EVALUATION OF THERMAL TOURISM IN TURKEY IN TERMS OF THIRD AGE TOURISM

Abstract

Today, it is seen that there is an increase in the elderly population, which is defined as the third age, in developed countries, especially in many countries in the European continent, and all over the world. It is estimated that the elderly population will reach 2 billion in 2050. The reasons such as the availability of leisure time and the appropriateness of their economic welfare level of these people over the age of 65, who have terminated their active working life, enable them to participate more in tourism activities. Understanding the importance of many activities such as spa-wellness and thermal activities, which are important for human health in tourism, increases the interest of people in the third age group to these activities. Aware of this situation, many countries regulate their insurance systems and implement policies that support the participation of the elderly population in tourism. This situation causes the growth of the third age tourism market. This situation creates an important opportunity especially for countries with thermal tourism opportunities. For this reason, in this study, it is aimed to evaluate the potential situation of third age tourism in the world and to evaluate what Turkey should do to benefit from this tourism market in terms of thermal tourism.