The Impact of Tourists’ Sensation Seeking in Space Tourism on Their Expectation of Experience Within the Postmodern Tourism Paradigm

Space tourism, within the post-modern tourism paradigm, emerges as an alternative tourism type in line with new information about space. The aim of research is to determine the impact of potential tourists' sensation seeking tendencies on their expectations of experiencing space tourism, which is expected to be a frequent activity in the future. To achieve this objective, a quantitative research method was used. The research was conducted on potential tourists living in Turkey. Data were collected through an online survey from potential tourists reached by convenience sampling, a non-random sampling method. This research is limited to the information obtained as a result of the resources available after a literature review in the field. finding of the study is that sensation seeking decreases as age increases. It is observed that individuals in younger age groups have a higher level of sensation seeking. A positive linear relationship is observed between the dimension of sensation seeking and the dependent variable of expectation of experience. The use of new technologies is often linked to hedonic motivation. Tourists' sensation seeking trait significantly influences their expectation of experience in space tourism. The study concludes that tourists' sensation seeking impacts their expectation of experience in space tourism by 37%. Space tourism has emerged as a new and rising field in recent years. The tendencies of potential tourists in this field can shape their future space experiences. In this sense, this study, which has a unique research area, can also provide important information for the marketing strategies to be developed by space tourism companies.