MKT01906: Case Study of Istanbul as a Tourist Destination

This case study examines Istanbul as a prominent tourist destination, analyzing its historical development, international visitation, and the factors that contribute to its attractiveness. The study explores the evolution of tourism in Istanbul, highlighting key milestones and governmental initiatives. It investigates the influx of international tourists, examining contributing factors such as air travel costs and the city's cultural richness. The analysis further delves into what makes Istanbul appealing to tourists, including its historical sites, such as the Blue Mosque, and diverse attractions. It also addresses the impacts of tourism on the host community, including economic, cultural, and environmental effects. Furthermore, the study explores development issues, such as ecological damage and the erosion of historical characteristics, along with proposed solutions for sustainable tourism practices. Overall, the case study provides a comprehensive overview of the complexities and challenges of Istanbul's tourism industry, offering valuable insights for students and researchers alike.

Running head: TOURISM
CASE STUDY OF ISTANBUL
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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1.Introduction
Tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industry in the world. It has enabled a cross
cultural communication amongst countries and allowed to grow an expansive industry that has
contributed to the socio-economic development significantly. Turkey is one of the oldest
civilisation in the world with its capital in Istanbul. Every year tourists come from all over the
world drawn by its architecture, food and history (Kladou 2017). Which has helped immensely in
the economy of the country the following is a case study is the analysis of Istanbul as a tourist
destination. It aims to analyse various factors that are involved in the growth of tourism in
Istanbul.
2. Historical development of tourism in Istanbul
Istanbul is one of the largest economies in the world and ranked 7th largest economy among the
European countries. The rich cultural and historical landmark in Istanbul is one of the oldest
cities in the world with it is unique mix of the modern and the old has given Istanbul its unique
identity among the European nations (Kladou 2017). Istanbul mainly saw change in the tourism
industry after the 1980. As the country became one of the leading exporters in the world it also
opened its country to the potential of tourism. The government main interest was to fund the
coastal regions and therefore spent considerable amount of resources on it. However, the
development failed to integrate the cultural aspects of Istanbul into the tourism industry.
The tourism sector boomed in the 1990s however there was still development needed to
ensure the tourist influx throughout the season. The Turkish government in its Five Year
Development Plan from the year 1996-2000 aimed at improving the overall development of the
tourism situation in Turkey and wanted to achieve a balanced spatial distribution of tourism
(Kladou 2017). In 2010, the Turkish government realised their integration of cultural variety and

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richness of Istanbul as their focus. In accordance to which the current tourism scenario there is a
huge improvement in the tourism interest in the foreign tourist who are drawn to the cultural
experience of the city. It has a mixed demographic of mixed cultures and the cultural heritage
that goes back hundreds of years is one of the most unique global tourist spots in the world
(Altunel and Erkurt 2015). Studies reveals Istanbul according to the world tourism market
Turkey has about 2.6% of world global tourism share where Istanbul share is 0.6 as of 2005
(Kladou 2017). Since the initial global tourism has taken interest in Turkey Istanbul has
certainly become one of the most important areas of tourist interest. It is important that the
government pays attention in developing the historical, natural resources and cultural aspects of
the city. The rich cultural heritage of Istanbul should be made use of. In 2010, Istanbul was
declared Culture Capital of Europe and hence presents a wonderful opportunity of various
investors to invest in Istanbul (Gezici and Kerimoglu 2010).
3. Analysis of international tourism visitation in Istanbul
Gezici and Kerimoglu (2010) state that the factors that led to the change in the political sphere
of Istanbul and eventually had a very deep impact in the tourism sector. They point out that in
the year 1990- 2000 the number of tourists in Istanbul increased to 110 percent. Data collected in
2004, showed the number of foreign tourist visiting Istanbul revealed it was 74 percent as
compared to Barcelona, in comparison to London it was 40 percent and 14 percent in comparison
to Paris. In the year 2000- 2004 the number however tripled and it now receives almost same
number of foreign tourist as Barcelona (Gezici and Kerimoglu 2010). There are several
contributing factors that help in the influx of foreign tourists. One of the primary reason being
the low cost travel by air and cruise ships are excellent driving factors. Istanbul being the capital
and often the gateway for other tourist spots around does not have many paying segment of

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customers who only stay for a short while, there are very few who spend more time in the city
(Gezici and Kerimoglu 2010). According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism the number of
beds in Istanbul is 79065 even though the number is less in comparison to other cities like Paris
and London however they are hardly occupied which shows that the availability is not the issue
in Istanbul. Given the unique cultural and historical background along with its excellent cuisine
it is able to give completion to the other cities.
4. What makes Istanbul attractive tourists
Istanbul is the capital of Turkey and is one of the most scenic places to visit in the world and one
of the largest cities in Europe. The historical and geographical location come together to cater to
the tourism industry enormously (Timothy 2018). The byzantine architecture such as the Sultan
Ahmed Mosque or famously called the Blue Mosque is one of the most popular places to visit in
Istanbul. The tourists also find the local markets and the scenic places around Istanbul some of
the many attraction of the city. The tourism system which takes into account the geographical,
tourist and the tourism industry that aids the tourist and ensures the revisit the place again. Leiper
explains the system as the availability of various aspects such as hotels, travel, and location. The
following model takes into consideration of the various aspects within the tourism system,
interrelation between them that promotes tourism (Timothy 2018). Not all tourists are alike and
each one requires different motivation to travel. While a particular sector of the demographic is
interested in adventure sports, the other part might travel for spirituality or for the Turkish food
(Musa et al 2016). The tourist motivation factor is one of the critical aspects in tourism
management. The tourist motivation is one of the ruling forces that encourages the tourism
industry and can be explained by the Maslow’s hierarchal need theory. The need of various
people differs. Some tourists are motivated by the push factors in tourism such as emotional

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value and pull factor is usually the factors which promote the attractiveness factors of the place
(Musa et al 2016).
Hence the tourist places needs to cater to the needs of various kinds of tourists to promote
tourism. There are various factors that attract the tourist to a certain area. It may be the
entertainment, or the market segmentation of Istanbul provide a plethora of choices for the
tourists. The attraction theory suggests that there are variety of choices that influences the
tourists which draws them to a niche as in the shopping niche, or the food niche, cultural niche
(Egresi 2017). These niches draw a segment of the tourists to make choices which promotes
tourism and attracts them to a particular place. These factors collectively play a role in
influencing the attractiveness of the place.
5. Impacts from tourism activity on the host community in Istanbul
The community in Istanbul has several impacts of the tourism industry. Tourism industry
contains three elements mainly host community, destination and tourists. Tourism helps to bring
various people from different background sociocultural, economic and environmental. It also has
a very deep impact on the environment and lives of the people around it. The economic impact of
tourism can be felt in the influx of foreign tourist bringing in the foreign currency which adds to
the government revenue and helps in improving the infrastructure of the area (Eşiyok 2019).
Tourists encourage various jobs and allows for economic diversification. Tourism impacts the
employment sector in the largest way helping to create new job and business opportunities
helping to elevate the standard of living of the people in the community. With these many
positive impact there is also the negative impact of the economic growth. The jobs in tourism are
seasonal, the rising cost of infrastructure and real estate prices and a growing dependency on the
tourism for the local economy.

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There is a significant cultural impact too in Istanbul owing to the tourism. The interaction
brought about various community helps in intercultural learning and helps people to overcome
their stereotypes and prejudices (Cetin and Bilgihan 2016). There is a civic involvement which
encourages the revival of old traditions, customs and helps to uplift the local artisans (Cetin and
Bilgihan 2016). The local people often learn other languages such as German, English and others
to facilitate other tourists this adds to the skill development of the people. While these are some
of the very good impacts of the tourism industry. There are some malpractices that emerge from
these as well. Firstly the erosion of traditional practices and endangerment to the indigenous
population. Tourism also brings crime with the rise in drugs, prostitutions and other crimes and
may cause cultural clashes (Uzun and Simsek 2015).
Lastly the environment impact is significant on Istanbul. The increased carbon footprint that the
tourists being with them can cause disruption of the local flora and fauna. More tourists means
more noise there is a significant issue of noise pollution that is persistent with tourism
(Vora 2019). Malpractices of tourist activity can harm the environment such as overfishing
around the coastal areas of Istanbul to maintain the supply for fresh seafood for the tourists
(Eşiyok 2019). Also the increased level of pollution by the tourists who do not practice proper
waste disposal habits and dumb waste everywhere. The oil spill form the cruise ships in the
rivers creates water pollution and endangers the lives of the sea organisms (Eşiyok 2019). These
issues are some of the primary issues seen prevailing in the community of Istanbul. While
tourism is one of the most important source of revenue in Turkey it faces certain challenges that
comes along with the industry.

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6. Development issues in Istanbul
Development and tourism are the two side of the same coin and while there is a necessity to
develop there is a need to plan and evaluate development. One of the primary issues that is
currently effecting the development of Istanbul is the ecological damage. Istanbul has grown
over the years and the real estate business has become more costly making it a target for the new
builders and developers who want to expand their business more (Cetin and Bilgihan 2016).
However, the new businesses in Istanbul has caused immense deforestation and soil erosion.
Population explosion has caused unplanned development which is causing the various real estate
developers to develop more areas at the cost of cutting down more forest area to make new
buildings for the accommodation of the surplus population in Istanbul. The nearby cities and
town do not offer many job opportunities for their population therefore that leads the youths to
migrate to big cities like Istanbul in search for fresher opportunities (Cetin and Bilgihan 2016).
Areas like Validebağ which was previous a green park has been a new target for the real estate
investors leading to the deforestation of about 1.5 million trees so far. The forest areas in the
northern side of the city is a subject of risk and needs immediate attention. The forest cover
receding there is a loss of local biodiversity. This environmental issue is not limited to the
environmental concern many indigenous communities feel their community is being harmed
through this process. The local government is now actively forming better urbanisation policies
that can help with better sustainable development program that can help to protect the forest
cover and help to curb the unplanned community development. The noise pollution from the
increases in traffic areas causes both air and water pollution (Eşiyok 2019). The TomTom’s
annual Traffic Index states that Istanbul has the worst traffic in the world. The second issue is
eradication of the historical and cultural characteristics of Istanbul. Istanbul is one of the oldest

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cities in the world, with the architecture as old as few hundred years old. Which adds to the
charm of the city as well as the tourist and the cultural value among the people. While
urbanisation is on the rise there is lot more building and urbanisation projects that are being
undertaken by the government which do not conform the historical and cultural background of
that Istanbul represents (Eşiyok 2019). The construction of the Golden Horn Metro Bridge, the
design does not resonate with the cultural aspect of the city which is the core of essence of the
place. Instead the Istanbul should focus their designs in accordance to the historical background
which showcases the Turkish architecture and art but also helps it to gain a different personality
than its other European counterparts and supports local artisans and craftsmen to show case their
talent.
7. Tourism policy issue analysis
Turkey was a part of the European Union and therefore that had a major influence in the tourism
policy of Turkey. Tourism policies therefore were very much influenced by the European Union
policies. The influx of inward EU tourism is an important influential factors in the tourism policy
which is currently stressing on the short term holiday programme which is encouraging various
European countries to visit Turkey (Pırnar and Miral 2000). One of the major problems in the
tourism policy is the policy of Turkey not to be included in the EU member. In the 1980s when
Turkey was a part of the European Union it enjoyed the policies of the European policies which
encourages free and fair competition and restricts dominant competition practices. Turkey was
provided financial support and helped in providing competition in the areas that was previously
run by the state. Tourism thrives in the EU states and the recent cut down in the taxes for the
tourism industry in the EU countries is a problematic thing for Turkey which is unable to access
these reduced taxes. Pırnar and Miral (2000) state that following the new regulation of the EU

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the tourism sector can be environmentally conscious and can effectively manage their waste
which is also a good image building for the tourists and the market value. According to the
studies various hotels, restaurants may enter this community to increase their credibility, reduce
costs and other positive influence in the tourism sector which the Turkish hotels are unable to do.
The market is always shifting and the current economic crisis is faced by all the industries within
the country. This means that many Turkish people will lose their jobs and due to the business
suffering. If Turkey was a part of the EU, the union would ensure the job security, health and
safety of the people in the tourism sector. As the EU have strict guideline for the labour policy it
would ensure that all the member of the community were well taken care of within the system.
These practices safeguards the interest of the low wage workers and protects them from being
exploited. The studies from TURSAB`s research suggests that most travel agencies in Turkey do
not work with foreign travel agency which is a problem as there is a lapse in the networking
(Pırnar and Miral 2000). In the age of globalisation it is a problematic factor which sets it back
financially, competitively. These are some of the issues pertaining to the tourism policy.
8. Conclusion
The following case study provides a clear analysis about the various aspects in the tourism of
Istanbul. Istanbul provides a wonderful opportunity for the tourism industry to flourish, however
there are issues pertaining to the destinations that have a negative impact on tourism industry that
should be improved to enhance the tourist experience.

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Eşiyok, D. (2019). Large-scale environmental and infrastructure challenges await Istanbul’s
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