The effect of destination image on tourism potential: Patara example

Tourism is a sector that contributes to the economies of countries and is effective in making the name of the countries known around the world. The fact that this effect is positive is related to the tourism experience of the tourists coming to the country. After the visits of tourists, having a positive attitude towards the destination will increase the rate of recommending the destination by affecting the potential of returning to the countries. In this context, the effect of the destination image on the tourist is important. Tourism sector employees can see the deficiencies by doing scientific research on the destination image and make arrangements to eliminate these deficiencies. In this way, the tourist attraction potential of the destination will increase and it will contribute to the development of the countries. Patara has the ancient city and Turkey's second largest beach. In this study, the effect of the destination image of Patara on tourism potential was ivestigated. Patara creates an important potential in terms of tourism as it brings together both sea tourism and cultural tourism. After the study, the effect of sea tourism on cultural tourism was also examined. In this context, face-to-face survey technique was used as a data collection tool and a quantitative study was conducted. The data used in research consists of tourists coming to the ancient city of Patara and Patara sands. The sampling method is the convenience sampling method and in this direction, a questionnaire was applied to 386 people. The data were transferred to the SPSS 25 and the analysis results were interpreted. As a result of the analysis, the effect of the Patara destination image on the tourism potential was confirmed by the result of multiple regression analysis. It has been concluded that the image of the destination of Patara affects the tourism potential positively. As a result of the study, the tourists' purpose of coming to Patara and their views on Patara were revealed and the positive and negative aspects of this destination were determined, necessary recommendations have been made. Key Words: Destination Image, Tourism Potential, Patara