Touristic product sellers and tourist attitudes in Eastern Antalya Tourism Development Region

Antalya, with its natural and cultural geographic features and national and international recognition, welcomes millions of tourists from many countries around the world every year. The main objective of this study is to determine the attitudes of tourist product vendors in the Eastern Antalya Tourism Development Region (Kundu, Belek, Side) towards tourists and the attitudes of tourists towards the local vendors. Meeting the expectations of both the local vendors and tourists is crucial for the development of tourism activities in the region. The data obtained from the study will be extremely important for future tourism planning both nationally and internationally. The study covers tourist product vendors operating in Kundu, Belek, and Side districts, as well as tourists in the region. In the conducted study, a quantitative research method, namely survey, was used as the data collection tool. Separate surveys were prepared for merchants and tourists. The survey applied to tourists was translated into three languages, namely English, German, and Russian. The data obtained from the survey were analyzed using analysis methods such as percentage, frequency, T-Test, and ANOVA with the SPSS program. To determine the attitude of merchants towards tourism and tourists, a survey consisting of 39 items and prepared using a five-point Likert Scale was applied to 364 people who agreed to participate in the study between June-October 2022. Similarly, to determine the attitude of tourists towards merchants, a survey consisting of 35 items and prepared using a five-point Likert Scale was applied to 305 people who agreed to participate in the study between June-October 2022. It has been observed that in Antalya, the merchants are friendly towards tourists and show respect to everyone regardless of their nationality, and communication between them is good. The local merchants also believe that tourists contribute to the revitalization of the local economy. However, research has shown that tourists also contribute to the high cost of living in the region and increase social standards. Tourists who visit Antalya perceive the local merchants as friendly, are satisfied with the quality of service in Antalya, and find the research area safe. The uncertainty of whether the local merchants in the region sell original products or not is also among the findings.