The role of cultural heritage elements in the destination image: A research on sema ceremonies

Since tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy, there are many studies to analyze and explain the whole phenomenon, its causes and effects. However, tourism research is not just about some economic indicators. Because beyond the tangible and statistical results, there are some influential factors that lead to these results. Some of these factors are the reasons and motivations that push people to travel. For this reason, the most important figure in tourism is undoubtedly the tourist. Tourists are people who research, analyze, buy, visit and give feedback on everything the tourism industry has to offer to meet their needs. In an ever-changing and evolving world, modern tourists are not just buying a room and food when deciding to travel. At the same time, since tourists are looking for a real experience, it is of great importance for industry stakeholders to ensure the success of this industry and keep up with new trends. Considering the fact that this experience is gained in a tourism destination, many researchers have tried to define both the touristic destination itself and other key aspects that any destination image must take into account in order to compete with other destinations. Destination image has a multidimensional structure that includes cognitive and affective aspects. The image of a place is the sum of the impressions, ideas and beliefs that a person has about that place. It is a positive or negative bias of tourists and distributors about the product or destination. In this context, the research was carried out by conducting in-depth interviews with 70 tourists who had experienced the sema ceremonies. 4 dimensions and 13 themes were created from the expressions in the analysis of the participant data. As a result of the findings, the role of the sema experience on the destination image was discussed.