The effect of marinascape (marina servicescape) on hedonic value perception of yacht tourists: The case of marinas in Marmaris

Yacht tourism, which has become a symbol of luxury tourism activities, remains to be at the top of the agenda in recent years with the economic value it generates and the rapid growth rate. The aim of this research related to yacht tourism is to reveal the influence of the marinascape (marina servicescape) on hedonism through measuring the marinascape and the hedonic value perceptions of yacht tourists visiting marinas. In this research, data collection process has been completed with the participation of foreign yacht tourists visiting the marinas in Marmaris to the questionnaire and the collected data is analyzed by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) which is one of the most useful multivariate analyses technique. The findings of this research show that while the "social environment" and "aesthetic" sub-dimensions of the marinascape have a significant and positive effect on the hedonic value perceptions of foreign yacht tourists, there is no statistically significant effect of the remaining ones (ambiance and layout) on hedonic value. In fact, it has been found out that the effect size of the social environment factor on hedonic value is greater than the aesthetic factor. Besides these, it is also investigated whether the latent variables differed according to the demographics of the participants. In line with the findings of this research, recommendations are made to both the researchers who will study on this issue in the future and the practitioners.