BAYKAL, Füsun Ege Üniversitesi - Edebiyat Fakültesi - Coğrafya Bölümü, Turkey , EMEKLİ, Gözde Ege Üniversitesi - Edebiyat Fakültesi - Coğrafya Bölümü, Turkey , ATABERK, Emre Ege Üniversitesi - Turizm ve Otelcilik Meslek Yüksek Okulu, Turkey

The Role of Geographical Factors for Tourism Integration in Dikili and Bergama Districts of Izmir, Turkey

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Dikili and Bergama are the two neighbouring districts of Izmir province in Turkey. Dikili is a coastal tourism destination; Bergama, as for, is known with its cultural attractions. The competition strength of Dikili as a coastal tourism destination is weak when compared to south Aegean destinations. On the other hand, the level of cultural tourism development in Bergama is not sufficient to make use of its potential. Thus, it can be suggested that these two nearby destinations who have mainly different tourism attractions –coastal and cultural-, can cooperate in the frame of “integration in tourism”.Many of the possibilities to provide and facilitate cooperation in tourism sector between Dikili and Bergama are mostly based on the geographical features. These are mainly the proximity (geographical location of these districts) and that they have diverse attractions being complementaryto each other. This article aims at revealing the geographical basis to lead such integration and exemplify possible applications. Besides, the advantages of integration in tourism sector for the two destinations are focused.

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tourism attraction , tourism integration , geographical factors , Dikili , Bergama

Aegean Geographical Journal

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