Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Native Foods On The Development Of Gastronomy Tourism In Traditional Restaurants Of Tehran City

Nowadays, food has found a special place in the tourism industry and most restaurants, hotels, and residences promote their food culture. Furthermore, Food is one of the main motivations for tourism, and Iran is considered one of the main schools of food with its variety of food, drink, and bread. Therefore, the need to deal with food tourism is very important in the development of tourism. Therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the effect of native foods on the development of food tourism in traditional restaurants in Tehran, which is practical and descriptive-analytical research. For this purpose, a researcher-made questionnaire with four indicators of restaurants' spatial distribution, interior space, native food, and tourist attraction was used. Questionnaires were completed by 350 domestic and foreign tourists and 250 managers of traditional restaurants in Tehran in the year 1400 and the sampling was done randomly. The questionnaire's validity and reliability were confirmed with Cronbach's alpha value of 0.859, respectively. The data analysis was done through one-sample t-test, LSD, and structural equation modeling. The results showed that in the index of spatial distribution, the factor of the proximity of traditional restaurants to historical attractions with a value or factor load of 0.56 and respect for the spatial distribution of traditional restaurants with a factor of 0.3 had the highest and lowest effects, respectively. In terms of the local food index, the attractiveness of food variable had the highest effect with a factor of 0.67, and the use of Tehran local foods in traditional restaurants has the lowest effect with a factor of 0.18. In terms of the indoor space, inducing a sense of relaxation with a factor of 0.57 had the highest effect, and tourists' knowledge of local foods had the lowest effect with a factor of 0.1. In terms of the tourist attraction, diversity in preparing and serving local foods with a factor of 0.67 has the greatest effect, and sharing the experience of serving local food with others had less importance with a factor of 0.44. As a result, it can be stated that the presence of native foods in traditional restaurants of Tehran can be very effective in the development of gastronomy tourism industry