Roots tourism: A research on Syriacs of Mardin

In recent years, roots tourism is one of the most important tourism types in the tourism industry. In order to contribute to the understanding of roots tourism, which is also an important niche market, demographic characteristics, travel habits and travel motivations of the Syriacs visiting Mardin were investigated. In this research 405 questionnaires were conducted to Syriacs visiting Mardin; half of whom were male and the majority were young. The majority of the Syriacs roots tourists from Mardin have been living in European countries and have an average of 10 days visits to Mardin. Syriacs, who visit Mardin individually generally prefer to stay home of their acquaintances while some of them prefer to stay in a hotel or monastery. According to results the travel motivations of the Syriacs visiting to Mardin can be examined under three headings as religion and origin, family ties and rest and exploration. Research reveal that the young generation was curious about their origins and carried out these trips in order to protect their ties with their cultural identities. It has been determined that the Syriacs who lived in Mardin and migrated a long time ago were more interested in experiencing nostalgia, visiting their family and friends and resting. Although Mardin and all the feelings about it is very special to Syriac participants, there are few Assyrians who want to make a definite return to Mardin.