An evaluation on the effect of security on the country's tourism image and the role of social media: The case of Turkey

The tourism industry is an important sector for many countries and its social, cultural and economic contribution is quite large. Modernization, increasing quality of life, people's desire to spend their free time, rest and explore have increased the interest in tourism activities. Countries that focus on tourism are also making efforts to make their own destinations attractive. In addition, creating safe and peaceful tourism destinations and ensuring that tourists who visit the destination share their experiences on social media platforms and obtain information about the country are important guides. The purpose of this research is to address the relationship between security and image in the context of social media and to reveal the effects of these platforms on the tourism sector. The importance of the research is important in terms of revealing the role of security in the context of social media for tourists who will visit tourism destinations in terms of the country's tourism image. Semi-structured interview technique method was used in line with the purpose of the research. Data were collected by applying the interview technique as a result of questions prepared based on the subject content. The data obtained in the research were interpreted with content and descriptive analysis technique. Within the scope of content analysis, security, image and social media themes were created. Sub-dimension themes were added to the main themes. The study group consists of 20 participants in total, foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The content of the interview questions includes questions about the demographic status of the participants, security perception, country tourism image and social media. In the light of the data obtained, the sub-dimension themes of public order, service security and security threat constitute the sub-dimension themes of security theme. The sub-dimension themes of image perception, experience quality and destination impression constitute the country tourism image theme. The social media theme emerged as two sub-dimension themes as social media frequency and impact. According to the analysis results of the research, the participants generally stated that it is necessary to make plans for tourism destinations before, during and after people visit them, the security element is mostly prioritized, social media has an important place in countries' tourism destinations, and as a result of the experiences, this situation will be effective in tourists' preferences and will contribute to countries' creation of their own unique image.