New product development in the turkish tourism market: The case of football tourism

Abstract

Turkish tourism industry is mainly dependent on international tourists visiting the country in the summer season for sun and sea tourism. Given the vulnerability of the Turkish tourism industry and the fact that there are recent trends which influence tourism demand, an urgent need arises to diversify tourism products in the Turkish tourism industry. It is established that sport tourism may offer product diversification opportunities for the Turkish tourism market. The paper primarily explores the main criteria used by football teams in selecting a region and accommodation establishment for holding their training camps. It is established that although this sport tourism activity has a significant potential, it may not be easy to establish a competitive advantage for the business firms involved.