Revista de investigación turística y hotelería

The Importance of Restaurant Physical Environment For Turkish Customers

Demet Tuzunkan and Asli Albayrak

The Importance of Restaurant Physical Environment For Turkish Customers

Abstract

This study empirically analyzes the degree of importance of a restaurant’s physical environmental elements for Turkish customers in Turkey and examines the relationship between restaurant physical environmental elements and customer characteristics. Five different types of restaurants were selected for the survey conducted in Istanbul, Turkey. Questionnaires were used to collect data from384 restaurant customers between December 2014 and March 2015. Factor analysis, t-test and ANOVA methods were used to analyze data. Study results indicate that effective factor groups regarding restaurant physical environment for Turkish customers in Istanbul are respectively service staff, facility aesthetics, layout, ambience, table setting and lighting. Furthermore, the study portrays that physical environmental factors differentiate depending on the demographic characteristics of customers.