Segmenting the Japanese tour market to Turkey

In recent years, as a newly emerged tourism destination and moderately developed country, Turkey has enjoyed increased visitation from abroad, including Japan. However, there has not been a systematic research effort to understand the travel behavior of Japanese visitors to Turkey. The purpose of this exploratory study was to segment Japanese travelers to Turkey using travel motivations as part of travel behavior descriptors. Theoretical and practical contributions of the motivation factors are discussed within the framework of Iso-Ahola's arousal theory. The article concludes with marketing and management implications as suggested by the study findings. Keywords: travel motivations; market segmentation; factor-cluster approach; Turkish tourism; Japanese travelers