Acculturation Research in Residential Tourism

Gabriela Uslu Cibere; Kemal Kantarci; Murat Alper Basaran; Yakup Uslu

Authors

Gabriela Uslu Cibere Alaaddin Keykubat University
Prof. Dr. Kemal KANTARCI Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Tourism Faculty, Tourism Management Department https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9572-2959
Prof. Dr. Murat Alper BASARAN Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Industrial Engineering https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9887-5531
Yakup USLU PhD. Selcuk University in Konya, Sosial Sciences İnstitute, Graduated Student

Abstract

Although the acculturation theory has been tested in tourism, there are almost no empirical studies in residential tourism. It needs to be clarified whether the general assumptions of the acculturation theory can be applied or whether the specifics of residential tourism call anew for an evaluation of the preconditions of acculturation theory in this setting. The existing studies, however limited, are misleading. This article calls attention to this fact and shows the necessity of testing the presumptions of acculturation theory in residential tourism before further research is conducted. A questionnaire research was conducted among residential tourists in Alanya. A total of 489 questionnaires from over 12 countries were included, reflecting the residential market in Alanya. The preference for a specific acculturation strategy was tested in relation to the influencing factors and level of satisfaction with life in the destination. The most preferred strategy by international residential tourists was integration, followed by assimilation and marginalisation. The strategy preference was influenced by demographic characteristics, holiday behaviour factors, second home characteristics, personality traits, and level of knowledge about Turkish culture. The overall level of satisfaction with life was 4.3 out of 5, which implies a very high level of satisfaction. Following limited previous research, the article uncovers the pitfalls and proposes a more suitable approach for acculturation research in this area. If the unique circumstances of residential tourism are taken into consideration, the study reveals some results that oppose the general acculturation theory and thus calls for further research.

Keywords: residential tourism, acculturation, Alanya, acculturation in tourism, residential tourists’ acculturation

Author Biographies

Prof. Dr. Kemal KANTARCI, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Tourism Faculty, Tourism Management Department

Kemal Kantarci is a Professor of Tourism Management at Alaaddin Keykubat University, Alanya/Türkiye. He also works as a consultant to public and private sector organizations. He has published several papers in international and national journals. Dr. Kantarci has visited Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University of South Carolina, USA as a visiting professor and worked as a full-time lecturer at Ahmet Yesevi University, Kazakhstan. He currently teaches in the areas of tourism management, marketing, destination development, tourism geography and tourism policy and planning. His studies are mainly focused on tourism opportunities and challenges in Central Asian and Balkan Countries.

Prof. Dr. Murat Alper BASARAN, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Industrial Engineering

Murat Alper Basaran is a full Professor at the Industrial Engineering department at Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University in Turkey. He specialized in data analysis and modeling under fuzzy setting and deep learning. He authored more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed journals and coauthored 5 books. His main research direction is deep learning algorithms and their implementations in several areas such as agriculture, engineering, and medicine.

Yakup USLU PhD., Selcuk University in Konya, Sosial Sciences İnstitute, Graduated Student

Yakup Uslu is a graduated student from the University of Gazi in Ankara, Türkiye, majoring in Radio, Tv and Cinema department. He persued a Master and PhD. degree at the Selcuk University in Konya Türkiye where he worked on city branding using social media. He played a significant role in promoting Alanya’s city brand in the tourism field, was a co-founder of the first real estate association in the area and leads a renowned real estate company in Alanya. He continued to study real estate management and social media management at various universities in Turkey.