TERMAL TURIZMIN GELISMESINI ETKILEYEN SORUNLARI BELIRLEMEYE YÖNELIK GÖNEN'DE BIR ARASTIRMA/A SURVEY AIMING TO DEFINE THE PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERMAL TOURISM IN GÖNEN

In a tourism destination, there are some prior conditions such as transportation, infrastructure, security, establishment quality, pricing and so on which leads to customer satisfaction. Gönen is a tourism destination with high rate of popularity among tourists which is one of the most important characteristics that leads potential tourists to a destination. This study is conducted in Gönen Thermal Tourism Area and investigated the problems affecting the improvement of thermal tourism in Gönen. For this purpose, a survey is conducted on tourists, managers of accommodation companies that provide basic services (such as hotels, motels and pensions), and managers of food and other complementary services companies (such as giftware and souvenir shops, amusement and entertainment centers, dowry shops) in Gönen Thermal Tourism Area. Analysis of the data driven from the survey showed that the problems in Gönen Thermal Tourism Area are similar with contemporary tourism problems; and, in particular, there are some problems in marketing, availability of recreational facilities, private sector venturing, planning, diversity of tourism and trained employees. The tasks to be undertaken for the solution of these problems were identified from the perspective of managers and tourists; and, some recommendations are laid down in order to conduct tourism in Gönen in a well-qualified manner. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]