Analysis of Asia Pacific tourism market in terms of Turkey

The tourism industry is a rapidly growing and developing industry all over the world. Along with this growth, the number of people traveling around the world is constantly increasing. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the number of people traveling worldwide has reached 1 billion 235 million people in 2016. The increase in the number of tourists is expected to continue throughout the world in the coming years, but it is estimated that there will be significant increases in the Asia Pacific region in particular. It is often said that Turkey needs alternative tourism markets. From this point of view, many countries in the Asia Pacific region are thought to be alternative tourism markets for Turkey. The main purpose of this research after this point of view is to determine the travel motivation of tourists from Asia Pacific countries and to explain influence of these motivations on satisfaction, recommendation and repeat intentions. In this context, ten Asia Pacific countries highlighted in terms of tourist potential are considered. The research consists of four chapters in general. In the first chapter, basic concepts related to tourism marketing and consumer behavior are explained. In the second chapter, international tourism demands are examined and the tourism market structures of Turkey and Istanbul as well as the factors affecting tourism demand are presented. In the third chapter of the study, the general characteristics of the Asia Pacific tourism market are outlined and then the basic socio-economic structures and tourism potentials of the ten selected countries are examined. In the fourth chapter, the method and findings of the field survey on the tourists from the related countries are included. As a result of the examination of the countries covered in the third part of the research in terms of tourism potential, it is understood that many countries are in the position of being one of the most important tourist markets for Turkey. As a result of the field survey, the dimensions of the tourist profile and the driving and attracting factors related to travel motivations are determined, and then the effects on the satisfaction, re-visit and intention of these dimensions were presented. Findings have shown that travel motivation is influential on tourists' satisfaction, intention to recommend and intention to visit again. It has been seen that the image of Turkey and Istanbul changed positively after the tourists traveled to Turkey, and the thoughts of tourists coming back and recommending are high. Keywords: Asia Pacific Tourism Market, Travel Motivations, Tourism Marketing,Tourism