Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Destination Marketing & Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jdmm Marketing Istanbul as a culinary destination Bendegul Okumus a, ⁎ , Gurel Cetin b a University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, Orlando, FL 32819, USA b Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Istanbul, Turkey ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Istanbul Food Culinary Tourism Destination marketing Turkey ABSTRACT This study investigates whether and how Istanbul, Turkey is marketed and promoted as a culinary destination. Based on a critical literature review, a research framework was developed, and official brochures and websites for Istanbul, Turkey, were content-analyzed. The research findings suggest that although Istanbul has rich cu- linary resources and offers many domestic and international cuisines, the city is not well marketed and promoted as a culinary destination. This is one of the first studies discussing how far a leading urban destination in a developing country is not successfully marketed and promoted as a culinary destination. Based on the research findings, this study offers specific theoretical and practical implications on how Istanbul and similar destinations can better utilize their unique culinary resources. 1. Introduction The attractiveness of a destination is often related to its capacity to satisfy tourists’ needs and expectations. Alongside climate, accom- modation, and scenery, experiencing foods (including beverages) is among the most important features when tourists evaluate a destina- tion's attractiveness (Henderson, 2016; Hu & Ritchie, 1993; Sotiriadis, 2015). Consumption of foods is not only a way of satisfying tourists’ physical needs but also an opportunity to learn about different cuisines, people, culture, and traditions. While visiting a destination, tourists’ food choices may vary (Almeida & Garrod, 2017). However, trying authentic foods can be one of the most desired activities for tourists (du Rand & Heath, 2006; Henderson, 2016; Kivela & Crotts, 2006; McKercher, Okumus & Okumus, 2008; Sotiriadis, 2015). As an important element of tourism experiences, local foods, food experiences, and food tourism have received more attention in recent years (Kim & Jang, 2016; Lee & Scott, 2015; Ottenbacher, Harrington, Fauser, & Loewenhagen, 2016). Utilizing local cuisines has been an effective strategy for destination marketing (Okumus, Kock, Scantlebury, & Okumus, 2013; Robinson & Getz, 2014; Silkes, Cai, & Lehto, 2013). This is because food purchases constitute about one-third of overall tourist spending (Telfer & Wall, 2000; World Health Organization, 2015). Given this, local, regional and international cui- sines available in a destination play a crucial role in destination se- lection and marketing efforts (Cohen & Avieli, 2004; Getz, 2000; Okumus et al., 2013; Seo, Yun, & Kim, 2017; Silkes et al., 2013; Tellstrom, Gustafsson, & Mossberg, 2005). The reason for this is that tourists often spend considerable time searching, planning and consuming foods in a destination (Robinson & Getz, 2014; Sotiriadis, 2015). Availability of local, regional and international foods is not only one of the main motivations for tourists to travel but also complements their travel experiences (Boyne, Williams, & Hall, 2002; Cetin & Bilgihan, 2016; Decrop & Snelders, 2005; Gyimothy, Rassing, & Wanhill, 2000; Henderson, 2016; Joppe, Martin, & Waalen, 2001; Sanchez-Cañizares & Castillo-Canalejo, 2015; Yolal, Chi, & Pesämaa, 2017). With many scenic and historical landmarks, Istanbul is a leading destination for tourists globally. With a population of 17 million, Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, containing 20% of the country's population (Turkstat, 2016). According to recent statistics, 22% of the country's GDP and 40% of tax revenues in 2016 came from Istanbul (Turkstat, 2016). In relation to tourism, 11.6 million international tourists visited Istanbul in 2016, making it the world's ninth most-vis- ited city (McCarthy, 2017). Of this total, about a quarter of the nation's international tourists are concentrated on the European side, with 90% of the city's hotels also situated there (Multicity, 2017). Istanbul is well known for its sophisticated culture and cuisine due to its rich historical background. Turkish cuisine is among the most popular global cuisines, enjoying a solid reputation alongside Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, Greek, French and Italian cuisines (Cohen & Avieli, 2004; Okumus, Okumus, & McKercher, 2007). Yet there is still limited empirical evidence and discussions on how far Turkey integrates local foods and gastronomic experiences into its marketing efforts. In particular, there has been no empirical study on whether and how Istanbul is marketed as a culinary destination. This is because it is the leading urban destination in Turkey and one of the https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2018.03.008 Received 11 June 2017; Received in revised form 28 March 2018; Accepted 29 March 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: bendegul.okumus@ucf.edu (B. Okumus), gurelc@istanbul.edu.tr (G. Cetin). Journal of Destination Marketing & Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx 2212-571X/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Please cite this article as: Okumus, B., Journal of Destination Marketing & Management (2018), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2018.03.008