Geography of suppliers in the hospitality sector: The case of Alanya

Abstract

Abstract The hospitality sector has for some time attracted significant academic attention due to its impact on other sectors. The aim of this paper, which falls between the tourism and economic geography fields of interest, is to explore the demands and supplier linkages of hotels, aiming to identify not only how the geographical distribution of suppliers is determined, but also any differences between supplier linkages and supplier selection criteria. The results reveal that Alanya (a district of Antalya in Turkey) has a robust network of supplier firms that is able to provide hotels with the necessary products and services, and as a result, the contribution of hotels to the local economy in Alanya (local level), based on their purchasing practices, can be considered high.