Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Humanities and Tourism Research, cilt.16, sa.1, ss.107-118, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)
This study
investigates the reasons why non-visitors do not travel to Van, examines their
tourist behaviour tendencies, and evaluates their perceptions of the
destination. Data were collected from 426 individuals using convenience
sampling via online and face-to-face surveys and analysed using SPSS 22.0.
Descriptive statistics and parametric tests were used for the analyses. The
findings reveal that when Van is mentioned, the first elements that come to
mind for non-visitors are Lake Van, the Van breakfast, and the Van cat.
However, participants reported insufficient information about the destination,
perceived transportation to Van as inadequate, and did not find the city
attractive. Moreover, Van was not considered a destination that would bring
social prestige, and safety concerns, along with negative information from
their social environment, contributed to a generally unfavourable destination view.
As a result, participants expressed hesitation and anxiety about visiting Van
in the future. Significant gender differences were also observed in tourist
behaviour tendencies, with women exhibiting more positive holiday-related
tendencies than men. In addition, individuals with postgraduate education held
more favourable perceptions of Van than those with associate’s or bachelor’s
degrees. Based on these findings, the study offers recommendations for
destination managers, tourism practitioners, and future researchers to improve
Van’s destination image and attractiveness.
Key Words: Van,
Non-visitors, Tourism behaviour tendencies, Destination perception.