2019 - Evaluation of development plans in the perspective of tourism policies

Tourism is accepted as an important sector that adds value to the country in economic, social and cultural areas in developing countries. For this reason, developing countries develop tourism policies in order to increase their share of tourism revenues in the global market, to provide competitive advantage over their competitors and to procure the sustainability of tourism activities. In Turkey, it is possible to examine the studies conducted toward the development of tourism industry in two periods as planed pre-period (1923-1963) and planned period (post-1963). Founded in 1923, the new Republic of Turkey, in addition to the existence of economic and social problems of both inside and outside the country, and due to the economic problems in the world, could not reach the desired level in the studies conducted for the development of tourism although various initiatives have been taken to improve tourism prior to the planned period.
In the planed period, the tourism policies aimed for the development of tourism within the development plans brought important steps towards the development of the tourism sector. This study aims to examine the development plans within the scope of tourism policies and to reveal their contribution to the economy of Turkey. In the scope of the study, literature review was conducted, secondary data sources were analyzed and the information obtained periodically in light of developments in the field of tourism were examined and tourism’s contribution to Turkey’s economy has been evaluated.