Attention has long been paid in the literature to the general phenomenon of the migration demands of tourists and their mobility. In particular, the migration patterns of northern European populations to southern European regions, typically motivated by social and economic factors and the search for a better climate and a better quality of lifestyle, have been an area of considerable academic interest. However, with a few notable exceptions, the great majority of studies have focused primarily on European Mediterranean regions in general, and on Spain, France and Italy in particular. In contrast, tourist migration to Turkey's coastal regions has been largely neglected by the academic community. Indeed, only a very limited number of studies have been undertaken into the phenomenon in Turkey, and these mostly date back to the start of the new millennium. Hence, research into tourism migration to Turkey is now relatively dated and, despite calls for more up-to-date studies to be undertaken, this has not occurred. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to address this gap in the literature. In particular, it seeks to investigate and develop a critical understanding of the case of British permanent tourists in Didim, in Turkey. In so doing, it offers an original contribution to the literature on tourist migration and second home ownership, not only considering the phenomenon in a country that, although experiencing a significant level of tourist migration and second home ownership, has benefited from limited research, but also exploring it in a socio-cultural context that differs significantly from that of the majority of (European based) studies. More specifically, this thesis sets out to examine critically the relationship between the host community and tourist-migrants, referred to in this study as permanent tourists, in Turkey. In order to achieve this purpose, the research seeks to identify and elicit the views of permanent tourists in Turkey and explore the extent of their engagement with the host society and culture in Turkey. At the same time, not only does it develop an understanding of the general characteristics of those purchasing (second) homes in Turkey (i.e. space-time characteristics, nationality and motivations), but also it critically appraises the social, cultural and economic impacts of international (specifically British) tourists buying property in Turkey, as well as considering their interactions with the local Turkish community and the respective impacts of the interactions on both the local ('host') and permanent tourist ('guest') communities. The research adopts an interpretivist approach and utilises qualitative methods to address the principal research questions. Such an approach responds to recent criticisms of the dominance of quantitative- based studies within the host perceptions / host-guest relations literature and consequential calls for broader, multi-dimensional qualitative-base studies. In order to elicit rich data from both (host and guest) communities in the study area, the research comprises three stages. The first stage involves interviews undertaken specifically with members of the host community, whilst the second stage employs the same method (interviews) to investigate the perceptions and experiences of British permanent tourists in Didim. The final stage of the research comprises three focus groups drawn from both the host and permanent tourist groups, the purpose being to consider issues identified in the interviews in greater depth in order to critically assess the themes emerging from both communities at the previous interview stages. The principal findings, in part, concur with previous studies and, in part, reveal new themes and issues in terms of the motivations for British permanent tourists to settle in Turkey as well as in terms of the degree of integration into the local society. Unsurprisingly perhaps, it is found that many of the permanent tourists' interactions with the host community remain superficial, yet symbiotic. The study also compared the differences between the relations of hosts with both permanent and temporary tourists and, in so doing, considers how the duration of a tourist's stay impacts on these relations. Significantly, the findings challenge the models proposed in some early studies, such as Doxey's irritation index (1975), and proposes an adaptation of the model of host and guest relations he developed, highlighting the need for more research about symbiotic host-guest relations, particularly in the case of permanent tourists. In addition, and augmenting previous research, the findings reveal an increasing trend of permanent tourists, particularly those from the UK, leaving the region owing to insufficient financial resources, poor planning or for reasons of health. The study also reveals that most permanent tourists who still live in Didim are either the retired British population who live there all year round or are second home owners only there for extended holidays. In line with previous studies, the study also identifies many social, economic and environmental impacts that permanent tourists have on the local community, including increased prices of property, products and services in the region. Despite the negative impacts, however, many locals remain positive about the presence of permanent tourists despite some reservations about some aspects of behaviour. Both communities appear to have learned to live together as two separate societies rather than one, mainly reflecting the language barrier. The findings have important implications in terms of identifying means of overcoming potential issues to create a better and happier social life for the both communities and to establish more positive relations as a basis for potential tourism opportunities in Didim as well as in other destinations. Overall the study revealed that the integration levels of permanent tourists with the host community operate on a very practical level. Thus, it concludes that the integration model needs to differentiate between levels of interaction, a primary factor being whether permanent tourists learn the hosts' language.

This study centres upon Manchester and its spatial understanding as accrued by tourists. The assessment of urban tourist experience embraces three distinct concepts that discern this work from previous approaches to date. Namely, that tourist experience consists of behaviour and meaning, with either part incomplete without the other. This then, incurs the need to quantify elements of place and people whilst embracing subjectivity as both an empirical and perennial problem within qualitative analysis. Lastly, to measure such aspects by 'consensus' by assessing ways of 'doing, seeing and thinking' within a city that is unfamiliar. A central tenet of this study is the belief that the overall tourist experience is dependent upon the personal goals, values and beliefs of the tourist, evaluated from a position of self-reference. Urban tourism unites the disciplines of physical and human geography into one occurrence, assessed as the ' tourist experience.' Graefe and Vaske (1987) explain this as the culmination of a given experience, influenced by individual, environmental, situational and personality-related factors as forms of communication. As a result, the 'tourist' interacts on two levels; initially, in a physical way as behaviour becomes enacted and assembled. Simultaneously, the stranger accumulates knowledge of somewhere different from home. Reflecting this, the study commences with a traditional behaviourist approach to define the tourist location. Secondly, a phenomenological approach explores the individual sensitivities, associations and values of tourists towards new and unfamiliar surroundings. Both perspectives are incorporated within a sequential and progressive research design conducted within the city of Manchester, U.K. The stages include: the construction of a GIS based tourist map founded upon ordnance survey co-ordinates. The completion of a tourist survey to ascertain the knowledge, mobility and visits conducted during each visit (N=l46). The third stage quantifies the diversity of experience through personal interviews, photo elicitation techniques and factor analysis (Q Sort). The fourth stage implements qualitative software analysis to reveal aspects of social appreciation and cultural diversity (Nudist NVivo). Consequently, the study provides an interpretative assessment to unite both urban behaviour and tourist experience. Thus, the assessment moves beyond the traditional study of behaviour yet regards such an approach to be an essential building block to a study moving from 'maps to meaning.' A Q methodological design of a non - probability sample includes: interviews (N = 30) and factor analysis techniques in seeking to understand the composition and depth of the urban tourist experience. Subsequent comparison between emergent groups explores the divergence of opinions and personal values between individuals. This triangulation of data seeks to unite quantitative and qualitative data collection methods within an interpretative framework of enquiry. An innovative research design implements the use of a varied range of contemporary software packages. The results suggest that it is the inherent characteristics of people, and not the places they visit that provide the foundation of experience. To conclude any meaning of place as remaining enmeshed within the cultural context of origin to be individually defined and inherently valued.

The study of ‘dark tourism’ has gained increasing traction over the past two decades or so. Visits to sites of, or associated with death, disaster, atrocity, or suffering are a pervasive feature within the contemporary tourism landscape. This thesis, therefore, critically examines dark tourism within the modern tourism industry in which ‘dark’ experiences are packaged-up and sold to consumers – a process known as ‘commodification’. As a result, the study appraises the effects commodification has on the visitor experience at sites of dark tourism. Drawing upon a multidisciplinary approach, this thesis examines key relationships between dark tourism supplier and consumer in order to evaluate the visitor experience. This includes the notion of mortality and, in so doing, the research considers how the process of commodification affects encounters with the fragile state and inevitable demise of the human being. Moreover, this relates to the so-called ‘sequestration of death’ whereby death, in modern life, is removed from daily life in order to protect the Self from undue upsetting thoughts. This thesis utilises a phenomenological research philosophy in order to understand the nature of visitor experiences. The study also adopts a supply-demand approach, and so through the instruments of semi-structured interviews and participant questionnaires, appraises the relationship between the provision and consumption of dark tourism experiences. The empirical research investigates two case studies within UK dark tourism: Lancaster Castle and the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool. Ultimately, this thesis argues that the commodification process denotes specific semiotics of a touristic and behavioural nature. In turn, this thesis offers an original blueprint model in which to locate commodification processes, which this study terms the ‘Semiotic Framework of Dark Tourism Experience’. It is concluded that, using supply-side entities such as tour guides, shops, interpretative materials and other such items, suppliers of dark tourism sculpt the experience and direct visitor behaviour, but crucially do not fundamentally change the nature of experience by providing those phenomena. Rather, commodification within dark tourism provides a specific context in which to encounter death, mortality and atrocity within authentic and ontologically secure boundaries.