Applications for tourism to be a leading sector in Turkish economy: A study on opinions of national stakeholder

The purpose of this study is attempted to determine the current position of tourism in Turkish economy and to get national tourism stakeholders' opinions about the obstacles to tourism sector in Turkey and the applications that can overcome these obstacles. For this purpose, the data was obtained from 13 tourism stakeholders through in-depth interview technique using purposeful sampling method and this data were analyzed with inductive content analysis. In this study, firstly, the development of tourism in the world and in Turkey were discussed. Afterwards, the characteristics and effects of the tourism sector were examined and information about economic indicators of tourism sector in Turkey -the amount of tourism revenue and tourism expenditure; the contribution of the tourism sector to gross domestic product, employment and balance of payments- were given. Finally, the opinions of the national tourism stakeholders regarding the current situation of Turkish tourism, the obstacles to tourism sector in Turkey and the applications that need to be implemented for the development of tourism in Turkey were included. As a result of the study, it has been determined that it has been necessary to make the promotion and marketing activities suitable for the information age and for the target markets, to focus on regional and thematic promotion, to carry out image building studies professionally, to concentrate on domestic tourism, to focus on young tourists and third-age tourists, European/Western tourists, Far Eastern tourists, cultural tourists and religious travel tourists while protecting mass tourists, to move away from the all-inclusive system, and to concentrate on gastronomy, culture, art, city, nature, congress, cruise, sports and health tourism. Keywords: The Current Situation of Turkish Tourism, The Problems of Turkish Tourism, Solutions and Applications for Turkish Tourism, Turkey.