235 International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research 2 (2019) 235 – 244 International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research http://dergipark.gov.tr/ijctr SWOT - TOWS ANALYSIS OF URLA DESTINATION’S ALTERNATIVE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Research Article İge PIRNAR 1 , Sinem KURTURAL 2 , Engin Deniz ERİŞ 3 ABSTRACT As the opposite of mass tourism, alternative tourism provides opportunity for personalization, cultural self- involvement and interaction with the locals. Since customization becomes quite popular nowadays, alternative tourism appears to be an attractive and suitable choice for the tourists. In this study, Urla is examined according to it’s alternative tourism potential. The first part of the study provides brief information about Urla district in Izmir, Turkey and briefly emphasizes alternative tourism benefits. The second section focuses on Urla district and the alternative tourism applications of the destination namely; festival tourism, heritage tourism, new-culture tourism, camping tourism, trekking tourism, yacht and sailing tourism, wine tourism, gastronomy tourism, adventure tourism and eco- tourism. A SWOT Analysis on Urla’s alternative tourism is derived and included in the final part where appropriate strategies and suggestions which are likely to optimize the strengths and opportunities, to eliminate or strengthen the weaknesses and to handle the threats are developed. Thus, the suggestions are provided according to the results of the analysis and include grouping the alternative tourism types for synergy and selection of one or two groups according to the SWOT Analysis results. With the TOWS Analysis, results may enlighten the business owners, policy makers and academicians and give some tips on how Urla’s alternative tourism potential may be optimized. Key Words: Alternative tourism, SWOT Analysis, TOWS Analysis, Urla JEL Codes: M10, Z39 1 Prof. Dr., Yaşar University, Faculty of Business, Department of Business Administration, ige.pirnar@yasar.edu.tr, orcid.org/0000-0002-8068-1736 2 General Manager, Güzel İzmir Hotel, Fevzi Pasa Bulvari 1368 Sokak No:8 Basmane-İzmir, snmkurtural@gmail.com, orcid.org/0000-0001-9880-4979 3 Assoc. Prof. Dr., Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir Vocational School, Department of Economics and Administrative Programs, engindeniz.eris@deu.edu.tr, orcid.org/0000-0002-0652-3975 “Pırnar İ., Kurtural S., Eriş E. D. (2019). SWOT Analysis of Urla Destination’s Alternative Tourism Development, International Journal of Contemporary Tourism Research, Vol 3: No: 2, p. 235-244, doi: 10.30625/ijctr.650380” Received Date: 24.11.2019 Accepted Date: 24.12.2019