From Taste Diplomacy to Value-Added Exports: The New Economic Trajectory of Gastronomy

The diplomatic corridors of the NATO Summit served as a stage for the transformation of Turkey's gastronomic potential into a strategic economic instrument. This approach, moving beyond traditional diplomatic hosting, is accelerating the process of converting cultural heritage into financial value.

Redefining Gastronomy as a Service Export

Hediye Güral Gür, Board Member of the Service Exporters Association (HİB) and Chair of the Tourism, Travel, and Gastronomy Services Committee, stated that gastronomy is no longer merely a supporting element for tourism in Turkey. The evolution of the sector has allowed gastronomy to be positioned as a direct, high-value-added service export field.

The economic impacts of this transition are centered on the following axes:

■The shift from a tourism support element to an independent, high-yield economic value.

■The role of global diplomatic platforms in boosting national brand equity and triggering service exports.

■The potential of gastronomy-focused high-value services to contribute positively to the current account balance.

Converting soft power assets like gastronomy into a financial export model creates an indirect but sustainable positive impact on the current account balance. From a banking perspective, the growth of such niche service sectors necessitates the development of more specific and lower-risk credit models for SME financing; as value-added increases, the financial resilience of the sector also rises.