Comparison of Turkish and European Union tourism policies

The tourism sector plays an important role in the cultural, social, political and economic development of countries. It is an important sector that is seen as a solution source especially against the economic problems of countries. Therefore, countries set targets within the scope of tourism policies in order to get the largest share from the tourism sector. Tourism policies are plans and strategies determined by governments in cooperation with the stakeholders in the sector. The largest share in international tourism movements and total tourism income is in the European continent. In the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 2021 statistics, a significant 78% of tourism arrivals were made to Europe. The European Union, which is the most important and guiding power of the European continent, has an important role in determining innovations in tourism, as well as in many economic areas, and managing the tourism sector with its member countries. Turkey's relations with the European Union and the fact that the European continent constitutes a significant part of the tourism market necessitate the European Union to closely follow its approaches to tourism. Turkey's desire to become a member of the European Union and the fact that a significant part of the country's tourism market originates from Europe makes the European Union's approach to tourism important for Turkish tourism. In this direction, the study aims to compare the tourism policies of the European Union and member countries and Turkey, and to compare the tourism policies of France, Spain and Italy, which are the main competitors of Turkey, with the tourism policies of Turkey within the framework of the statistics of the World Tourism Organization. In line with the purpose of the study, document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. In accordance with the subject of the research, a systematic literature review was conducted on the policies of the countries in question. As a result of the study, although the tourism policies of the European Union and its member countries and Turkey are largely similar, it has been seen that there are some differences in terms of implementation. Therefore, the points where Turkey is insufficient against its rivals have been determined and suggestions have been presented to policy makers in Turkey.