Public governance in tourism in Çorum: Development, problems, and future potential

Tourism influences around fifty sub-sectors and it is affected by economy, politics, security, climate, health, and other factors and conditions. Many actors and processes participate in managing this multi-factor and multidimensional tourism phenomenon. Although the methods and models applied for tourism management are different, the governance approach is adopted today. In Turkey, relevant laws, development plans, and strategy documents have been made suitable for public governance in tourism. However, since 2006, no organization has taken place in many provinces. Field research was applied for the thesis in Çorum. The first chapter of this study explains the concepts of governance, destination management, tourism governance, and public governance in tourism. In the second chapter, the development, legal status, and application examples of tourism management and public governance in tourism in Turkey were explained comprehensively and in detail. In the third chapter, Çorum tourism is introduced. The fourth chapter investigates the situation of Çorum tourism, its management, governance status, and the willingness of the actors for tourism governance by semistructured interviews. The findings obtained by interviewing 63 participants from different segments are interpreted. In the fifth chapter, a tourism union model that will provide organization and administration for Çorum tourism within the framework of public governance principles has been proposed. The draft charter of this union is given in the appendix. Although assets of tourism in Çorum are very rich, the number of tourists is insufficient. The efforts of each actor on their own are limited for the development of tourism and the increase in the number of tourists in Çorum. Therefore, there is a complete consensus of opinion and will of the actors for the implementation of public governance in Çorum tourism. Keywords: Governance, public governance, destination management, Çorum, tourism union.