A research in Istanbul on shopping behavior of foreign tourists

From past to present, people have been taking tourism trips and participating in various activities during these trips. Shopping, one of the tourist activities, has become an activity that attracts more and more attention. In particular, souvenir shopping, which tourists do for reasons such as rendering their memories immortal and remembering the destination of their trip, has started to become an important activity. Tourists' interest in souvenir shopping is an important issue in terms of diversifying and increasing tourism revenue. The study was conducted to investigate the souvenir shopping behavior of foreign tourists in the context of shopping behavior. To this end, the study aimed to determine what souvenirs foreign tourists buy when shopping, how often they make shopping, what factors play a role in souvenir selection, whether souvenir buying differs by demographic characteristics, what their buying motives are, and whether buying motives have an influence on souvenir buying. In the study, the survey method was preferred and 540 questionnaires were collected with the participation of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul. The theoretical part of the study is discussed under the titles of consumer behavior, tourist consumer behavior and tourist shopping behavior. As a result of the study, it was found that regional art and handicraft products such as carvings, jewelry, and glassware are the most preferred souvenir group. It was seen that participants are most likely to purchase souvenirs and that the most important factor in choosing the souvenir is the ease of carrying the product. It was understood that there is a statistically significant difference between the souvenir buying of foreign tourists and their socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, age, income, nationality, and profession. In the study of purchase motives, it was found that they can be divided into three dimensions: gift, souvenir, and evidence. In addition, the purchase motives were found to have a significant and positive influence on souvenir purchase behavior. It was seen that the subscales of purchase motivation that influence souvenir buying have a positive effect as evidence, gift, and souvenir, respectively.