Social sustainability and tourism: Antalya case

Developments in technology, economics, and ideology have increased mobility since the 1950s. Their impact on the field of tourism is particularly significant. Most of the travels since then have been for touristic purposes. Due to this, the tourism industry has grown rapidly and become a reasonable area of investment, especially for developing countries. While tourism has economic benefits, it can also have negative environmental and social effects. Accordingly, the conditions of the economy, environment and society have become important areas when studying tourism. Prior studies indicate that tourism is not economically efficient in countries with political problems or when it is limited to sea-sand-sun activities. Additionally, existing research asserts that uncontrolled growth in the tourism industry can physically impact the environment and the condition of local areas. Since the 1980s, economic efficiency, environmental sensitivity and social concerns have become the focus of tourism studies. The concept of sustainability became an important tool for measuring the societal impact of developments in tourism. Tourism activities in Turkey began in the 1970s, but the industry really started to develop in the 1980s after "the Tourism Incentive Law" was published. Antalya, became the fastest growing city in terms of tourism. Today, one out of three tourists visiting Turkey are hosted in Antalya. Although the expansion of the industry was planned, tourism in Antalya grew faster then anticipated. Therefore, the use of space was impacted. Previous tourism studies on Antalya have focused on tourism's economic, environmental and social impacts. However, these studies are mostly industry-oriented. Comprehensive studies are also absent in the literature. Social sustainability is a useful tool to measure tourism's social impact without neglecting its economic and environmental dimensions. In this study, tourism developments in Antalya are measured in terms of social sustainability. Tourism developments, plannings, press releases, statistics, and existing literature are used as data for the study. The first chapter of the study is about the development of tourism in Antalya; the second chapter defines social sustainability; and the last chapter evaluates the case area, analyzing Antalya through the lens of social sustainability. The study's findings show that developments in the tourism industry are profit-oriented, while social sustainability is neglected within the sector.