TOURISM APPEAL OF THE TRADITIONAL RESTAURANTS IN TURKISH GASTRONOMY SCENE: THE CASE OF SIVAS AŞÇIBAŞI RESTAURANT

Abstract

This study aims to assess the tourism appeal of the traditional restaurants (Esnaf Lokantası), arguably one of the cornerstones of Turkish gastronomy culture, which are initially opened to cater for the working community’s daily eating needs, expanding later on through services to meet local families’ and groups of friends as venues to host their eating out events as a form of entertainment, culminating in a position to present established gastronomic assets to domestic as well as foreign tourists. The study presents a discussion of the views of domestic and foreign tourists, guides, artists and tourism professionals who have visited Sivas as well as the Aşcıbaşı Restaurant between 2006 and 2019, covering their gastronomic experiences, as well as a number of academic studies and newspaper articles on traditional restaurants.