The Influence of Films on Destination Attributes for Arabian Tourists in Turkey

Because films create destination images with the scenes and the actors they use, films can provide rich knowledge of the attributes of a destination such as cultural structure, historical places, event facilities, and shopping activities. These destination attributes (DAs) not only play an important role in the tourist decision process of where to travel, but also have an effect on tourist satisfaction about the visit. With this context in mind, this study aims to (1) explore the construction of DAs, (2) analyze the differences between film-induced tourists (FITs) and non-film-induced tourists (NonFITs), and (3) determine the relationship between DAs and tourist satisfaction. This study focuses on Arabian tourists (n=270) in Turkey because the production of many films has been transferred lately from Turkey to Arabian countries. The study analyzes 23 DAs into seven dimensions: halality, locality, shopping facility, culture and climate, activities, physical environment, and natural beauty. Multiple regression analysis is applied to examine the relative impact of DAs on Arabian tourist satisfaction with Turkey. The results reveal a significant difference between FITs and NonFITs with regard to perception of DAs (shopping facilities, culture and climate, and activities). Regression analysis results show that there is a relation between the locality and activities of DAs and tourist satisfaction for FITs, whereas there is only a physical environment relation to satisfaction for NonFITs.