Yersizleşme, Yabancılaşma ve Turistikleşme: Genius Loci’nin Yürüyüş Görüşmeleri Yoluyla Fenomenolojik Analizi (Placelessness, Alienation, and Touristification: A Phenomenological Analysis of Genius Loci in Alanya Through Walking Interviews)

Nihat AKBURAK; Çağla Aslı GÜLDURAN

doi:10.63556/jotags.2026.1926

Authors

Nihat AKBURAK
Çağla Aslı GÜLDURAN

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63556/jotags.2026.1926

Keywords:

Genius Loci (Spirit of Place), Cultural heritage tourism, Place identity, Placelessness

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the interaction between Genius Loci (the spirit of place), placelessness, alienation, and touristic commodification in the Alanya destination through a phenomenological approach. A qualitative research design with a phenomenological perspective was adopted in the study. Walking interviews were conducted with 12 purposively selected domestic visitors in a location chosen in line with the research purpose. The data obtained in the qualitative study were interpreted in accordance with the principles of the phenomenological approach and discussed in relation to the research questions. By addressing the identity of place in the Alanya destination from the perspective of tourists within the framework of the Genius Loci Theory developed by C. Norberg-Schulz (1971), the study contributes theoretical depth and a different paradigm to tourism literature through a phenomenological approach. It offers an original perspective to destination identity debates by analyzing the tension between Alanya’s natural and cultural heritage and the sense of placelessness produced by mass tourism through tourist experiences. In this respect, it provides an innovative contribution that critically reveals the effects of growth-oriented tourism models on the spirit of place.

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