The role of climatic elements in public tendency towards alternative tourism: a sample of Turkey

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an apparent alteration in tourists’ destination preferences. The reasons for this are, of course, very diverse. Due to discomforting environment of the coastal regions, people may prefer to spend their holidays in bioclimatologically more comfortable areas, such as mountain or plateau resorts. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of climate and weather on tourism and recreational activities via a questionnaire survey in the city of Erzurum, Turkey. It was found that although people who participated the survey live in a city, which is a well-known winter sports center and where extreme climatic features in winter are prevalent and have to experience, at least, an eight-month cold period (from late October to late May), they would still prefer summer season for recreation and tourism even if they were given full year recreation opportunities. This condition was thought to result from the lack of efficient winter recreation facilities and it was suggested that this kind of facilities should be constructed.