Evaluation of Local People's Perspective on Rural Tourism: Sample of Tekirdağ Province

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine the positive or negative rural tourism perception of the people living in the villages where rural tourism education was given by Tekirdag Metropolitan Municipality and it is aimed to determine whether the rural tourism perception level differs according to demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status etc. In order to accomplish this aim, a survey was carried out with the method of quota sampling to the people who were given rural tourism education by the Tekirdag Metropolitan Municipality. A total of 450 questionnaires were distributed, 421 of which were returned, but missing and inaccurate surveys were issued and a total of 390 questionnaires were analyzed. As a result of the analyzes, it was determined that the participants perceived the impact of rural tourism as highly positive. At the same time, it was determined that the perception of rural tourism showed significant differences according to the gender, age, marital status and income levels of the participants. Based on the information obtained as a result of the research, some suggestions were made to the stakeholders regarding rural tourism.