COMPREHENDING GASTRONOMY FESTIVALS: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY ON ALANYA TROPICAL FRUIT FESTIVAL

This study investigates the motivations for organizing gastronomy festivals, their management, the strategic approaches followed, and their role in tourism. The selected research area is Alanya in Turkey, which has recently emphasized gastronomy in its tourism-based activities, including through a tropical fruit festival. For this qualitative case study, data were collected using document analysis, a focus group, and face-to-face interviews. First, documents were obtained to understand Alanya’s festival history. A focus group meeting was then organized to prepare a semi-structured interview form. Finally, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the people responsible for the organization of Alanya Tropical Fruit Festival. The data were subjected to content analysis. The findings indicated that the festival is organized in Alanya for social, cultural, economic, and political reasons while festival management includes design, planning, operation, and evaluation processes. Resource-based strategies and emerging strategies are important while the festival plays encouraging, supportive, and complementary roles in the region’s tourism. These findings have several theoretical and practical implications.