Investigation of Social and Cultural Effects of Tourism Development on the Local People: The Case of Kastamonu

Abstract

This research is a quantitative study aimed at determining how social and cultural influences are formed in the destination of Kastamonu which is a young region in tourism and to determine the perspectives of local people on this issue. In this study, a questionnaire, which was prepared according to the purpose and content, was used. The questionnaire consisted of two parts; 6 questions to determine the demographic variables of local people were included. In the second part, there are 13 questions prepared to measure the perspectives of local people in Kastamonu on sociocultural effects of tourism. In this research, the questionnaire was applied to 389 people by face-to-face interview method. Research results showed that the perception of the people of Kastamonu regarding the socio-cultural effects of tourism is generally more abstaining in cases where cultural, traditions and customs are predominant and more stable in situations involving social perceptions. It was also determined that these conditions changes depending on demographic variables such as gender, age, education, employment status and income level.