The Thermal Spring Tourism in Turkey and Problems (contemporary issue)

Thermal Spring Tourism in Turkey

An Assessment of Issues

In a span of two decades , tourism in Turkey has increased ten-fold , a clear testament to the extent of the tourism potential of the country According to the Turkish Statistical Institute , by the end of 2009 the country had welcomed a record 32 million visitors with tourism income reaching a staggering 2 billion . The World Travel Tourism Council predicts that in the next decade tourist influx would reach a 5 .9 growth , estimating a tourism income of 125 billion Turkish lira by the

br end of 2020 (World Travel Tourism Council 2010 . Most of these tourists come to Turkey to experience the many historical and natural attractions that this popular Mediterranean nation has to offer , but in recent years given the increasing number of affiliations with European and American medical facilities , Turkey has become a hotspot for medical tourism , focusing primarily on the country 's abundant thermal springs Turkey could easily be the world leader in medical tourism but lacklustre management and the slow development of these amenities prove a problem for the further expansion of this industry . According to a recent study , only 5 of the 1500 hot springs are currently being used for tourist and medical purposes (Oguz , Kulekci , Akpinar 2010 ,

. 820 There is also a minimal effort to market these potential tourist attractions to a greater extent . With this in mind , the aims to provide an overview of the marketing and management issues revolving around the development...