A Socio-Cultural Research on The People of Yağlıdere Living in The Usa within The Scope of Diaspora Tourism

Abstract

While many tourists become attached to a destination after repeated visits, immigrant tourists feel connected to the people, culture, and heritage of the destination prior to their visit. In this context, this study examines the visits of immigrants from Yaglidere who visit their ancestral lands as tourists in a sociological dimension from the United States of America. Exploratory research approach and phenomenology model were adopted as the research method in the study. In this study, in which qualitative research design was used, in-depth semi-structured interview technique was used as data collection technique. The research data was determined with maximum diversity using purposive sampling. The data obtained were coded, categorized and interpreted by content analysis used in qualitative data analysis. In the study, it was concluded that the main motivation for the participants to visit Turkey was to fulfill family and homesickness. It was determined that the participants visited Turkey because of its historical background, cultural diversity, food and natural beauties. Based on the results obtained in the study, it is thought that the tourism sector can develop marketing strategies for the development of diaspora tourism by considering the demands of the participants, thus providing more added value to the national economy and increasing the satisfaction rate of diaspora tourists.