Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence of the application of various marketing management philosophies by tourism organizations in Turkey. Those studied had the greatest tendency toward product-oriented marketing and the least orientation toward societal marketing. The findings reveal that competency, availability of financial resources, and characteristics of the country’s business environment influence the application of marketing management philosophies in organizations. A deeper analysis of the internal and external environments is thus essential to understanding the challenges in following more customer-oriented and societal considerations at a destination. This paper discusses whether marketing practices developed in Western countries can be applied in a developing country and why organizations in such countries may fail to practice these marketing practices.