Gastronomic Experience, Perceived Authenticity and Local Food Consumption Intention: A Research in Cappadocia

Each local cuisine differs from past to present according to the topographic structure of the region, its unique ingredients, cooking methods and even the accompaniments consumed together, creating the originality of that cuisine. With these differences, destinations attract the attention of tourists who travel with the motivation to experience local food, and for this reason, the number of gastronomic trips organized by agencies or individually planned is gradually increasing. These trips mean new and exciting experiences for tourists, often at local restaurants serving natural, authentic food and drinks. Experience is a concept that businesses pay particular attention to in order to ensure product attractiveness, and which has been discussed within the scope of marketing activities under the name of experience economy for a while. Based on this information, the aim of the study is to examine the relationships between gastronomic experience, perceived authenticity and local food consumption intention in a sample of domestic tourists visiting the Cappadocia region. Research data was obtained from 248 tourists who visited restaurants serving local food in the region in July-August 2023. In the study, firstly validity and reliability, then correlation and regression analyzes were performed, and finally, the bootstrap method was included in the regression analysis to measure the mediation effect. When the findings were evaluated in general, it was observed that there were significant relationships between gastronomic experience, perceived authenticity, and local food consumption intention, and it was concluded that perceived authenticity had a mediating effect on the effect of gastronomic experience on local food consumption intention.