A MODEL SUGGESTION ON THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC AWARENESS AND SUPPORT OF TOURISM SECTOR

Lale GÜREMEN¹

For the tourism to come into existence and continue; the integration of many variables with each other and that they support one another is a must. The social, economical, cultural and environmental effects of tourism and the attitude of local people towards tourism are other important factors that should be taken into consideration. This study has been carried out in the town of Ürgüp Mustafapaşa (Sinasos). Sinasos is a very rare settling area that has protected its historical and natural fabric in the periphery of Nevşehir. Due to its very special location within Cappadocia system and its touristic feature, it has been the object of invesment and public support. The discussion of local people’s awareness of the tourism event, support and expectations with the help of “Structural Equation Model” has been aimed in this study. The model used in this study is a qualitative technique that tests the hypothesis defining the relation between the meaningful variables that make up the structure and is the foundation of the speculative structure. 6 hypotheses have been produced for the model test and the questionnaire prepared has been applied to 300 people living in Mustafapaşa. Package programmes AMOS4 and SPSS13 have been used for the model test. The model’s adaptation rate has been on the average and all of the hypotheses put forward have been accepted.

Keywords
Mustafapaşa “Sinasos”, Tourism, Local Awareness, Local Support for Tourism, Structural Equation Model,