A Research on the Shopping Trends of Bulgarian Tourists with the View of the Tradesmen of Edirne Selimiye Arasta

Abstract

Shopping tourism is an important element of destination marketing within the scope of nationalor international tourism movements. Restaurants, hotels, recreation centers, shopping centers aswell as traditional bazaar tradesmen are an intermediary and an important role in providingeconomic input to touristic destinations. Despite the rapid consumption structure of modernshopping centers, maintaining traditional artisan culture also brings loyal customers todestinations. Shopping tourism, which is an important part of tourism activities in particular, is animportant center since Edirne Province is both deeply rooted in terms of history and an attractivedestination in terms of culture and food tastes. In addition, Edirne Province is active ininternational tourism movements due to the border gates opening to Europe. This mobility hasturned Edirne into a shopping tourism temple of Bulgarian tourists, especially due to exchangerates in recent years. In this context, a study was conducted on the perceptions of Edirne SelimiyeArastası tradesmen towards the shopping tendencies of Bulgarian tourists. This research is aquantitative research. The data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed with SPSSfor Windows 22 statistical software. In the research, sampling technique was preferred asconvenience sampling. A face-to-face questionnaire was applied to 80 tradesmen serving in EdirneSelimiye Arastası. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of the data. As a result of theresearch, various suggestions were made to public institutions and organizations. In addition,research res ults regarding the shopping trends of Bulgarian tourists are expected to guidedestination marketers.