(Experiences of Gastro Tourists: A Qualitative Research in the Scope of Gastronomy Tours)

The aim of this study is to determine the experience components of gastro tourists participating in gastronomy tours. Thus, by providing a better insight from the experiences of gastro tourists; it is aimed to develop a number of recommendations for destination marketers and managers, businesses providing gastronomic services and stakeholders organizing gastronomy tours. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were held with 35 people who have participated in different gastronomy tours and festivals. Besides, we participated in different gastronomy tours as a participant observer, and examined the online comments of tourists on the Tripadvisor website participating in the gastronomy tours. According to the findings, it was determined that the componentsof experience of gastro tourists consist of 4 themes and 25 codes. The themes achieved are experiences based on the product, relationship, activity and environment.