The influence of slow city (Cittaslow) on tourist behavior and local people's perceptions of urban quality of life

ABSTRACTDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)The Influence of Slow City (cıttaslow) on Tourist Behavior and Local People's Perceptions of Urban Quality of LifeYeşim COŞARDokuz Eylül UniversityGraduate School of Social SciencesDepartment of Tourism AdministrationTourism Administration ProgramThe impacts of globalisation process has been observed in the area of economical, cultural, political and social worldwide. With its coverage of all living environment, globalisation has led to creating new movements and responses. One of these is the movement of slow city that is based on the line of slow food promoted in 1989.There appears to be a close relationship between the concept of slow city and the tourism industry in respect of sustainable life and sustainable tourism. However, due to the lack of empirical studies focusing on such a relationship, the objectives of this study are to investigate how the concept of slow city is likely to 1) be regarded as a motivation of tourists? destination choice; 2) influence the personal experiences of tourists on a holiday; and 3) influence the local resindents? perceptions of urban quality of life. The study also tries to understand the perceived possible impacts of the operations of slow city movement over a particular city as a tourist destination.To accomplish these objectives, the study has followed the rule of qualitative research methods, namely conducted interviews among local residents, owners and managers of tourism establishments, domestic tourists, and the mayor, represented as a sample for four different categories and all based in Seferihisar, a village of Izmir. In lights of the assesment of qualitative data, the study revisits the list of the above-mentioned objectives and provides empirical evidence to understand the extend to which they are accomplished. As the concluding remarks, the study further provides both theoretical and practical implications.Keywords: Slow city (Cittaslow), sustainable tourism, destination management, urban quality of life, tourist behavior, local community.