Economic and Structural Development of Turkey's Tourism within Development Plans During a Century of The Republican Era

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the five-year development plans implemented during the republican period on the tourism sector in Turkey. Although tourism revenues and the number of tourists in the five-year development plans implemented during the Republican Era have been in a continuous upward trend, Turkey has not fully achieved the targets set in the five-year development plans. The main purpose of this article is to analyze the development plans of Turkey during the Republican Era and to identify the frequently emphasized and under-emphasized targets. A mixed methodology was used in this study. Within the scope of the research, secondary data were collected from official institutions. These data were subjected to trend analysis, and the average number of tourists and tourism revenues were calculated for each five-year development plan period. In the second stage of the research, the development plans were analyzed through content analysis, and themes were identified. Create network maps and word clouds created. Finally, Chat GPT, an artificial intelligence modeling system, was asked questions about the future of the tourism sector in the Republic of Turkey. As a result, it was found that Turkey emphasizes “sustainability” the most in its five-year development plans. In addition, infrastructure, transportation and diversification of tourism opportunities are other themes emphasized in five-year development plans. However, it has been determined that targets such as technology, digitalization and artificial intelligence should be sufficiently emphasized.