VISITORS’ PERCEPTION OF A TOURISM DESTINATION: THE CASE OF PAMUKKALE

Abstract

This study's goal is to examine perceptions of tourists visiting the destination Pamukkale (Denizli-Turkey). For this purpose, a field survey has been undertaken in Pamukkale as a thermal tourism center. Surveys were received from 515 participants, but 207 of them were not filled out as required for this survey; thus, the analysis was made of 308 survey forms. Following the analysis of demographic variables of tourists, an assessment was made about perceptions of visitors in the area. One way in which variance analysis was used was to research the effects of age, education, and income status on the visitor attitude regarding Pamukkale as a tourist destination. Research findings reveal that there are significant levels of differences regarding certain visitor attitudes in terms of age, education level, and income level.