Economic Development Effect of Festival Tourism: Silifke International Music and Folklore Festival

Abstract

In this study, it has been tried to measure whether the destination is effective on the basis of tourism in regional development through festival tourism. The Silifke district of Mersin was determined as the study area. The International Music and Folklore Festival organized in Silifke every year constitutes the main theme of the study. An open-ended questionnaire consisting of 14 questions was prepared in order to determine the contribution of festival tourism to regional development. The survey data were collected from 11 participants (Business owners, Mayor, District Governor etc.) by face-to-face interviews. Content analysis was performed on the obtained data. Based on the findings, it was found that the interest for festival tourism in the region was high but the advertisement, promotion and marketing activities should be turned into more active.