Chronic issues in destination management of Cappadocia: An analysis based on stakeholder theory

The active role of stakeholders in tourism is critical to understanding and solving the problems encountered in destination management. Cappadocia, one of Turkey's most important destinations, attracts worldwide attention with its history, nature, and rich cultural values. Maximizing the positive environmental, socio-cultural, and economic impacts of tourism while minimizing its negative effects depends on the region's sustainable destination management. In this context, the aim of this study is to identify the chronic problems in Cappadocia's destination management, the factors causing these problems to become chronic, and the stakeholders' proposed solutions to these problems. In this context, the literature review first addressed destination management, stakeholder theory, destination stakeholders, and problems encountered in destination management. Subsequently, the research design was developed to achieve the objectives of the study. This study was designed as exploratory in terms of its purpose, qualitative in terms of its method, and as a case study approach in terms of its research design. The data for the study were obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted using face-to-face and online contact methods with 15 participants selected from among the destination stakeholders of Central Cappadocia between April 2025 and June 2025. The collected data were subjected to descriptive and content analysis. According to the results obtained, destination stakeholders are generally dissatisfied with the destination management of Cappadocia. The chronic problems that stand out in Cappadocia tourism are transportation, insufficient tourism information, concentration of tourism in certain areas and times, failure to achieve a balance between conservation and use of resources, preference for ineffective marketing and promotion strategies, failure to adopt a sustainable tourism approach, and unplanned construction. According to the common view of stakeholders, the factor that contributes most to the chronic nature of the problems is the structure of the current destination management. Stakeholders emphasized that in order to solve these problems, a comprehensive destination management structure specific to Cappadocia should be established, and the media, press, associations, cooperatives, and non-governmental organizations should be further strengthened. The research results reveal an urgent need for structural and managerial reforms for the sustainability of Cappadocia tourism. In this regard, it is recommended that a comprehensive destination management model, suitable for the region's unique conditions and inclusive of all stakeholders, be implemented.