Second home tourists' shopping behaviour based on acculturation strategies: Case of Alanya

Although Alanya is a district town, it is one of the most important destinations in Turkey in the field of second home tourism. The aim of the study is to examine the acculturation process of international second home tourists when they are under the influence of the Turkish culture. It is the first study to apply a holistic approach that covers the acculturation process in the field of tourism, although it examines a subject that has not been studied much in the tourism literature. In addition to the acculturation, the way the acculturation strategies preferred by second home tourists in the Turkish cultural environment affect their shopping behavior has been examined. Quantitative research methods were used in the research. The population of the study was determined as international residential tourists using second houses sold to foreigners within the borders of the district of Alanya. However, since there is no statistical data covering the population, the sample was determined by using the stratified sampling method on the number of houses sold to foreigners in Alanya. The three-part questionnaire was translated into 5 languages and was collected between May and August 2022 using the snowball sampling method. Some of the surveys were collected online using e-mail, social media and WhatsApp application. Theother part consisted of printed questionnaires that were collected from businesses where foreigners are concentrated. Factor analysis, Chi-square test, correlation analysis and one-way ANOVA test were used in the analysis of eight groups of hypotheses stated in the study. According to the results obtained, it is seen that the second home tourism does not consist mostly of the movement of the elderly and retirees in its full scope. The most frequently preferred acculturation strategy by second home tourists is integration, less often assimilation and marginalization. It has been observed that demographic information, number of holidays per year, relationship with second home, reasons for prefering a second home, personality traits, view and knowledge of the Turkish culture, and type of contact have an effect on the preferred acculturation strategy. In addition, a high level of interest in the Turkish culture and high satisfaction level of second home tourists with their life in Alanya were found. There was no difference between acculturation strategies in shopping motivation. Local and Turkish products, brands and stores are preferred in shopping behavior, and it has been observed that there is a significant difference between the acculturation strategies based on the preference for international products, brands and stores or those known from their own country.