TOURISTIC COINS: EVALUATION OF THE USE OF CRYPTO COINS IN TOURISM BUSINESSES BY TOURISM STUDENTS

Abstract

With the changing age and developing technology, existing classical payment systems cannot fully meet the demands and needs of people. As a result of the global economic crisis of 2008, the trust in real markets and central financial institutions was shaken; Introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin and blockchain technology have been introduced as an alternative to the current financial system. In this context, cryptocurrencies have entered our lives rapidly. Today, as in many sectors, it is observed that the use of cryptocurrencies in tourism is increasing rapidly and the examples are increasing. Many hotels, travel businesses, entertainment services businesses and catering businesses have included and started using cryptocurrencies in many areas. The traces of this radical change, of course, will seriously change the tourism sector in the future. In terms of predicting the change and predicting the future of the sector; It is the students of tourism who will shape the sector. In this study, which was prepared based on this, 390 tourism students were reached online. The questionnaire in the study consists of two parts. In the first part, there are questions about students' demographic information and students' crypto usage. The second part consists of statements about tourists' purchasing intention, utility-functionality, perception and trust in cryptocurrencies during the use of crypto coins in tourism establishments. How the students who will be the tourism professionals of the future are affected by the changes and transformations and the determination of their thoughts about the use of crypto coins in tourism enterprises are also important points of the study.