The socio-cultural determinants of tourism: the case of Turkey

Purpose - The study aims to determine the socio-cultural variables that affect Turkey's tourism demand. The study proposes how important socio-cultural determinants as well as economic determinants affect tourism demand. Design/methodology/approach - The study examined a sample of 19 countries sending the most visitors to Turkey between 1996 and 2017 by using panel unit root, panel cointegration tests and cointegration estimator methods. The data set consists of variables such as GDP per capita (lnGDPP), total population number (lnPOP), urbanization level, information and communication technology (lnICT), human development index (lnHDI), education level and death rates (lnDTH). Findings - The findings from the analysis provide evidence that the variables in the models show the expected effects on tourism demand. The findings show that apart from economic variables, socio-cultural variables also have an important effect on tourism demand. Research limitations/implications - The socio-cultural models used in the study were created using variables that can be quantified. The study results are valid for the countries included in the analysis. Practical implications - The findings of this study will contribute to policymakers in determining the market for Turkish tourism. The results show that the policies to be prepared by considering the socio-cultural characteristics of countries can increase the tourism demand. Originality/value - The study is significant in that it focuses on socio-cultural variables rather than economic variables commonly used in the literature. The study is original in terms of both the study sample and the model and considers cross-sectional dependency (CD) and homogeneity.