Degrowth as an alternative approach in tourism: The case of Antalya province

Different approaches have come to the forefront in the prevention of crises in tourism, in reducing their effects and in ensuring post-crisis recovery. Approaches such as sustainability and resilience have created certain theoretical infrastructures but have been inadequate in practice; the focus of neoliberal policies on growth and the excessive consumption of resources by the capitalist system have increased the need for alternative approaches. The aim of the research is to bring the "degrowth" approach, which is increasingly important in different areas, to the field of tourism, to open up discussions on the development process of Turkish tourism based on continuous growth in the example of Antalya, to open a corridor for thinking about qualitative development instead of quantitative growth in Antalya tourism, which has reached a certain level of development in terms of supply and demand, and to examine the negative effects of unlimited growth and excessive tourism in tourism with the degrowth approach that restructures within the framework of responsible and fair tourism. In line with this purpose, Antalya province, which best represents Turkish tourism and has reached a certain level in terms of tourism development, was selected as the study area. In the study, the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used because it allows for all aspects of the dominant approaches to crises and the effects of problems arising from growth; and to make in-depth descriptions by conducting observation, interview and document research. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 participants in management positions in the field of tourism, and the findings were supported by literature and reports from public institutions. According to the findings; it was concluded that tourism in Antalya has reached a sufficient level in terms of quantity, but economic, social, environmental and spatial problems due to continuous growth have increased, therefore, instead of growth-based policies and practices implemented in the past years, policies, plans and projects aimed at different approaches should be discussed, and it is time for central and local administrators, civil society organizations, local society and academic circles to consider different alternative approaches, even if they are difficult to accept.