Affiliation:
1. ESKISEHIR OSMANGAZI UNIVERSITY
Abstract
Seasonality is usually recognized as a problem of tourism that has many negative consequences for the private and public sectors. The widespread impact of seasonality on tourism has increased the importance of understanding how these sectors can sustainably respond to such a phenomenon. This paper aims to examine the industry and government responses to seasonality. It specifically seeks to discover what responses the literature on tourism addresses to managing the problem of seasonality. The review indicates that tourism businesses and governments mainly respond to seasonality by developing strategies to tackle it when seen as a substantial problem or otherwise adapting to it. The literature points to various strategies for tackling seasonality in tourism. Common strategies include reducing demand in the peak season, increasing demand outside the peak season, reducing supply, increasing supply in the peak season, redistributing demand and supply, extending the main season, establishing additional seasons, diversification of the product mix and the markets, applying marketing campaigns and targeted advertising, using differential pricing, public sector incentives, development of urban, cultural, business, congress, religious, sports and winter tourism, and other alternatives, developing special-interest tourism, encouraging domestic tourism in the off-season, staggering the main school and industrial holidays over a longer period, and two-center holidays.
Subject
General Earth and Planetary Sciences