Tourism

An Assessment of Issues
In a span of two decades, tourism in Turkey has increased ten-fold, a clear testament to the extent of the tourism potential of the country. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, by the end of 2009 the country had welcomed a record 32 million visitors with tourism income reaching a staggering  2 billion. The World Travel  Tourism Council predicts that in the next decade tourist influx would reach a 5.9 growth, estimating a tourism income of 125 billion Turkish lira by the end of 2020 (World Travel  Tourism Council 2010). Most of these tourists come to Turkey to experience the many historical and natural attractions that this popular Mediterranean nation has to offer, but in recent years given the increasing number of affiliations with European and American medical facilities, Turkey has become a hotspot for medical tourism, focusing primarily on the countrys abundant thermal springs. Turkey could easily be the world leader in medical tourism but lacklustre management and the slow development of these amenities prove a problem for the further expansion of this industry. According to a recent study, only 5 of the 1500 hot springs are currently being used for tourist and medical purposes (Oguz, Kulekci, Akpinar 2010, p. 820 ). There is also a minimal effort to market these potential tourist attractions to a greater extent. With this in mind, the paper aims to provide an overview of the marketing and management issues revolving around the development of these areas and provide possible solutions to this problem.

In a study done by Dicle Oguz, Ozlem Candan Kulekci and Nevin Akpinar (2010, p. 820) for the Ankara University on the thermal springs of Cankiri Cavundur region, they found that despite the abundance of thermal springs in the area there has been minimal effort in promoting the springs as a tourist and medical site. Based on their survey results, 61.5 of the locals in the area are not aware of the Cavundur Thermal Resort, the only thermal resort in the area. They also found that the tourists of the area prefer going to the plateaus (44.3) and picnicking (36.7) than heading to the resort and experiencing the springs (26.6) (p. 822).  The group concluded that this ignorance and deviation to other recreations activities could be attributed to poor marketing, inadequate technical infrastructure, and limited equipment capacity (p. 824). The survey respondents who are knowledgeable of the area complain that there is a lack of information dissemination, while those who have visited the area saw the minimal tourist arrival as caused by the below-standard facilities of the resort (p. 824). Though the area can still attract tourists among the Turkish tourists, the greater potential of foreign market remains untapped.

Another statistical study by Alper Aslan, Ferit Kula, Muhittin Kaplan (2009, pp. 65-73) reinforces the conclusion that there is a weak marketing plan  for the exposure of Turkish thermal springs and general Turkish attractions to foreign tourists. Using panel data estimation of tourism statistic for a period of ten years, they discovered that the primary marketing strategy of word-of-mouth is not at its most effective in terms of bringing in tourists to Turkey. The value of the adjustment coefficient (72) gives evidence of a rather low adjustment process between the actual variation of the demand for tourism and the desired long-run level (Aslan, Kula and Kaplan 2009, p. 71). This results shows that there is not steady influx of tourists to Turkey, signalling a need for more persistent marketing strategy that will broaden the tourist market instead of relying on a the usual clientele.

Perhaps to broaden this market sphere, we should consider the current global tourist situation. In recent years, tourists have come to spend even more on their vacations following the growing trend of decreasing transportation and accommodations costs. Statistics in recent years also show the growing importance of adventure and medical tourisms that is reflective of this generations leaning towards healthy endeavours. Together, these two trends affect the shift from traditional thermalism towards a more modern, complete health and recreation tourism. Now, instead of catering only for sick and older individuals, health and spa tourism have come to attract the tired, moneyed yuppie generation who seek far modern and complete amenities (Radnic, Gracan, and Fister 2008, pp. 74). With this in mind, we can generally assess that most of the Turkish thermal spa facilities cannot cater to the more modern tastes of this important market.

When marketing for the global tourist, as G.J. Ashworth and H. Voogd mentions in their essay Marketing of Tourism Places What Are We Doing (1994, pp. 5-20), the tourist location should be addressed not merely as a destination but also as the end-product itself. They say that we should address the tourist destination as the tourist product, the stage or assembly area of other products unique to that site, and a product in itself (p. 7). This idea is further explained through the concept of a packaged selection, wherein the other aspects of the destination, like medical attention, can also be included to further define the appeal of the tourist spot (p. 7). Put in the context of the thermal spring tourism issue previously discussed, health tourism in Turkey should be marketed as a package, along with other important attractions in the country. For example, when promoting the thermal sites in the Cankiri region, as discussed earlier, other alternative attractions and activities should also be promoted to create a more holistic travel package that is more appealing to current market. Of course, there should still be a continued effort to improve resort facilities including its immediate community, followed by an aggressive advertising and promotional endeavour that would seek the assistance not just of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism but also of the tour operators, securing both the local and international market. These are just a few small steps towards promoting tourism in Turkey, but through more careful planning and the use of innovative marketing ideas, Turkey can gain the top spot as the leader in health tourism.