Destination Image of Turkey: A Study on Central Asian Turkic Republics Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Determining the destination image of Turkey in the Central Asian Turkic Republics, which is Turkey's target tourism market, is the basis of determining the quality and scope of tourism marketing to be conducted for these countries. The main objective of this study is to determine the destination image of Turkey and visit intentions in the countries of Central Asian Turkic Republics, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and to develop the suggestions to increase attractions of Turkey in this target market. The research data was collected using a questionnaire from 674 participants in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from various occupational groups. According to the results of the statistical analysis, it was found that most of the participants have highly positive image for Turkey and it was determined that the significant information sources on their image are "friends, colleagues, relatives" and "movies and TV serials". On the other hand it was determined that the overall image of the participants who visited Turkey is more positive. In addition it was determined that the main reason of visiting Turkey is "holiday" and accordingly it has been identified that the first thing that comes to the participants mind is "sea, holiday and tourism". There is a relation between the destination attributes, visit intention and destination image (p<0.01).