TITLE:
Socio-Cultural Approaches to Tourism: A Research on the “Tourist” Notion of Young Turkish People
AUTHORS:
Ferika Özer Sari
KEYWORDS:
Tourism Sociology; Tourist; Young Turkish; Traditional Turkish Hospitality; Guest
JOURNAL NAME:
Sociology Mind,
Vol.2 No.2,
April
17,
2012
ABSTRACT: Significance of tourism sector in Turkey is constantly expanding. Correspondingly the importance of the economic and socio-cultural impact of tourism also continues to develop. Because tourism draws tourists get into closer contact with the locals it has positive and negative effects on the destination. In general the aim of tourists is satisfying their expectations at the maximum degree during their stay. On the other side locals who live and work in the destination region have a primary role in welcoming them and satisfying the tourists’ needs and expectation. Turkish society is particularly well known for many generations as being very hospitable. Current research aims to reveal whether the young Turkish people sustain traditional “Turkish Hospitality” and to see their thoughts about tourists. The field research has been conducted on students of a foundation university located in Izmir and these young people’s point of view on tourists has been investigated by face to face interviews. It has been concluded that there is a weakening trend, nevertheless the notion of hospitality remains.