The tourism support policies of the European Union and a case study on the perceptions of the major actors that influence the tourism policy in Turkey

The objective of this research is to explore the perceptions of the public and private sector representatives regarding the impacts of the tourism support policies of the European Union on the tourism industry in general and specifically on the accommodation enterprises; and to determine whether the discrepancy, if any, between the perceptions of these parties is statistically significant. Apart from comparing the tourism support policies of the European Union with the current policies and regulations applicable in Turkey or with the current practices applicable in other countries, this Dissertation elucidates the current policies and regulations in the tourism industry and notably focuses on measuring the perceptions of the related parties. For that purpose, a questionnaire survey has been conducted with the participation of the relevant staff of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the members of the tourism occupational organizations representing the managers of the accommodation enterprises directly involved in the industry. This questionnaire survey has been conducted with the participation of 393 persons; 308 of which are the representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism whereas 85 of which are from the occupational organizations of tourism representing the accommodation enterprises. The data obtained from the feedback provided by the respondents to the questionnaires, have been shown in explanatory tables; and the demographic characteristics of the respondents have been provided in consideration of frequency and proportion. Furthermore, depending on the results of the analyses, Mann Whitney U test has been employed to non-parametric independent variables which are not-normally distributed. Furthermore, p < 0,05 has been considered as the statistical significance of differentiation analyses in this study. The result of the research has revealed that the Ministry staff and the members of the occupational organizations of tourism think that the European Union tourism support policies will generally have a positive impact over the industry and accommodation enterprises. On the other hand, the study has shown that the members of the occupational organizations have a more positive perception regarding this issue. However, both groups have maintained a rather cautious approach with regard to the