African Tourists' Perception of Turkey: An Empirical Study on Country Image

Abstract

This study examines African tourists’ perceptions of Turkey’s country image after visiting the country. The limited number of studies focusing on African tourists’ country image perceptions increases the originality of the research. A quantitative design was adopted and data were collected through a structured questionnaire. Surveys were administered online and face to face between April and June 2025 to 254 participants selected by convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS. The findings indicate that country image has a three-factor structure consisting of cognitive country image, affective country image and attitudinal intentions. Turkey’s cognitive image in the African market is strong, whereas there is room for improvement in the affective dimension. Intentions to revisit and recommend Turkey are high, and social media and Turkish TV series are the most influential information sources shaping the country image. The results provide important managerial and communication implications for strengthening Turkey’s destination position in Africa.

Keywords

• Country image
• African tourists
• cognitive image
• affective image
• conative intentions

Afrikalı Turistlerin Türkiye Algısı: Ülke İmajı Üzerine Ampirik Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Türkiye’yi ziyaret etmiş Afrikalı turistlerin Türkiye’ye yönelik ülke imajı algılarını incelemektedir. Literatürde Afrika kökenli turistlerin ülke imajına ilişkin algılarını ele alan araştırmaların sınırlı olması, çalışmanın özgünlüğünü artırmaktadır. Nicel araştırma deseninde yürütülen çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak yapılandırılmış anket formu kullanılmıştır. Nisan–Haziran 2025 döneminde çevrim içi ve yüz yüze uygulanan anketler, kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle seçilen 254 katılımcıdan elde edilmiştir. Veriler SPSS yazılımı ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, ülke imajının bilişsel ülke imajı, duygusal ülke imajı ve tutumsal niyet olmak üzere üç faktörlü bir yapı sergilediğini göstermektedir. Türkiye’nin Afrika pazarındaki bilişsel imajının güçlü olduğu, duygusal boyutta ise gelişim alanları bulunduğu tespit edilmiştir. Türkiye’yi tekrar ziyaret etme ve tavsiye etme eğiliminin yüksek olduğu ve sosyal medya ile televizyon dizilerinin Türkiye imajını şekillendiren başlıca bilgi kaynakları olduğu belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, Türkiye’nin Afrika’daki destinasyon konumunu güçlendirmeye yönelik önemli yönetsel ve iletişimsel çıkarımlar sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Ülke imajı
• Afrikalı turistler
• bilişsel imaj
• duygusal imaj
• tutumsal niyetler

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