Evaluation of Amasya city tourism planning using SWOT analysis

Abstract

With its natural, historical, and cultural resources, the city of Amasya offers very valuable potential in terms of tourism. The city center was taken under the protection of the ‘Tourism Incentive Law’ (no. 2634) in 1982. The most notable parts of this potential include the historical texture of the city center in particular and the areas where nature tourism and thermal tourism are carried out in the vicinity of the city. However, in addition to the positive aspects of the city in terms of tourism, there are also negative factors such as the inefficient use of resources, insufficient publicity, and lack of tourism planning. In order to determine the tourism potential of the city of Amasya, this study, by using a SWOT analysis, aimed to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the city in the field of tourism as well as its opportunities and the threats that it faces. For this purpose, first, a literature review was carried out, followed by a field study, and the current situation and the types of tourism in the city were determined. Using this information, a survey consisting of four questions was prepared. In order to evaluate the SWOT survey objectively, a workshop entitled ‘Evaluation of Amasya City Landscape Components in Terms of Tourism (AKPBTAD)’ was held at the Büyük Amasya Hotel on 26 June 2018, with tourism-related stakeholders in attendance. Participants included the provincial governor, the university rector, representatives from various public institutions, hotel operators, tourism association officials, tourist guides, neighborhood representatives, self-employed individuals, and academicians. The SWOT survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with a total of 95 of these experts. The frequency (percentage) values of the SWOT survey responses were calculated using the SPSS 16.0 program. The findings included recommendations for improving the city of Amasya in terms of tourism planning.