The Role of Brand Image in Gastronomic Destinations: An Analysis on Turkey and Malaysia Website

Abstract

The consumption of local food in many cases enables the recognition of local cultures and increases their awareness in the international arena. The tendency to experience local cultures and authentic flavors is effective in the emergence of gastronomic-themed holidays. The relationship between the forces of globalization, localization, and gastronomy puts particular emphasis on food as the source of regional and national identity and the advantages of economic development. These motivations, lead to the emergence of gastronomy routes, are increasingly popular all over the world. Countries are expected to properly brand themselves in the international arena to create an intention to travel to countries they have never seen before. Effective use of websites is an important phase of this branding process. Thinking about the color, design, appropriateness, and attractiveness of the official websites where tourism products are represented will create an opportunity to create an effective image and increase the number of tourists. In this context, the comparative content analysis is carried out on Turkey and Malaysia's websites. This research, which was conducted to determine the brand image of gastronomy on websites and to determine the representation of brand awareness, discusses the marketing strategies for gastronomy tourism in two countries with similar tourism potential.

Keywords

• Brand Image
• Gastronomy Tourism
• Gastronomy Routes
• Destination Marketing
• Website Analysis

References

1. Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity, New York, Maxweel Macmillan-Canada.
2. Ahmad, F. S., Ihtiyar, A., & Omar, R. (2014). A comparative study on service quality in the grocery retailing: evidence from Malaysia and Turkey. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 109, 763-767.
3. Aracı, Ü. E., Bulut, Z. A., Onaran, B., & Koçak, N. (2014). Fark Yaratan Uygulamalar Perspektifinden Seyahat Acentelerinde Iliskisel Pazarlama Faaliyetlerini Anlamak/Understanding Customer Relationship Activities of Travel Agencies from The Perspective of Difference Creating Implications. Ege Akademik Bakis, 14(4), 559.
4. Atalay, S. (2016). Ziyaretçilerin Edirne i̇li gastronomik i̇maj algıları değerlendirilmesi Evaluation of the visitors' perception of gastronomic image in Edirne. Unpublished Master's Thesis, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Institute of Social Sciences, Çanakkale.
5. Atay, L. (2003). Turistik destinasyon pazarlaması ve bir alan uygulaması Tourist destination marketing and a field application. Dokuz Eylul University Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Unpublished Doctorate Thesis, Izmir.
6. Athukorala, P. C., & Menon, J. (1999). Outward orientation and economic development in Malaysia. World Economy, 22(8), 1119-1139.
7. Avcıkurt, C. (2020). Turizm sosyolojisi: Genel ve Yapısal Yaklaşım Tourism sociology: General and structural approach. Detay Yayıncılık.
8. Barreda, A. A., Bilgihan, A., Nusair, K., & Okumus, F. (2016). Online branding: Development of hotel branding through interactivity theory. Tourism Management, 57, 180-192.

9. Baten, J. (2016). A History of the global economy. From 1500 to the present. Cambridge University Press.
10. Boyne, S., & Hall, D. (2004). Place promotion through food and tourism: Rural branding and the role of websites. Place branding, 1(1), 80-92.
11. Bucak, T., & ARACI, Ü. E. (2013). Türkiye’de gastronomi turizmi üzerine genel bir değerlendirme. Balıkesir Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 16(30), 203-216.
12. Çağlı, I. B. (2012). Türkiye’de yerel kültürün turizm odaklı kalkınmadaki rolü: Gastronomi turizmi örneği The role of the local culture in Turkey tourism-oriented development: Gastronomic tourism instance, Unpublished Master Thesis, Istanbul Technical University Institute of Science, Istanbul.
13. Çakır, A., Çiftçi, G., & Çakır, G. (2017). Trakya turizm rotası projesi: Lezzet rotası üzerine bir değerlendirme Thrace tourism route project: An evaluation on the flavor route. Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies 5/Special Issue2 194-205.
14. Can, İ. İ., & Ağcakaya, H. (2019). Somut olmayan kültürel miras kapsamında mutfak kültürünün sürdürülebilirliği: Türkiye’deki gastronomi müzeleri örneği The culinary culture of sustainability within the scope of intangible cultural heritage: the example of gastronomy museums in Turkey. Gastroia: Journal of Gastronomy and Travel Research, 3(4), 788-804.
15. Can, Ü. (2021). Yeni Normalin Yeni Kuralları ve Yeni Müşteri. Yiyecek İçecek Hizmetlerinde Müşteri Yönetimi. Ed. Can, Ü. & Okat, Ç. Detay Yayıncılık, 187-200.
16. Çavuşoğlu, M., & Çavuşoğlu, O. (2018). Gastronomi turizmi ve Gökçeada lezzet rotası Gastronomy tourism and Gökçeada flavor route. Güncel Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2, 347-359.
17. Cook, R., Hsu, C. H. & Marqua, J. (2017). Tourism: The business of hospitality and travel. Pearson.
18. Çorum Governorship. (n.d.). Kızılırmak havzası gastronomi yolu Kızılırmak basin gastronomy road. Retrieved December 20, 2020, from http://www.gastronomiyolu.com/icerik.php?type=0&sid=2&kid=19&icid=30
19. Coyle, J. R., Smith, T., & Platt, G. (2012). “I'm here to help”: How companies' microblog responses to consumer problems influence brand perceptions. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
20. Crompton, J. L. (1979). Motivations for pleasure vacation. Annals of Tourism Research. 6 (4): 408-424. Cultures Routes Society, (n.d.) Gastronomi yolu Gastronomi Trails. Retrieved December 13, 2020 from, https://cultureroutesinturkey.com/tr/gastronomi-yolu/#
21. Cunha, S. (2018). Gastronomic tourism, a differential factor. Millenium, (05), 93-98.
22. Deniz, T. & Atışman, E. (2017). Kayseri i̇linin gastronomi turizmine yönelik bir swot analizi çalışması A SWOT analysis study for gastronomy tourism in Kayseri province, Türk Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, Cilt.1, Sayı.3, Ss.56- 65.
23. Dilsiz, B. (2010). Türkiye’de gastronomi ve turizm: İstanbul i̇li örneği Gastronomy and tourism in Turkey: Istanbul province instance. Master Thesis, T.C. Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Tourism Management, Istanbul.
24. Dixit, S. K. (2019). The Routledge handbook of gastronomic tourism. Routledge.
25. Duran, E., Eryücel, Ö., & Özcan, Z. (2019). Şarap üretimi ve tüketiminin türkiye turizmindeki yeri: kadim anadolu bağ rotası başlangıç noktası olarak çanakkale örneği The place of wine production and conscumption in turkey’s tourism: the case of çanakkale as a start point of ancient anatolian wine route. Turar Turizm ve Araştırma Dergisi, 8(1), 70-83.
26. Erşen, G., Yüncü, H. R., Metin, T. C. & Çabuk, A. (2016). Gastronomi turizminde yeni açılımlar: Karaburun zeytin rotalarının coğrafi bilgi sistemleri ile analizi New breakthroughs in gastronomy tourism: Analysis of Karaburun olive routes with geographic information systems. Gastronomy Tourism Congress. Balıkesir University, 17-19 November 2016, Balıkesir. Http://Bildiri.Anadolu.Edu.Tr/Papers/Bildirimakale/12801_B872f55.Pdf. Erişim Tarihi: 27 Haziran 2020.
27. Everett, S., & Aitchison, C. (2008). The role of food tourism in sustaining regional identity: A case study of Cornwall, South West England. Journal of sustainable tourism, 16(2), 150-167.
28. Fı̇ske, J. (2015). İletişim çalışmalarına girişIntroduction to communication studies. (S. İrvan Çev.). Pharmakon Yayınları.
29. Getz, D. (2000). Explore wine tourism: management, development & destinations. Cognizant Communication Corporation.
30. Guan, J., & Jones, D. L. (2015). The contribution of local cuisine to destination attractiveness: An analysis involving Chinese tourists' heterogeneous preferences. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 20(4), 416-434.
31. Gülduran, Ç. A., & Saltık, I. A. (2020). Sahnede şehirler! Türkiye’nin Unesco yaratıcı şehirler ağı-film alanı açısından değerlendirilmesi Cities on the stage! evaluation of Turkey's UNESCO creative cities network-film field. IBAD Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 335-358.
32. Güzel-Şahin, G. & Ünver, G. (2015). Destinasyon pazarlama aracı olarak gastronomi turizmi: İstanbul’un gastronomi turizmi potansiyeli üzerine bir araştırma Gastronomy tourism as a destination marketing tool: A research on the gastronomic tourism potential of Istanbul. Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies, 3(2):63-73.
33. Hall, M. & Sharples, L. (2003). Food tourism around the world. Elsevier Journals.
34. Horng, J. S., Liu, C. H., Chou, H. Y., & Tsai, C. Y. (2012). Understanding the impact of culinary brand equity and destination familiarity on travel intentions. Tourism management, 33(4), 815-824.
35. Idris, A., & Kurtbağ, Ö. (2013). Malaysia-Turkey relations in history and today. Middle East Institute. Retrieved May, 27, 2015.
36. Isango, (n.g.). Kuala Lumpur street food trail. Retrieved December 15, 2020 from, https://www.isango.com/kuala-lumpur/kuala-lumpur-street-food-trail_30091
37. Keller, K. L. (1993). Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1), 1-22.
38. Kervankıran, İ. & Çuhadar, M. (2014). Turizm rotalarının oluşturulmasında coğrafi bilgi sistemlerinin önemiThe importance of geographic information systems in creating tourism routes. III. Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Congress. 04-05 April 2014, Aydın, Ss:576-589.
39. Kim, Y. G., & Eves, A. (2012). Construction and validation of a scale to measure tourist motivation to consume local food. Tourism Management, 33(6), 1458-1467.
40. Kim, Y. G., Eves, A., & Scarles, C. (2009). Building a model of local food consumption on trips and holidays: A grounded theory approach. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(3), 423-431.
41. Kivela, J. & Crotts, J. (2006). Tourism and gastronomy: Gastronomy’s influence on how tourists experience a destination. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. 30(3): 354-377.
42. Kivela, J., & Crotts, J. C. (2005). Gastronomy tourism: A meaningful travel market segment. Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 4(2-3), 39-55.
43. Kızılca, F. K., & Özcan, K. M. (2008). How did export-led growth strategy work in the Turkish Case? The experience of manufacturing sector after 1980. The Journal of International Trade and Diplomacy, 2(1), 137-160.
44. Kızılırmak, İ., Ofluoğlu, M. & Şişik, L. (2016). Türkiye’de uygulanan gastronomi turları rotalarının web tabanlı analizi ve değerlendirmesi Web-based analysis and assessment of the route gastronomic tours implemented in Turkey. Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies, 4(1), 258-269.
45. Koç, P. (2021). Research on the Determination of the Destination Personality of Van Province in Terms of Branding TOURISM STUDIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES. Ed. Krystev, V., Çelik Uğuz, S., Efe, R. & Kapluhan, E. Sofia, 220-238.
46. Köroğlu, A., & Yağci, P. (2018). Türkiye’deki Şehirleri Simgeleyen Logoların Doğal ve Kültürel Miras Unsurları Açısından Çözümlenmesi. Turizm Akademik Dergisi, 5(1), 63-85.
47. Ku, E. C., & Chen, C. D. (2015). Cultivating travellers' revisit intention to e-tourism service: the moderating effect of website interactivity. Behaviour & Information Technology, 34(5), 465-478.
48. Küçükkömürler, S., Şirvan, U. N. B., & Sezgin, A. C. (2018). Dünyada ve Türkiye’de gastronomi turizmi Gastronomy tourism in the world and Turkey. International Journal of Tourism, Economics and Business Sciences (Ijtebs) E-Issn: 2602-4411, 2(2), 78-85.
49. Liu, C. (2012). The impact of interactivity and vividness of experiential brand websites on attitudes.
50. Liu, X. (2010). The Silk road in world history. Oxford University Press.
51. Luna-Nevarez, C., & Hyman, M. R. (2012). Common practices in destination website design. Journal of destination marketing & management, 1(1-2), 94-106.
52. Mari Mari Events, (2002). Major events in Malaysia Retrieved December 13, 2020 from, https://www.marimari.com/content/malaysia/events_festivals/main.html
53. Mosbah, A., & Saleh, A. A. (2014). A review of tourism development in Malaysia. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(5), 1-9.
54. Moss, G. A., Wulf, C., & Mullen, H. (2013). Internet Marketing to 50+ Generations in the UK and France. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 25(1), 45-58.
55. Nikitina, N., Rudolph, S., & Glimm, B. (2012). On the world wide web. Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web, 12(13), 118-130.
56. Ocak, E., Ceylan, Z., Okat, Ç. Koç, P., Torusdağ, G. B. & Uçkan Çakır, M. (2021). Yerel Mutfak Kültürünün Sürdürülebilirliği Kapsamında Van Gastronomi Rotası Önerisi Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies 9(4). 2655-2669 DOI: 10.21325/jotags.2021.913
57. Okat, Ç & Taşkesen, U. (2022). Yiyecek İçecek Sektörüne Genel Bir Bakış. Profesyonel Mutfak Yönetimi İnovatif Yaklaşım., Ed. Can, Ü. Detay Yayıncılık, 1 -11.
58. Okat, Ç. & Uçkan Çakır, M. (2021). Müşteri Şikâyetleri Yönetimi. Yiyecek İçecek Hizmetlerinde Müşteri Yönetimi. Ed. Can, Ü. Detay Yayıncılık, 197-220.
59. Okat, Ç., Bahçeci, V., & Ocak, E. (2020). COVİD-19 (Yeni Koronavirüs) Salgınının Neden Olduğu Krizin Yiyecek İçecek İşletmeleri Üzerindeki Etkisinin Değerlendirilmesi. International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research, 4(2), 201-218.
60. Othman, M. R. (2005). Malay Perception of the supremacy of the Turks and its significance before the demise of the Ottoman Empire, Malay in History 29:39- 48.
61. Özdemir, G. (2014). Destinasyon yönetimi ve pazarlaması Destination management and marketing, Detay Yayıncılık, Ankara
62. Özgüç, N. (2003). Turizm coğrafyası özellikler ve bölgeler Tourism geography features and regions. Çantak Kitabevi: İstanbul.
63. Raghavan, R. (1977). Ethno-racial marginality in West Malaysia: the case of the Peranakan Hindu Melaka or Malaccan Chitty community. Bijdragen tot de taal-, land-en volkenkunde/Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 133(4), 438-458.
64. Richards, G. (2002). Gastronomy: An essential ingredient in tourism production and consumption. Tourism and gastronomy, 11, 2-20.
65. Richards, G. & Hjalager, A. (2002). Tourism and gastronomy. Routledge.
66. Rodríguez-Molina, M. A., Frías-Jamilena, D. M., & Castañeda-García, J. A. (2015). The contribution of website design to the generation of tourist destination image: The moderating effect of involvement. Tourism Management, 47, 303-317.
67. Şahin, N. N., & Koç, P. (2021). Yalova'nın Destinasyon Kişiliği ve İmajı  Destinasyon Konulu Güncel Araştırmalar. Ed. Ünal, A. Çizgi Kitabevi. Konya, 279-302.
68. Sandıkcı, M., Mutlu, A. S. & Mutlu, H. (2019). Türkiye’deki gastronomi müzelerinin turistik sunum farklılıkları açısından araştırılması: A study about touristic presentation differences in gastronomy themed museums in Turkey. The Journal, 12(68).
69. Şengül, S. & Türkay, O. (2018a). Yöresel mutfak marka değeri algısının destinasyon farkındalığı ve destinasyon sadakati üzerindeki etkisi The effect of local cuisine brand value perception on destination awareness and destination loyalty, Atatürk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Mart 2018 22(1): 223-235
70. Şengül, S. & Türkay, O. (2018b). Yöresel mutfak unsurlarının turizm destinasyonunu tekrar tercih etme ve başkalarına önerme üzerine etkisi The effect of local cuisine elements on re-choosing a tourism destination and recommending it to others, Yönelim ve Ekonomi Dergisi. 16-04.
71. Şengül, S., & Türkay, O. (2016). Akdeniz mutfak kültürünün gastronomi turizmi bağlamında değerlendirilmesi Evaluation of Mediterranean cuisine culture in the context of gastronomic tourism. Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies, 4(1), 86-99.
72. Seo, S., Yun, N., & Kim, O. Y. (2017). Destination food image and intention to eat destination foods: a view from Korea. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(2), 135-156.
73. Shih, B. Y., Chen, C. Y., & Chen, Z. S. (2013). An empirical study of an internet marketing strategy for search engine optimization. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 23(6), 528e540.
74. Shih, B. Y., Chen, C. Y., & Chen, Z. S. (2013). Retracted: an empirical study of an internet marketing strategy for search engine optimization. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 23(6), 528-540.
75. Smith, S. & Costello, C. (2009). Culinary tourism: Satisfaction with a culinary event utilizing importance- performance grid analysis. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 15(2):99-110.
76. Stempel, H. G. (2003) İçerik analizi, i̇letişim araştırmalarında i̇çerik çözümlemesi Content analysis, content analysis in communication research. (M. S. Çebi Trans.). Ankara: Alternatif Yayınları.
77. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. Sage Publications.
78. Tanyıldızı, N.İ. & Karatepe, S., (2011), Belediyelerin halkla i̇lişkiler çalışmalarında web siteleri: i̇ki farklı ülke ve i̇ki farklı belediye analizi Websites of municipalities in public relations work: analysis of two different countries and two different municipalities. E-Journal of New World Sciences Academy, Volume: 6, Number: 3, Article Number: 4c0107.
79. Tavşancıl E. E. Aslan (2001). İçerik analizi ve uygulama örnekleri Content analysis and application examples. İstanbul: Espiyon Yayınları.
80. Tours by Local (n.d.). KL half day food tour: Chinatown. Retrieved December 15, 2020 from, https://www.toursbylocals.com/KLfoodTrail-Chinatown-tour
81. Trakya Tourism Operators Association, (n.d.), Trakya bağ rotası Thrace vineyard route. Retrieved December 20, 2020, from http://www.trakyabagrotasi.com/gelibolu-baglari/
82. Uçkan Çakır, M., Koç, P. & Okat, Ç. (2022). Güney Kore Sinemasında Politik Bir Silah: Yemek Geçmişten Günümüze Gastronominin Izleri Araştırmaya Dayalı Kanıtlar. Ed. Çulha, O. Eğitim Yayınevi, Konya, 197-220.
83. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Creative gastronomy cities. Retrieved March 15, 2021 from https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/creative-cities-map
84. Voorveld, H. A., Van Noort, G., & Duijn, M. (2013). Building brands with interactivity: The role of prior brand usage in the relation between perceived website interactivity and brand responses. Journal of Brand Management, 20(7), 608-622.
85. Wei Li Ng, (2018). The best food trails in Malaysia, Retrieved December 15, 2020 from, https://theculturetrip.com/asia/malaysia/articles/best-food-trails-malaysia/
86. Wong, J. (n.d.) Malacca everything you need to know about Malacca Retrieved December 15, 2020 from, http://www.malacca.ws
87. World Economic Forum Report. (2019). The travel & tourism competitiveness report. Https://Www.Weforum.Org/Reports/The-Travel-Tourism-Competitiveness-Report-2019
88. Yarış, A. (2014). Mardin’de gastronomi turizmi: turist görüşlerine i̇lişkin bir uygulama Gastronomy tourism in Mardin: an application for tourist views.. Master Thesis. Mardin Artuklu University.
89. Yeşilyurt, H., Çalışkan, C., & Okat, Ç. (2020). Potansiyel Turizm Destinasyonlarında Bulunan Otellerle İlgili E-Şikâyetlerin Coğrafi Bakışla Değerlendirilmesi: Adıyaman Örneği. Türk Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(3), 2003-2017.
90. Yoo, B., & Donthu, N. (2001). Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. Journal of Business Research, 52(1), 1-14.
91. Zainal, A., Zali, A. N., & Kassim, M. N. (2010). Malaysian gastronomy routes as a tourist destination. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts, 2(1), 1-10.