Gökçe Özdemir

Event and network management: application of EFQM for tourist destinations

Given the importance of event organisations within a specific tourism destination, the main objective of this paper is to introduce the 2005 Universiade Summer Games held in Izmir, Turkey, as a case study, which will be assessed from various perspectives in the context of event and network management. Primary data collection was based on a face to face interview and a telephone conversation carried out among those people taking a direct responsibility in this organisation. The expected consequent benefit would lead to the promotion of destinations both at the local and national levels.

Exploring dimensions of slow tourism motivation

Abstract Today, the tourism industry has altered from a steady structure to a dynamic one in order to match the emerging needs, wants and demands of tourists. Given this, understanding the motivations of tourists is key to designing better products and services. Motivation is closely linked to satisfaction, and is a crucial ingredient in terms of understanding visitors’ decision-making processes. Thus, destination marketers need to understand what motivates people to choose slow tourism, as well what segments are interested in that specific type of tourism. Examining slow tourists, this study identified seven tourist motivation factors thereof. In terms of push factors, “Relaxation”, “Self-reflection & Discovery”, “Escape”, “Novelty-seeking”, “Environmental Concern” and “Social Interaction” were identified, along with “Engagement” as a pull factor.

IMC Strategies of Festivals in Destination Branding

Festivals are considered as short-term but major attractions by destination marketers. Integrated marketing communications of festivals will be assessed in this study based on the nature of festivals in terms of destination branding. Since destination branding is a common practice to promote the destination’s history, lifestyle, and culture; festivals are used to create such a reputation by destination marketers. Destination branding is a strategic instrument to publicize a destination’s competitive advantages. Therefore, in this paper, integrated marketing communication strategies of festivals are evaluated that reinforce the branding of destinations through multimethod analysis.

Festivals as a Short-Duration Tourism Attraction in Turkey

Festivals are attractions that offer unique experiences to the attendees and provide many benefits for the host destination. In certain situations, festivals may be considered as the core attractions of a destination; however, most of the time, they are referred as short-duration attractions owing to the extent and length of a particular event. Efforts on components such as the program and activities enhance the overall quality of the event and help create an outstanding festival. Festivals can also play an important role in destination marketing. Marketing of festivals to create a favorable image in terms of destination branding is quite a new phenomenon. To highlight a specific place, public or private tourism organizations in most destinations may organize festivals with themes of culture, arts, film, music, cuisine, and so forth.

Reflections of Destinations on Social Media

Competitive environment enhanced the importance of tourist destination marketing recently. Developments in technology such as Internet and social media enable tourists to increase their knowledge about destinations more easily which creates a challenge for destination marketers. Social media has grown rapidly and started to play an increasingly crucial role in destination marketing. This study examines how social media platforms affect the destinations in terms of promotion and marketing in a case of Instagram. In this study, the researchers evaluated the Tourism Calgary’s official Instagram account followed by 2,814 people with 338 posts of photos. The photographs were analyzed according to their contents and were categorized into 13 different themes. As such, this study provides opportunities to understand growing importance of social media and the tips to create an effective social media account for practitioners in terms of effective destination marketing to maintain the interest of users.

Hizmet İşletmelerinde İçsel Pazarlama Yaklaşımı

Icsel pazarlama uygulamalari, ozellikle hizmet isletmelerinin gun gectikce daha fazla onem verdigi ve uygulamaya koydugu bir yaklasim olarak dikkati cekmektedir. Hizmet isletmelerinde personel ve musteri arasindaki iliski ve iletisimin gucu isletmenin performans ciktilarini da olumlu yonde etkiledigi icin, isletmeler calisanlari ile olan iliskilerini gelistirme cabalarina ozen gostermektedir. Pek cok arastirma, icsel pazarlamanin isyerine bagliligi, guveni ve memnuniyeti arttirdigi dolayisiyla personelde yaratilan bu etkinin daha iyi bir hizmet sunumuna ve yuksek musteri memnuniyetine aracilik ettigini ortaya koymaktadir. Bu nedenle, rekabetin yogun ve hizmetleri farklilastirmanin zor oldugu gunumuzde icsel pazarlama araciligi ile personele yapilan yatirimlarin geri donusu basari getirmektedir. Icsel pazarlamanin bankalar, hastaneler, havayolu isletmeleri, oteller ve seyahat acentalari gibi farkli hizmet alanlarindaki uygulamalari ise gittikce yayginlasmaktadir. Bu calisma, hizmet isletmelerinde kalite artisina ve musteri memnuniyetine neden olan icsel iletisimi ve guclu bir orgut kulturunu temel alan icsel pazarlama kavramina aciklik getirmek ve onemi uzerine degerlendirmeler yapmayi amaclamaktadir.

OWL Ontology Development for Destination Marketing

Internet, as a marketing medium in the tourism industry, is a very valuable destination marketing tool. Different tourism authorities and organizations serve as marketing and service providers. They benefit from the use of Internet within the concept of marketing efforts. A new technology, Semantic Web, brought incremental changes by bringing machine-readable descriptions to current web interfaces of these organizations. This paper provides necessary framework for the applicability of Semantic Web technology on Destination Marketing. It creates a methodology on how web pages are created and analyzed with the value-added tourism marketing purposes. Semantic Web technology achieves such interoperability by referring to ontology models. The ontology presented here determines the value of this integration in destination marketing organizations.

Oludeniz Lagoon – Fethiye

Fethiye, ancient Telmessos, is the most important city of ancient Lycia; its exact date of establishment cannot be ascertained as yet (Aygen, 1988). However, the double “ss” in the last syllable of the name suggests that it was a local name (Aksit, 1984). The bay, which is well protected by an island, was especially important to navigation in ancient times and the city’s location in a 30 km. square fertile plain, bordered by Caria in the north, was of equal importance (Onen, 1984). Fethiye is considered to be one of the most stunning tourist destinations of Turkey and Oludeniz is a well-known place with its outstanding panoramic view and natural resources.