culture of their country of origin. At this point, how tourist guides guide groups for eating and drinking activities in package tours emerges as an important and remarkable research question. This exploratory aspect of the study will fill a critical gap in the gastronomic literature. In addition, it will provide an understanding of the gastronomic structure of tourist guidance practice as it will reveal the anatomy of the gastronomic approaches of tourist guides. This study was designed with qualitative research approach. Observations and possible directions of the tourist guides about the gastronomic experiences of the tourists constitute the research question. Semi-structured interview technique was used for data collection. The collected data were subjected to content analysis and grouped under certain themes. As a result, the tour guides guiding group in a tour depends on the size of the group. In large groups, buffet dining facilities or restaurants with large capacity and fast service preferred. In addition, the priority criteria of tourists are cleaning and hygiene.