Perceptions on Accommodation Tax: A Comparative Study on both Turkish and British Tourists Visiting Fethiye, Turkey

Tourism stands out as one of the largest industries in the service sector within national and international economies. Opposite to its positive economic contributions, the tourism industry has negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts at local, national or international levels. Therefore, more financial resources are required to reduce the negative effects of tourism. One way to create new financial resources is to introduce tourism-based taxes. Tourism-based taxes indirectly collected under different names e.g. city tax or accommodation tax have recently emerged in many countries in the world. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to find out the perceptions and attitudes of the foreign and national tourists on accommodation tax within the framework of sustainable tourism in Turkey. The study was carried out on both Turkish and British tourists in the destination of Fethiye, Turkey. This study pioneered on the subject of tourism based tax in Turkey as the bill of tourism based tax was passed through the Turkish Parliament at the time of the study conducted. The data were collected by a questionnaire survey. Then, the data were analysed and the results showed that both Turkish and British tourists were consenting (willing) for paying the tourism based tax. The study further showed that any price increase associated with the tourism based tax would not affect both foreign and national tourists’ holiday preferences to Fethiye, Turkey.

Keywords

Tourism, Tax, Accommodation Tax, Turkish and British Tourists, Fethiye, Turkey