A conceptual evaluation: Agro-tourism

This study was carried out in order to determine what exactly the concept of agro-tourism corresponds to and to analyze the complexity of the concept. In order to reach the goal, the Word Association Test (KIT), which was used in previous studies of this type, was prepared. In the Word Association Test (KIT), which was approved by the ethics committee of İskenderun Technical University, the keywords "rural tourism, agricultural tourism and agro tourism" were written five times under each other. Participants were asked to write down the words that the keywords evoked in their minds within 30 seconds and to form a sentence about each keyword. In addition, the demographic characteristics of the participants in the Word Association Test (KIT) were also included. In the study, which adopted a qualitative research design, deliberate sampling technique was used for the purpose. In this direction, were asked to fill in between 04-14 May 2021, the Vocabulary Association Test (KIT) form was given to the academicians working at Gaziantep University, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, İskenderun Technical University, Mersin University and Osmaniye Korkutata University tourism faculties, colleges and vocational schools by e-mail and interview. 21 participants participated in study. Then, frequency charts and concept network map were created according to the answers given by the participants to the concepts of rural tourism, agricultural tourism and agro-tourism. As a result of the research, it has been determined that agro-tourism and agricultural tourism meet the same meanings and they are a sub-branch of rural tourism. In addition, the Turkish equivalent of the concept of agro-tourism in the international literature meets the concept of "agricultural tourism".