Exploring Tourists’ Sensory Experiences in Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar Atmosphere

Abstract

Previous research on tourists’ sensory experiences has focused on the multi-sensory stimuli that had significant impacts. Such studies show the importance of the five senses for tourism, and thus various strategies can be implemented to design the most effective environments, develop rich sensory experiences, and implement touristic strategies. Given the importance of tourism for Turkey’s economy, this study aims to analyze the sensory experience of Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar. The method involves dividing the bazaar into seven different zones to analyze the sensory stimuli experienced by the participants in each zone. Through the sense-walking method, the participants gave verbal feedback about their experiences as they walked through the bazaar providing continuous feedback. By investigating the perception of the touristic atmosphere through the five senses, it was able to gain a deeper understanding of tourist sensory experiences within the bazaar. The results show that this method can be applied to new or similar touristic atmospheres to create sensory experience maps. It is envisaged that the methodology of this study will be applied to similar tourist atmospheres in the future, as it allows for sensory experience research in a variety of cultural and heritage sites to examine the tourist experience in depth. © 2023, Jomard Publishing. All rights reserved.