Examination of Winter Sports Participation Constraints of the Youth: The Case of Gümüşhane University Students

Winter tourism has made a rapid development in terms of both supply and demand, especially since the 1960s. The current reports reveal that there is a deceleration in the growth rate of winter tourism market in last 15 years and that participation rate of people to winter sports got slower. From this viewpoint, it is aimed to determine the winter sports participation constraints of young people who constitute the large part of the winter tourism market. In this context, a questionnaire was applied to Gümüşhane University students and a sample of 457 people was reached. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, T-test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. According to the results, most important constraint was “financial insufficiency” for the youth. Following “financial insufficiency” related constraints, "lack of partner", "finding unattractive", "fear-danger" and "social anxiety" come. Significant differences were found between people in different income, gender, and recreational preferences groups in terms of various constraints. In addition, it is found that factors of “fear-danger” and “finding unattractive” have significant negative effect on the interest levels of participants for winter sports.