CAN THE CULTURAL ROAD FESTIVAL CREATE CULTURAL INTERACTION EVIDENCE FROM ERZURUM

The aim of this study is to examine the event held in Erzurum of the Culture Road Festivals, which have been held in Turkey since 2021, in order to determine the level of creating cultural interaction. Unlike previous years, the Cultural Path Festivals are planned to be organized in 16 cities across Turkey in 2024 by increasing the number of events. In this context, it was aimed to determine how and to what extent the festival held in Erzurum created cultural interaction among the participants. In addition, this level was analyzed in detail in terms of demographic characteristics. Data were collected from 645 volunteer participants who participated in the Culture Road Festival via face-to-face surveys, and analyses were performed using the SPSS 20 package program Participants consider local products as the most basic indicator of society’s culture and are of the opinion that they should definitely be used to create cultural interaction through festivals in the formation and promotion of the destination’s image. This result can be evaluated as an indicator that cultural discovery visits create cultural interaction.