M.A. Theses
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Item Development of a vegan-friendly destination– the case of Didim(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2023., 2023) Başol, Ceren İlayda.; Alvarez, Maria Dolores.; Bilbil, Ebru TekinVeganism has been gaining increasing attention recently, and therefore vegan travel and tourism are also on the rise. Despite this trend, the existing literature generally does not focus on tourism destination development that takes into consideration the needs of vegan tourists. Hence, this study investigates the development of Didim as a vegan-friendly destination under two research questions: (1) what are the aspects of a vegan-friendly destination, and (2) how is a vegan-friendly destination developed. This study mainly contributes to the destination development literature, but it also provides supportive contributions to the field of event management and food-based tourism. To achieve these, both online and on-site interviews are conducted with tourism professionals and local business owners, volunteers, members of non governmental associations, as well as residents from the Didim area. As part of this qualitative study, snowball and judgmental sampling methods were adopted to reach the most representative group of individuals with the purpose of coming up with useful and scientifically meaningful answers to the research questions. The findings point out the aspects of a vegan-friendly destination, which include adherence to the vegan philosophy, the cuisine, addressing the needs of vegan visitors, abolishing, or reducing animal exploitations, social aspects and a favourable attitude of the local people. The development of a vegan-friendly destination in Didim is found to centre on the organization of educational activities and research, on the declaration of vegan-friendliness and on the introduction of vegan-friendly events, including festivals and vegan markets. The process on which this initiative is based, and the role of the various stakeholders is also discussed.Item The role of heritage interpretation in the sustainable tourism development : the case of Antandros(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in Social Sciences, 2023., 2023) Abedi, Nasim.; Doğan, EvinçIt is expected from sustainable tourism development to preserve and ensure viable operations providing environmental, economic, and socio-cultural benefits in the long-term. Cultural heritage plays a crucial role in developing sustainable tourism by adding value to the lives of the local community and consequently creating a sense of identity or belonging. Therefore, it is important to enhance heritage quality and preserve the local culture, values, and traditions against negative impacts. In this aspect, the study investigates the modes and methods of heritage interpretation in connection to sustainable tourism development and the enhancement of cultural heritage value. Antandros ancient heritage site in Altınoluk tourist destination is selected for this study. The current methods of heritage interpretation specifically applied by the Antandros Association are investigated. For data collection, this research applied a triangulation of both qualitative data and methods. The data were analyzed with a hybrid thematic analysis approach. The main findings are: Firstly, cultural heritage is essential to become the fourth pillar in heritage destinations. Secondly, a holistic approach towards heritage presentation must be taken for Antandros sustainable tourism development. Finally, the role of heritage interpretation can be related to all heritage management aspects. In this respect, heritage interpretation can create a theme or brand through stories and myths for the destination. This association played an vital role in becoming a network connection for other stakeholders. Whereas the barriers were the insufficient cooperation of the public sector and the local residents in the region and financial support.Item A socio-cultural perspective on Yoga tourism(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2017., 2017.) Öznalbant, Ecem.; Alvarez, Maria Dolores.Yoga has become an increasingly widespread activity, also becoming popular as a form of tourism. Many Westerners travel to the roots of yoga, to destinations in India where yoga originated in ancient times. In addition, yoga trips to other places around the world are joined by yoga practitioners. This is also the case in Turkey where yoga has become a well-known activity. Several kinds of yoga trips are arranged to mountains, valleys and forests around Turkey, or to destinations abroad. Despite the growing popularity of yoga tourism, there is a dearth of studies on this topic. Little is known about what motivates tourists to travel to a particular destination to practice yoga, and about the impacts that this activity may cause in receiving destinations. Therefore the purpose of this investigation is to bring light on yoga tourism practices. The focus is on the point of view of the yoga tourists, as the research aims to understand the motivations and expectations of these individuals and their perceptions concerning socio-cultural aspects of yoga tourism. The findings show that there are three types of yoga trips: (1) yoga focused, (2) cultural tourism focused, and (3) wellness focused. These trips show different emphases and varied experiences, including the way in which the participants interact with others and in particular with the local community. The research also identifies some issues related to the concern of the yoga tourists for socio-cultural aspects such as authenticity, especially in root of yoga destinations.Item The role of NGOs in sustainable tourism in Turkey(Thesis (M.A.) - Bogazici University. Institute for Graduate Studies in the Social Sciences, 2015., 2015.) Gökçetin, Ayşenur.; İnelmen, Kıvanç V. Ö.,Given the worldwide importance of NGOs, which are regarded in recent years as the primary advocates and practitioners of sustainable tourism, this research seeks to determine the degree and nature of contribution by selected NGOs in Turkey for establishing and promoting sustainable tourism activities and to inquire their transformative power in terms of sustainable tourism. Activities of NGOs in developed and developing countries might present different patterns and analyzing the case of NGOs in Turkey, which is an emerging economy, might imply a new perspective. With a preliminary NGO database search, relevant NGOs that are involved with sustainable tourism were identified and selected based on four criteria. After a content analysis of NGOs’ websites with regard to their sustainable tourism activities, a semi structured interview was directed to NGO respondents. Afterwards, interviews were coded and results were analyzed in a qualitative manner. It is found that there are differences among directly and indirectly tourism affiliated NGOs in their involvement with sustainable tourism and their transformative power for sustainability and that sustainable tourism has not been established or developed well in Turkey to this day. In a nutshell, it is identified in this thesis that most pressing tourism issues in Turkey are the lack of effective management, environmental destruction and lack of clear tourism planning. Main roles of NGOs to address these issues are found to be raising awareness, conservation of cultural and natural assets as well as involvement in tourism planning.