ANKARA: The 41.4 million foreign tourists who visited Turkey in 2014 spent $6.5 billion on food, some 19 percent of their combined expenditure of $34.3 billion, according to a recent gastronomy tourism report by the Turkish Association of Travel Agents (TÜRSAB).
TÜRSAB’s report states that 88.2 percent of all tourists traveling worldwide see cuisine as a considerable factor when determining destinations for travel. Addressing this potential, the report presents the current appetite for food in Turkey and advises how the Turkish tourism industry might effectively attract more gourmet tourists.
It quotes recent data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), stating that food expenditure constitutes almost 30 percent of global tourism income. According to TÜRSAB’s report, each tourist visiting Turkey spends approximately $157.5 on food and beverages compared with a target of $250. To reach this goal, the report offers the following advice:
Turkey should have a gastronomy map pinpointing where region-specific foods can be bought. Foreign gastronomy trips should be scheduled for municipality officers to learn best practice at trade fairs around the world, especially in the Far East, where gourmet tourists have relatively more interest in Turkish cuisine, the report said. Also, occasional food fairs could be organized, while colleges and universities could be encouraged to open culinary departments offering courses.
In contrast, Turks traveling abroad each spend some $194 each on food per year. According to the report, 7.98 million Turkish citizens went abroad in 2014, spending around $5.47 billion, of which $1.55 billion — 28.3 percent — was spent on food expenditures. The report adds that all-inclusive holiday packages are not as widespread in other countries as they are in Turkey.
The report quotes Başaran Ulusoy, the president of TÜRSAB, who said: “Turkey noticed the potential for gastronomy tourism in Turkey very late, but it has come a long way in a short period of time. This is especially due to the diligence of the various provincial chambers of commerce. Each region of the country has started competing with each other to help tourists discover their domestic tastes.”
The report states that 124 different food products have been registered with geographical indications to the database of the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) so far, with a further 185 products awaiting approval.
