MEASURING THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF TOURISM WITH TOURISM EXPENSES: AN APPLICATION IN THE TRA2 REGION

Tourism mobility can play important roles in ensuring development on a regional basis. The present study was conducted to uncover the effects of tourism on local economies in the TRA2 Level II Region (i.e., the cities of Ağrı, Ardahan, Iğdır, and Kars). Rich natural and cultural assets, history, geography, and tourism potentials (e.g., mountaineering, transhumance, and faith) are untouched in the region. To make use of these potentials, the present study determined the contribution of tourism income to the regional economy by analyzing the expenditures of the visitors coming to the region with the regional expenditure model. A total of 448 survey forms were applied to obtain the opinions of the visitors coming to the region, and 30 survey forms were applied to obtain the opinions of the accommodation establishments. It was found that the visitors spent the most during their stays in the region on the accommodation category with 203.883.954 TL and 85.627.277 TL on food and beverages. It is considered that determining which sectors the expenditures are concentrated on will help the state and investors for making more accurate investments and resource allocation for tourism in the region in the future. If the common problems identified in the sector in the region can be solved, there is a high expectation that tourism will develop the region economically.