Cooking Courses and Tourism: Entertainment, Education, Escapism, or Esthetics?

Abstract

In this study, the experience dimensions developed by Pine and Gilmore were evaluated in the case of the cooking courses in which the tourists attended during their holidays. The data collection consists of comments from the tourists from different nationalities who visited Turkey and who shared their experiences connected to the participation in cooking courses in Istanbul. In total, 400 comments on five cooking courses in 2018–2019 were analyzed. The findings demonstrate that the tourists had an intense education and entertainment experience through the cooking courses. Moreover, although not as intense as the education and entertainment experience, some tourists were found to share their esthetics and escapism experiences. Consequently, Pine and Gilmore's experience dimensions have been validated for cooking courses. The study concludes that memorable experiences emerge and result in positive behavioral intentions.