The dominance of sea-sun-sand triangle on Turkish tourism brought the need for new
approaches to extend tourism supply and demand throughout the country in the 1990s. The
aim was for alternative types of tourism to reduce seasonal concentrations and to help
attract visitors throughout the whole year. The Five-Year Development Plan (1996-2000),
highlighted the improvement of new alternative types of tourism by considering changing
demands to achieve a more balanced seasonal and spatial distribution of tourism (SPO,
1995). Moreover, the first priority of Turkey’s 2010 tourism vision is to emphasize the cultural
variety and richness of Turkey (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2004). Consistent with the
policies to ensure tourism and cultural variety, cities are now more important as destinations.
These developments have substantially raised the expectations of Turkish tourism from
Istanbul, which is rich in cultural heritage and a place which has a unique atmosphere