A Non-Profit Online Marketplace Platform of Travel Agencies in Turkey: TURSAB Rota

Travel and tourism industry have been inevitably affected by the information and communication technologies. Almost all the components in this industry have experienced some serious changes, transformations and impacts. These alterations bring together some opportunities and challenges in its very nature. Consumer demand and consumer behaviour have also been subject to change. That’s why new online e-commerce applications and new business models came into the scene. Business to Business (B2B) sales platforms are one of the examples of this change. There exist some studies about the private sector profit oriented B2Bs in the literature. Nevertheless, there is no example in the field of non-profit basis associations. The basic objective of the current study is to introduce such an example in Turkey founded by TURSAB (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies). The legal fundamentals of TURSAB, the foundation process of Rota platform, the contents of Rota and the member travel agencies’ website integration types were examined in accordance with this purpose. The introductory texts and data of this preliminary research were provided from the team members working for Rota platform. The estimations of these team members are mainly the internationalization of the platform in due course and the extension of authentic tours

Precautions Taken Against the COVID-19 by Presidency of Religious Affairs in terms of Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage: The case of Turkey

The gathering of people in a concentrated manner within particular spaces / places has become a serious issue during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Mass gatherings of individuals seem to be investigated intensively by researchers both in these days and will be further in the forthcoming years. Religion-oriented gatherings are of great importance because they have spiritual motivation for the ones who practice them. For many participants, these gatherings are essential at least once in their life. As is seen from its very nature, religious motivation is one of the most potent subjects to be considered in terms of mass gatherings. Thus, as a useful example, the pilgrimage in Islam to Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia are the focus of this study. The international movements and gatherings stemming from religious motivation are a point of discussion in terms of the precautions which should be taken. Therefore, in this study, general information about these particular pilgrimages is provided, and the specific case of Turkey in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic is investigated within the scope of the precautions taken by the Turkish authorities. The study was designed to present the publicly announced precautions organised by the official response to Turkish pilgrims by the Presidency of Religious Affairs

How Visible Are Sacred Sites Online? : Availability of European sacred site websites

Sacred sites are places where the spiritual world meets the real world. Every culture in the world seeks to acclaim the mysterious, the divine, the martyred or the extraordinary. There are vast numbers of sacred places of prehistoric, historic and contemporary culture in the world. The internet has become a popular tool for gathering information about sacred sites as well as imagery and other required details related to the travel attraction of sacred sites. The internet sources possess an inevitable impact during the selection process of a sacred destination. This study aims to investigate the online background of sacred sites in Europe. Firstly, a list of sacred sites in Europe was prepared and then the online background of these sites was checked through the main web search engines. This study focuses on investigating the online status of sacred sites in Europe and it suggests avenues for tour operators, destination management actors and tourism stakeholders to improve the online presence of sacred sites in Europe

Battlefield Tourism: An Examination of Events Held by European Institutions and Their Websites Related to Battlefields

The wars that have taken place throughout the history of mankind have brought many deaths and devastation. Throughout history, visits have been realized to areas where battles have taken place. In our age of information technology with the developments experienced in communication technologies, many experiences have emerged that directed the members of societies to tourism movements. One of these experiences is tourism movements for battlefields. In this research, the battlefields that existed throughout history but which have begun to be discussed recently in the academic world have been explored. European institutions and their websites related to battlefields examined. Three institutions and their websites determined after the application of snowball sampling method. Firstly qualitative information related to three institutions examined and secondly quantitative information regard to events advertised in institutions’ web sites analyzed. Finally, some suggestions have been put forward about the tourism demand and its structure for these areas

Reflections of Hajj and Umrah Pilgrimage on Religious Stores in Mugla-Turkey

Islam’s Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages comprise two of the oldest forms of religious tourism. Hajj and Umrah have some specific features which come from the Holy Quran and thus, those individuals wanting to participate in the pilgrimages have a number of needs and requirements, both before and after their journey. Therefore, this study is intended to present a profile of religious stores based on a tourist’s origin and destination. It concentrates on a relatively less studied component of pilgrimage tourism, this being religious stores, which mainly cater for potential pilgrims of Hajj and Umrah. These stores provide a contribution to the local economy even though this contribution cannot be readily quantified. The research was undertaken in the province of Mugla, Turkey, this being a popular mass tourism destination. The chain referral method was used in making the sample. In total, seventeen religious stores were identified as the sample for study. Questionnaires and interviews were undertaken to aid the data collection process. Data obtained from the owners of the stores were analysed and highlighted

Percepciones y actitudes de la población local hacia el turismo cinematográfico en el contexto del apego al lugar: un estudio en la Provincia de Mugla, Turquía

Perceptions and Attitudes of Local People toward Film Induced Tourism within the Context of Place Attachment. A Study in Mugla Province, Turkey. The study was conducted in Mugla province of Turkey, which have been famous thanks to various movies, TV series and documentaries. The movie which was directed by Russell Crowe "Water Diviner" filmed in Mugla province as an international production. The aim of this research is to examine the influence of socıo-demographic variables, film tourism benefits expected, tourism impacts and attitudes to film to tourism on the place attachment It was conducted in Mugla province between January-July 2016. Totally, 456 questionnaires were collected and analyzed in SPSS 21.0. Regression analysis results indicate that peoples’ socio-demographic characteristics influence their tourism benefits expected. Moreover, their tourism benefit expected and impact perceptions influence their attitudes towards film tourism developmentEste estudio se realizó en la provincia de Mugla, Turquía, que es famosa gracias a la realización de varias películas, series de televisión y documentales. La película "Water Diviner", producción internacional dirigida por Russell Crowe, fue filmada en la provincia de Mugla. El objetivo de esta investigación fue examinar la influencia de las variables socio-demográficas, los beneficios y los impactos turísticos esperados del turismo cinematográfico al igual que las actitudes de este turismo sobre el apego al lugar. El estudio se llevó a cabo en la provincia de Mugla entre enero y julio de 2016. En total se recogieron 456 cuestionarios analizados mediante SPSS 21.0, realizando un análisis de regresión. Los resultados del análisis indicaron que las características socio-demográficas de las personas influyen en los beneficios turísticos esperados. Además, los beneficios turísticos esperados y las percepciones de impacto influyen en sus actitudes hacia el desarrollo del turismo cinematográfic

Relationships between Student Personality Traits, Mobbing, and Depression within the Context of Sustainable Tourism Education: The Case of a Faculty of Tourism

Sustainable education has the target of improving skills that encourage students or life-long learners to reflect on actions realized by themselves. Its main concern is considering their actual and future cultural, socio-economic, and environmental impacts. Such a paradigm to evaluate these impacts is to bring about a local and a global perspective. Sustainability, as a means of qualified education, is a consequence of lifelong learning philosophy. All levels and all kinds of education should deal with the issues of sustainability and create holistic and transformational skills in this topic. In this context, pedagogy and learning environment is of great importance. Concerning learning environment, mobbing cases have frequently coincided in educational organizations. Mobbing has been regarded as an important business disease of contemporary work-life. Besides, mobbing might be coincided not only in the businesses but also in the organizations providing educational services. In schools and universities, mobbing leads to physiological, sociological, and psychological harms for the students. Recent studies have shown that in the school environment, students are exposed to a possible mobbing behavior and that their academic performance and achievement, as well as their mental and physical health, are negatively influenced. In addition, many academic studies indicate that the personality traits students have are an important predictor of exposure to mobbing and depression. This study aimed to determine the levels of mobbing and depression perceptions of students (type A, type B) who are studying tourism education at undergraduate level. In this context, within the groups of personality traits, the levels of depression in the process of mobbing were examined. Research data were collected from 524 students surveyed in a tourism faculty of a state university. In order to realize the data collection, Personality Traits, Mobbing, and Depression scales were used. Correlation, t-test, and regression analysis were performed as well as descriptive statistics (frequencies, mean, and standard deviation) in the process of data analysis. As a consequence of the research, it was determined that mobbing influenced psychological conditions of all students showing the features of A and B type as personality traits. Nevertheless, mobbing and depression perceptions differ upon their personality groups. It was found that the mean scores of mobbing and depression perceptions of students’ having A type personality traits were comparatively higher than the ones having B type personality traits. In addition, it has been revealed that there is a positive relationship between mobbing and depression perceptions of students. Mobbing explained 14% of the change in the depression levels of the students. As a result of the findings, it was determined that personality trait is an important and significant factor in the impact levels of students from mobbing and depression. Incorporation of personality traits into the transformational learning process in the education system as well as teaching and supporting of students with applied social education can be an effective element of sustainable education