DETERMINING THE EFFECT OF LOCAL PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION OF HEALTH TOURISM ON THE SUPPORT GIVEN TO HEALTH TOURISM: EXAMPLE OF AKYAZI

Health tourism, which is a sub-field of tourism, has an important place in the development of countries and regions. It is the people living in that region who are most affected by the development of health tourism activities in a region. Perceptions and support of local people have important effects on the development and sustainability of health tourism in a destination. It should be ensured that the local people have positive perceptions about the effects of health tourism and support tourism development. In this study, the effect of four factors affecting health tourism on the support of local people to the development of health tourism was investigated. Study data were collected through face-to-face survey application to 392 participants residing in Akyazı. The research model and hypotheses developed in line with the purpose of the study were tested with the structural equation model using AMOS 4 and SPSS 22 package programs. As a result of the test, it was determined that the model had a good fit. It has been determined that the effect of socio-cultural and health-related factors on the total impact of health tourism development is significant. The total impacts, economic and health impact variables were all found to have a significant impact on the local community's support for health tourism development.