A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE PERCEPTIONS OF RESIDENTS’ TOWARD TOURISM IMPACT: THE CASE OF ALANYA AND SAPANCA

Studies on the perceptions of the residents’ toward tourism impacts, which are an important reference source to be taken into consideration in the decision-making process by the destination management organizations, continue to maintain its academic significance. In the current study, the perceptions of the residents’ of Alanya and Sapanca regarding the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism are compared. The analysis of 150 data collected from both regions (300 in total) indicated that residents had different perceptions at some points. It has been determined that these differences are due to education levels of participants. The biggest difference in the perception of the tourism impacts has been the environmental impact of tourism. In the direction of the obtained results, some suggestions have been developed to the parties concerned about destination management