Authenticity and Tourist Satisfaction in Istanbul's Local Restaurants: The Role of Perceived Value and Food Involvement

Local restaurants serving authentic cuisine play a central role in shaping tourists' overall destination experience. This study examines the influence of restaurant authenticity on tourist satisfaction in Istanbul's local restaurants. Furthermore, it empirically evaluates the mediating role of perceived value and the moderating effect of food involvement within this relationship. Drawing on the gastronomy tourism and consumer behavior literature, a conceptual model comprising six hypotheses was developed. Research data were collected from 410 tourists visiting local restaurants in Istanbul using the convenience sampling method and a face-to-face survey technique in and around Sultanahmet Square, where tourist density in the city is highest. The measurement instruments were adapted from previously validated scales in the literature. The gathered data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with a bootstrapping procedure to examine the direct, mediating, and moderating effects among the variables. The analysis results reveal that restaurant authenticity does not directly affect customer satisfaction; however, it exerts a full mediating effect on satisfaction through perceived value. Furthermore, it was determined that food involvement significantly strengthens the relationship between authenticity and perceived value, whereas it does not alter the process from perceived value to satisfaction. In other words, authentic attributes contribute to satisfaction only when tourists perceive them as a source of value, and this value-creation process is more pronounced among tourists who attach greater importance to food. These findings offer theoretical contributions to the gastronomy tourism literature and provide practical implications for restaurant managers and destination marketers, suggesting that authenticity should be communicated as a value proposition through storytelling, menu design, and service quality, particularly to food-involved tourist segments.