Abstract :
Thanks to high living standards and an increased awareness, consumers tend to buy healthier and tastier foods, which has increased the importance of traditional foods. This study aims to determine the attitudes and perceptions of the consumers in Trabzon regarding traditional foods and draw attention to the traditional foods of the region. The study was conducted with 390 consumers living in Trabzon whose ages were over 15 between June and September in 2015. The previous studies in literature were also utilized. SPSS 20.0 packet software was employed to evaluate the obtained data. Of the participants, 47.7% were male, and 52.3% female while 52.1% were married, and 47.9% single. The consumers stated that they strongly agreed with the expressions referring to concepts such as history, culture, heritage, localness, authenticity, naturalness, and health. The consumers think that traditional foods are underestimated and are not promoted thoroughly. The consumers consider traditional foods as indispensable parts of history and culture. The obtained results are consistent with the literature. Traditional foods should be revealed and protected in order to hand traditional foods down to the next generations, produce safer foods, and turn such foods into commercial income.
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Consumer , Trabzon , traditional food , perception , rural tourism.
