An analytical approach to the destination and touristic product preferences of motorcycle tourists within the scope of special interest tourism: The case of Türkiye

Traveling by motorcycle has become an important type of tourism in recent years, which has an increasing impact and in terms of the number of participants and the expenditure potential it creates. In this respect, motorcycle tourism has a great importance to provide the desired product variety in tourism. Thanks to the freedom of movement offered by the motorcycle, there is the opportunity to explore the natural beauties, historical and cultural riches of the places traveled more deeply. Motorcycle tourism also contributes to local economies. For this reason, motorcycle tourism both provides an experience that provides individual satisfaction and contributes to the sustainable development of touristic destinations. The main purpose of this research, which was carried out in Tükiye within the scope of special interest tourism, is to understand the travel trends and preferences of motorcycle tourists, to evaluate the seven regions of Türkiye according to their destination characteristics and to contribute to touristic product development strategies. In this study, which was carried out using the quantitative research method, a questionnaire was applied to 805+89 motorcycle tourists by using the snowball sampling technique, which is one of the non-probability sampling techniques. The data obtained has been evaluated with an analytical approach and presents important findings regarding the destination preferences and touristic product preferences of motorcycle tourists. This study provides important contributions to understand the destination and touristic product preferences of motorcycle tourists in Türkiye and to evaluate the potential of motorcycle tourism. It also provides an example where similar analytical approaches can be used for other destinations operating in the field of special interest tourism.