An Analysis of the Economic Contribution of Inbound International Tourism in Turkey

This article presents an analysis of the contribution of international inbound tourism to economies of developing nations with special reference to Turkey. It shows that the contribution of international inbound tourism to the Turkish economy appears to be significant in absolute terms. However, when compared with that of other competing European countries, the economic benefits of international inbound tourism seem not to have reached a satisfactory level. Moreover, analysis of available statistics reveals that the contribution of international inbound tourism to the Turkish economy has been overstated. For example, after a change in the method of data collection, the figure for tourist spending per capita is found to increase dramatically and out of all proportion to tourist spending per capita figures in neighbouring Greece, though there seems to be no significant difference between the tourism demand profile of each country. By taking into account the tourism demand profile of Turkey, the stiff price competition among identical tourist destination countries, the nature of tourism demand, the dependence of tourism on international tour operators and a few tourist-generating countries, and the peculiarities of jobs generated by tourism, the author concludes that the contribution of international tourism to the Turkish economy is too precarious, unreliable, and difficult to sustain in future. It is suggested that international tourism should not be seen as an engine of export-led economic growth strategy, nor as the principal long-term source of employment and foreign exchange in the developing world. In this context, it is further recommended that profits from tourism should be directed into other sectors of the economy in developing nations.