The effect of voluntary tourism activities on creating city identity within the scope of niche market: The case of Kuşadası

This thesis study aims to determine the participation tendencies of local people living in Kuşadası in voluntourism, which is considered within the scope of a niche market. Voluntourism is realized when individuals engage in tourism and volunteering activities in the region they visit. Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to reveal the applicability of voluntourism activities in Kuşadası, a destination that stands out with coastal tourism and cruise tourism. It is thought that Kuşadası, a touristic destination, can be positioned differently from other destinations with voluntary tourism activities. In addition, in the study, Kuşadası's urban identity was determined and its suitability for voluntary tourism was evaluated. In the study, the tendency of local people living in Kuşadası to participate in voluntary tourism was measured using the survey technique from quantitative research methods. A total of 392 questionnaire forms were obtained through the convenience sampling method. The data and hypotheses were used to analyze frequency Analysis, Spearman Correlation Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Independent Samples t-test, ONE-WAY ANOVA Test, and Regression Analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the motivation to participate in voluntourism differs according to educational status, the motivation to participate in voluntourism affects attitude, the city identity varies according to the year of living in Kuşadası, 69.1% (F=271) of the local people living in Kuşadası want to participate in voluntourism activities. The details of the analyses and the recommendations related to the research are given in detail at the end of the thesis.