14-27

• Bozbay, Zehra
• Özen, Hilal

The importance of tourism is universally acknowledged, since it is one of the growing sectors of a country’s economy and is widely recognized for its contribution to regional and national economic development. As more and more areas of the world are developed for tourism, the destination choices available to consumers continue to expand. Furthermore, today’s consumers, facilitated by increased leisure time, rising levels of income and more efficient transportation networks, have the means to choose from among this much larger variety of destinations. Thus, dynamic structure and intense competition in tourism industry increase the need to understand consumer segments and their perceptions. Greece is a favourite tourism destination in Europe. As Turkey’s advantageous geographical location and its huge population, Turkish consumers are always a good opportunity for Greece’s tourism industry. This study aims to determine sub-groups of Turkish consumers according to their intentions to visit Greece and also to examine their differentiating perceptions about Greece’s image as a tourism destination. The data was collected from 1023 Turkish consumers. Multiple Discriminant analysis was used in order to find whether sub-groups of consumers’ evaluations vary among destination image of Greece. In the study, it was found that Turkish consumers can be grouped into four groups that have different perceptions of Greece’s destination image. It is believed that the study provides valuable insights for both academics and practitioners.

• Economics and Business

• Τουρισμός
• Economic development

tourism industry, destination image, Greece, Turkish consumers, multiple discriminant analysis

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