Abstract
Certain unconventional tourism activities such as visiting battlefields, old prisons, or crash sites encompass dark tourism and have become the focus of scholarly pursuit. The term was established in relation to the Gallipoli Battlefields; which has been examined mostly in the context of its importance to Australian and New Zealander national identities. As represented by numerous memorials and well-established historical narration, the Battle in Gallipoli is credited as one of the most important representations of Turkish nationality. This research aims to investigate the motivations of Turkish visitors to Gallipoli in terms of consumption experiences and to clarify empirically motivations of Turkish visitors to Gallipoli. An explorative questionnaire was directed to respondents via e-mail, and analyses were conducted with 236 valid forms. Data supports that rather than personal motivation, visiting Gallipoli reflects politically constructed meanings for Turkish visitors. Gallipoli narration is therefore eligibly expounded as national rhetoric and motivations for visiting the site are compatible with group consumption behavior.
Keywords
dark tourism, battlefield tourism, group consumption, political narration, consumer experience
Chinese Abstract
政治背景下的历史消费：土耳其游客访问加里波利战场的动机
某些非传统的旅游活动，如参观战场、旧监狱或坠机地点等都包含黑色旅游意味，并已成为学术研究的焦点。这一术语的创建与加里波利之战有关，多见于研究在澳大利亚和新西兰的国家认同中它所发挥的重要性。如同大量纪念碑和广为人知的历史故事中记载的那样，加里波利之战被誉为土耳其国籍最重要的标志之一。本文旨在从消费经验的角度研究土耳其游客访问加里波利的动机，并对此加以实证验证。 研究小组以电子邮件形式向调查对象发送了一份探索性问卷，分析了236份有效答复。数据显示，访问加里波利反映了土耳其游客的政治构建意义而非个人动机。因此，加里波利的叙事被合理地解释为民族修辞，而参观该遗址的动机也与群体消费行为相符。
黑暗旅游，战场旅游，群体消费，政治叙事，消费经验
DOI
10.5038/2640-6489.5.2.1123
Recommended Citation
Topcu, U. (2020). Consuming history in a political context: Motivations of Turkish visitors of the Gallipoli Battlefields. Journal of Global Business Insights, 5(2), 103-119. https://www.doi.org/10.5038/2640-6489.5.2.1123
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