EFFECTS OF THE URBAN IMAGE ON THE DESTINATION IMAGE IN HEALTH TOURISM: THE CASE OF SIVAS

This study aims to determine the effects of urban image on destination image in terms of health tourism. The population of this research, which is designed as a descriptive and cross-sectional type, consists of people over 18 years of age living in Sivas province center. 387 people were included in the sample of the study, and 387 people were reached. Survey method was used as data collection tool. The questionnaire consists of three parts; urban ​​image scale, destination image scale and questionnaire form designed to measure the introductory information of the participants. The data were evaluated using SPSS 21 statistical analyses, correlation and regression analyses. 51% of the participants are male, 33.1% are public employees, 58.7% have bachelor’s degree and 19.9% ​​have 1604-2000 ₺ monthly income. 75.6% of the participants stated that they have gone to the thermal center before, and 43.6% reported that the purpose of the trip to the thermal resort was vacation. The perceptions of urban image and destination image of the participants were found to be above the average. According to the correlation analysis, there is a positively moderate correlation between urban image and destination image. The result of regression analysis is that the urban image influences the image of the region.