EVALUATION OF PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED BY DISABLED CONSUMERS IN TOURISM DESTINATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED BY SERVICE PROVIDERS: SINOP EXAMPLE

While Sinop has been the subject of many studies before, this study is important because, as a result of the examinations made in the databases, no study on disability in Sinop province has been seen in the literature. This research, which was conducted to facilitate the daily lives of disabled consumers living in Sinop and to ensure their active participation in society, sheds light on a very important issue. The main purpose of the study is to determine the obstacles and needs faced by disabled consumers living in Sinop, to evaluate the opportunities offered by service providers and to present suggestions for improvements that can be made in this area. The results of the research will both shed light on the measures to be taken to make Sinop disabled-friendly city and to increase awareness of disabled rights in our country. In line with this purpose, face-to-face interviews were conducted to determine the problems experienced by disabled consumers regardless of their disability class. Disabled consumers were reached Google forms and surveys and data was collected in this way. It is estimated that there are around 6,000 disabled people in Sinop. Data were obtained from 155 disabled consumers of different age and gender groups living in Sinop with the data collection tool used in the study. Thematic analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. Regarding the research results, it was concluded that there are many physically disabled individuals in Sinop province, there are few applications and places for the disabled, transportation facilities are inadequate, they mostly shop for food, they do not prepare a list before shopping, they do not shop without doing price research and they shop from fixed points, and they do not know their rights in case of problems. © 2025, Hysen MANKOLLI. All rights reserved.