Destinasyon Pazarlaması: Afyonkarahisar Termal Turizm Örneği(Destination Marketing: The Case of Afyonkarahisar Thermal Tourism)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine thermal tourism supply and demand structure of Afyonkarahisar and to determine what kind of steps can be followed within the scope of destination marketing and management perspectives. Within this purpose, case study principles were adopted, and face-to-face interviews were carried out with 16 participants including managers of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, Provincial Directorate of Health, thermal hotels, municipality publicity office, and travel agencies. Moreover, data was collected via online form from 47 participants who are not able to conduct interview via face-to-face. The content and descriptive analyses indicate that Afyonkarahisar has become a significant thermal centre for domestic tourism; however, the province does not have an adequate share of the international thermal tourism demand. The content analysis revealed main themes as “product, physical evidence and processes”, “workforce in service marketing”, “competition and price”, “cooperation with stakeholders”, “promotional activities”, “local people and cultural structure” and “current and target market.” Recommendations are provided on these aspects to increase the province’s share of the international thermal tourism.

Keywords

• afyonkarahisar
• destination marketing
• thermal tourism
• marketing mix