Determination of food neophobia levels of International Mersin Citrus Festival participants

Mersin Citrus Festival is considered the biggest festival of the province and is an international event held in Mersin every year. The festival aims to introduce citrus fruits, the most important agricultural product grown in Mersin. This study was carried out in order to determine the neophobia levels of attendees’ and to measure their attitudes towards new foods at the 7th International Mersin Citrus Festival. Answers to four research questions were sought in the study. The data were obtained through a survey on 1-3 November 2019, using the convenience sampling method. The obtained 152 usable questionnaires were subjected to statistical evaluations and analyzed. It has been determined that the neophobia level of the participants of Mersin Citrus Festival is “neutral”. In the study, it was determined that the most common expression of participants in Mersin Citrus Festival regarding their attitudes towards food was “I like to try the newly opened ethnic restaurants”. This study is limited to the determination of the neophobia levels of participants and their attitudes towards the different foods of Mersin Citrus Festival. When the literature is examined, the fact that there is no study on this subject for festival participants shows the originality of the study