THE EFFECT OF THE HOT AIR BALLOON INDUSTRY ON TOURIST EXPENDITURES

The main income in tourism is tourist expenditures per capita, so the first thing to consider in tourism development movements is to seek and find ways to increase the number of tourists. Generally, the purposes and expectations of tourists are known. In order to increase the average per capita tourist expenditure, better and more attractive goods and services should be offered to tourists and detailed statistical analysis should be made for this. Cappadocia plays an important role in increasing tourist expenditures with its hot air balloon rides and its historical and cultural structure. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the effect of the Cappadocia hot air balloon industry on the average tourist expenditure per capita. As a result of the ARDL bounds test, a cointegration relationship was found between Turkey's average tourist expenditure per capita, the number of tourists participating in the balloon flight and the number of days available for flight. According to the findings, a 1% increase in the number of tourists participating in a hot air balloon flight increases the average tourist expenditure per capita by 0.07% in the long run. In addition, a 1% increase in the number of days suitable for flight increases the average tourist expenditure per capita by 0.08% in the long run. Although there is a structural break in the estimated long-term coefficients according to the CUSUM test, no structural break was detected according to the CUSUMQ test result. Granger causality was determined from the number of tourists participating in the hot air balloon flight to the average tourist expenditure per capita. In addition, Granger causality was determined at 10% significance level from the number of days suitable for hot air balloon flight to the average tourist expenditures per capita.