ARCHEOLOGICAL ATTRACTIONS WITHIN INTENTION TO PARTICIPATE IN ARCHEOTOURISM: A CASE IN ÇORUM, TURKEY

Abstract

Purpose – This paper examines the effect of the attractive motivational factors of archaeotourism on the intention to participate in archaeotourism. Methodology- The statistical program SmartPLS was used for data analysis. Design- The population consists of tourists who visited Çorum/Turkey, and convenience sampling method was applied. Four hundred and seventy tourists participated in the research between July and August 2022. Findings – Core archeological attractions, historical-cultural knowledge, leisure activities and archeotourism’development of the destination have a positive effect on the intention to participate in archaeotourism. On the other hand, additional archeological attractions and participatory archeological activities do not significantly influence the intention to participate in archaeotourism.” Originality of the research – The study includes exceptional variables to demonstrate the impact of attractive motivational factors on the intention to participate in archaeotourism. Furthermore, the statistical analysis provides desirable motivational factors for archaeotourism to determine the intention to visit archaeotourism sites. Thus, the research enables the determination of visitation intention for a destination in the context of archaeotourism and attempts to bridge the gap between tourists’ decisions and their visits. By modeling the effects of archaeotourism incentives on tourists’ visitation intentions, evidence and knowledge gaps in the literature are also addressed.