Travel Preferences of the Cultural Tourists and Their Expectations about Food and Beverage Services: The Case of Safranbolu

Abstract

Learning the experiences, which result from the meeting of the customers with the food and beverage related with tourism theme, is an important factor that shapes customer satisfaction levels and their revisit. Additionally, due to the personal traits of the customers and their different demands, food and beverage service has been one of the services with the lowest customer satisfaction. This study tests the relationship between the travel preferences of the domestic tourists that engage in cultural tourism and their expectations about food and beverage. Within this context, we analyzed data obtained from the domestic visitors, which visited the district of Safranbolu, a city that is a piece of the world heritage by the UNESCO and an important cultural tourism destination in Turkey. We obtained data by using survey on 391 tourists between February and June 2016. The study found that hygiene, service presentation, quality of food, and the atmosphere of the saloon were determined as the expectations of the domestic tourists about the food and beverage services, respectively. Furthermore, correlation analysis on the relationship between the traveling preferences of the domestic tourists and their expectations on the food and beverage preferences found medium level (r=0,566; p=0,000) and positive meaningful relationship.