Evaluating the attractiveness of architectural destinations with content analysis method and artificial intelligence: the case of Ankara

ABSTRACT

Determining the attractiveness of architectural destinations is important in revealing why visitors prefer these places. The study will help to identify the positive and negative aspects of buildings in terms of tourism in a wide scope and will also guide architects and designers in building design. From this point of view, the sample area of this study was determined as the city of Ankara. Ankara is a potential tourism destination as it is both the country’s capital and home to many historical buildings that shed light on the Republican era. The study method is based on content analysis of the comments of domestic and foreign tourists on architectural structures in the city on Tripadvisor, one of the leading digital travel platforms. The study is limited to eight (8) architectural structures. By analyzing the comments on the travel platform, the prominent themes in the attractiveness elements of architectural structures were identified. Although the numerical values obtained with artificial intelligence are different, the prominent contents are the same. The ability of artificial intelligence to interpret and analyze concepts constitutes an important method for qualitative analysis. As a result, the study found that the most attractive elements of architectural destinations for visitors are historical, cultural, and architectural values.

KEYWORDS:

• Destination
• attractiveness
• architectural designs
• TripAdvisor; artificial intelligence; chat GPT

Introduction

Today, thanks to the Internet, the sharing and transferring of information has become more manageable, and services and products have become easily accessible. This situation has also affected people’s vacation and travel preferences and choices. People increasingly prefer comments and shares about products and services on the Internet due to low research costs, the ability to make comparisons, and the fact that it is a convenient, easy, and fast method [1]. This information-sharing tool, characterized as electronic commenting, is carried out through online travel platforms regarding tourism. Today, online travel platforms are digital resources that contain important data about destinations, and these platforms are quite decisive in visitors’ travel decisions [2]. By sharing their positive or negative opinions about destinations, visitors have an impact on the preferences of potential visitors. The Internet has become the most important tool for obtaining pre-travel information. Social media and online travel platforms replace printed booklets, brochures, and magazines. All kinds of information about destinations, such as transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, safety, etc., can accessed easily and quickly through travel platforms.

The Internet has become the most important tool for obtaining pre-travel information. Social media and online travel platforms replace printed booklets, brochures, and magazines. All kinds of information about destinations, such as transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, safety, etc., can accessed easily and quickly through travel platforms.

In the literature, there are studies in which the attractiveness of tourism destinations in different countries is determined. For example, Krausler and Pröbstl-Haider [3] asked participants in an online survey to evaluate different types of private buildings and decide how they would affect the character of the Pöllauer Valley Nature Park destination. Chauhan et al. [4] aimed to contribute to the Indian destination branding literature. Chen and Sheldon [5] examine design issues and guidelines within destination information systems. In contrast to all these studies, Medica et al. [6] have argued that the branding of traditional architectural heritage can positively enrich the touristic opportunities of specific destinations.

In this study, based on the increasing importance of online travel platforms in the tourism industry, reviews about architectural destinations in Ankara Province in the TripAdvisor database are evaluated. The TripAdvisor database is chosen because it is interpreted as one of the largest travel platforms in the literature [7]. Visitors who have experienced architectural destinations share their positive or negative experiences on travel platforms, thus greatly influencing the decisions of potential visitors who have not yet experienced these structures [8]. In this context, the study was limited to a total of (8) architectural structures, namely Ankara Castle, Anıtkabir, Hacı Bayram-ı Veli Mosque, Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Rahmi Koç Museum, War of Independence Museum, Ethnography Museum, and Republic Museum. In the research, by analyzing the comments on the TripAdvisor platform, the prominent themes in the attraction elements of architectural structures were determined using the content analysis method. In this context, as a result of analyzing the comments of each building with the content analysis method, a total of 17 themes have been identified as infrastructure, security, historical value, cultural value, entertainment/enjoyment, shopping/food and beverage, landscape, architectural features, attitude/content, price, visit information, hygiene, parking, transportation/location, access, information/guidance, protection/restoration. Afterward, user comments on the platform have been analyzed within a prompt defined as artificial intelligence. This analysis aims to determine how many times 17 different themes or topics have been mentioned in the comments. The results obtained have been then compared and presented.

Destination and architecture destination concept

A destination is simply a place where tourists spend a certain amount of time [9,10]. The earliest known use of the term destination, derived from the Latin word ‘destinātiōnem’ dates back to 1598 in the writing of John Florio, a writer and language teacher [11,12] who defines this concept as a place worth traveling, visiting, and to be reached. According to Murphy et al., a destination is a mix of individual products and experience opportunities that come together to form the total experience of the visited region [13,14]. A destination is a combination of goods, services, and vacation experiences offered at the local scale.

The concept of destination also refers to a perceptual experience that can be interpreted subjectively and may vary depending on factors such as education, cultural status, travel experience, travel destination, and consumer gender [15]. According to Rand et al. [16], a successful destination is evaluated by the positive increase in visitors to that region/place compared to other destinations, the amount of expenditure per capita, and the high willingness to visit again.

Destinations can be limited to a specific area, or they can be formed by the combination of different destinations. In this context, destinations are classified into two categories: macro and micro destinations. While micro destinations refer to places such as villages, towns, and cities, macro destinations refer to large-scale areas such as countries or continents [17]. Destinations are also classified according to their intended use. Accordingly, they are categorized as business travel destinations, leisure destinations, day trips, nature attractions, and classic (cultural and historical) destinations [18]. In addition to these, a different and broader classification of destinations made by Buhalis. Buhalis [14] categorized destinations as rural, unique/exotic, authentic third world, winter, seaside, and urban destinations.

Architectural destinations are places that tourists and travelers find architecturally significant, unique, or impressive. These destinations can often be architectural monuments, buildings, or cities in a particular region. Historic buildings, modern architectural structures, important examples of cultural heritage, and places where various architectural styles stand out can be considered architectural destinations. Tourists usually visit these places to see, photograph, and experience architecturally interesting details. Architectural destinations play an important role in the tourism industry and contribute to the promotion of the region while promoting cultural exchange. Architectural destinations are often visually impressive and unique. Historical or modern architectural structures especially offer aesthetic richness and attract visitors’ attention. Architectural destinations have historical and cultural significance. Many architectural destinations have a historically or culturally significant past. They may have once hosted important events or formed part of a region’s cultural identity [18].

Destination attractiveness

Attractiveness is effective in the preference of destinations. Attractiveness is seen as the most important reason for demand and motivation toward a destination [19,20]. In addition, destination attractiveness is one of the main factors in developing loyalty to a place. According to Cracolici and Nijkamp, destination attractiveness refers to whether the touristic qualities of a place/region meet tourists’ needs for mental relaxation and well-being [21]. The characteristics that make destinations attractive include natural, historical, artistic, and cultural factors, as well as factors such as economy, transportation, superstructure, hospitality, and accommodation [22]. Natural attraction elements are natural or physical riches that have occurred spontaneously without any human contribution or labor. They are natural formations such as sea, lake, waterfall, river, mountain, forest, flora, fauna, landscapes, national parks, and beaches. Historical and cultural attractions include monuments such as battlefields, castles, museums, monuments, religious buildings such as churches, mosques, and synagogues, artistic and architectural features, traditional lifestyle, traditional arts, local culture, food culture, and other regional elements [23].

According to another classification, destinations are divided into natural elements (climate, natural beauty, scenery, mountains, water resources, flora and fauna, protected areas, national parks, beaches, safari, valleys, caves, etc.), historical and cultural elements (buildings, bridges, mines, ships, highways, locomotives, rural villages, remote settlements, architecture, clothing, arts, crafts, beliefs, religion, language, local cuisine, etc.), economic elements (income, travel cost, political environment of the destination country, security, relative price of the destination, economic growth and development of the destination, accommodation, infrastructure conditions, exchange rates in the destination, exchange rates in the destination, etc.), economic elements (income, travel cost, political environment of the destination country, security, relative price of the destination, economic growth and development of the destination, accommodation, infrastructure conditions, exchange rates in the destination, etc.), economic elements (income, travel cost, political environment of the destination country, security, relative price of destinations, economic growth and development of the destination, accommodation, infrastructure conditions, exchange rates in the destination, nature of tourist attractions, etc.), transportation services elements, superstructure elements, hospitality elements, accommodation service elements (hotels, motels, hostels, holiday villages, guesthouses, camping, oberj, etc.) and local transport service elements [24].

According to Blazeska et al. [25], climate, natural beauty, and food are the most important attraction motifs, while entertainment activities, nightlife, recreation, and sports are less important. According to Kresic and Prebezac [26], in the global tourism industry, where competition is becoming more and more critical, destinations are faced with the pressure to develop, renew, and improve while preserving their attraction elements.

In order for destinations to achieve and maintain an advantageous position compared to each other, it is essential that they stand out with their attraction characteristics and emphasize their attraction characteristics. In addition, destination attractions vary according to the characteristics of countries, regions, and localities. In some destinations, natural attractions come to the fore, while in others, architectural structures come to the fore. In this context, destinations with a combination of various attraction elements are the ones that attract the most attention and demand. For this reason, it is critical for the development and success of destinations to identify the characteristics of the destinations, reach potential tourists through online communication opportunities, and include the attraction elements in the promotional information in full.

Studies on destination attractiveness in the literature

In Şahin and Şad’s study in 2018 [27], content analysis was conducted for the ten most visited museums in Turkey. In the study, which evaluated the database of TripAdvisor [28], one of the online travel platforms, a total of 2224 comments were analyzed. As a result of the study, it was concluded that visitors’ evaluations of museums were generally positive. In Topsakal’s study in 2019, online reviews of Arslantepe Mound in Malatya were analyzed to reveal the tourism potential of the site. Using the content analysis method, the study examined visitor comments about the mound on TripAdvisor, an online review site. In Karasakal’s 2019 [29] study, the destination attractions of Turkey, Spain, and Greece were compared according to the studies in the literature.

The study aims to identify the studies that reveal the attractions in these three important destinations of the Mediterranean and to reveal the differences and similarities by grouping these attractions in terms of their characteristics. According to the findings of the study, the attraction characteristics of the destinations in our country are classified into 23 items: entertainment, infrastructure, security, shopping, accommodation, historical and cultural elements, attitude, service, price, hygiene and cleanliness, food and beverage, nature, activity, access, supportive, informativeness, communication, negative elements, attractions, tranquility, airport, family orientation and other. In Koçoğlu and Sipahi’s study in 2022 [30], architectural structures were examined as destination attraction elements. In the study analyzed in the context of Izmir, five architecturally important buildings in the city were evaluated according to the content analysis method within the scope of visitor comments and likes on TripAdvisor. Visit information, historical information, interior and exterior features, recommendation, destination, and visitor experience are the themes in which the buildings are evaluated.

In the literature, many studies have been conducted in various fields related to ‘tourism destinations’ and ‘destination attractions’. However, there is a limited number of studies on the attractiveness of architectural destinations. The question of the contribution of architectural structures to tourism or how they affect the attractiveness of destinations remains current. This study limits the attractiveness of destinations in terms of architectural structures and contributes to the literature on this subject.

Ankara and its architectural destinations

Ankara has stood out as an important city for centuries thanks to its geographical position and location. Ankara, home to many civilizations, especially the Phrygians, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman Empires, realized its main development with the proclamation of the Republic in 1923. The city, which appeared as a small town until this date, entered a rapid development process with the Republic. The ecological, physical, and socio-economic structure of the city, its population, and people’s living practices have undergone a radical change since then [31]. With the new development activities, many state institutions, banks, educational buildings, hospitals, museums, and other cultural structures were built in the city center [32]. Thus, Ankara is home to many tangible and intangible cultural values that have survived from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman, and Republican periods to the present day. In other words, Ankara, which is very important in many ways, has a rich cultural heritage. This rich cultural heritage carries the city to an important position as a tourism destination.

Ankara is one of the top ten cities hosting the highest number of tourists in Turkey. According to TURKSTAT’s statistics for 2021, Ankara ranks sixth after Antalya, Istanbul, Muğla, Izmir, Aydın, and İzmir in terms of the total number of overnight stays in tourism. However, the city only stands out in the context of historical and cultural tourism and remains in the background in terms of its existing tourism potential. Ankara is often referred to as ‘boring’, ‘colorless’, ‘gloomy’, and ‘the city of civil servants’ due to its position as the center of politics and the fact that all news about the city revolves around politics and bureaucracy. When the important architectural structures that Ankara has in terms of tourism potential are examined, Ankara Castle and Anıtkabir in the field of historical tourism; Hacı Bayram-ı Veli Mosque in the field of religious tourism; and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Rahmi Koç Museum, War of Independence Museum, Ethnography Museum and Republic Museum in the field of cultural tourism [33].

Ankara Castle is the city’s oldest residential area, and there is no clear data on its construction date. The castle was built on a hill of volcanic rocks with steep slopes and surrounded by walls. Known to have existed during the settlement of the Galatians in Ankara in the 5th century BC, the castle underwent various repairs during the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods [34]. As in other Ottoman castles, the castle contained dungeons, areas where money and valuables belonging to the state were protected, and accommodation areas for soldiers. In time, it transformed its function and became an urban residential area (Table 1) [35].

Table 1: Important architectural structures in Ankara as tourism destinations [41].

Anıtkabir, the mausoleum located on Rasattepe, the second-highest hill in the city, was built in 1939 with an international competition project. The mausoleum has a silhouette that can be perceived from many points in the city. The design fiction was developed to emphasize Atatürk’s characteristic features [36]. The building, which has a rectangular plan scheme, is a modern interpretation of the Greek Parthenon. In front of the building, there is a large ceremonial area and colonnaded sections surrounding this area. This area is reached through a long path with lion statues (Table 1).

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is a bedesten built in Ottoman times. The building, which is now used as a museum, hosts the cultural history of Anatolia from the Paleolithic Age to the Republican Period. In 1997, it was selected first among 68 museums in Europe and was named ‘Museum of the Year in Europe’ (Table 1) [37].

The Second Parliament Building, also known as the Republic Museum, served as the parliament building between 1924 and 1960. The two-story building has a rustic facade with pointed arches, tile decorations, wide eaves, crown doors, and a rustic façade (Table 1).

The Ethnography Museum remained here until Atatürk’s body was transferred to Anıtkabir in 1953. The building is located on Namazgah Hill, overlooking the city. Built in 1925, it is the first state museum. The two-story building has a symmetrical façade and is shaped with an accentuated entrance area, pointed arches, tile decorations, and a central dome (Table 1) [38].

Hacı Bayram Veli Mosque, built in the 15th century, is flanked by a mausoleum and the Roman-era Temple of Augustus. Constructed entirely of brick, the mosque symbolizes a local architectural tradition unique to Ankara [38]. The mosque has undergone numerous repairs over time, the last of which was completed and put into service in 2015. The mosque and its surroundings are a religious center frequently visited by locals and city visitors (Table 1).

Rahmi Koç Museum, also known as Çengelhan, was built in 1522. The rectangular building has two floors and is surrounded by shops with vaulted and pointed arches. The building, which has classical Ottoman architecture, was located on the Silk Road and served as an important trade center for Anatolian caravans. The building, which was used as a mohair and rice warehouse for a long time, has operated as a museum since 2005 (Table 1).

The War of Independence Museum, also known as the First Parliament Building, was built in 1916 for the Committee of Union and Progress. In 1920, the missing roof and facade parts of the building were completed to be used as a parliament building. In 1961, the building, which started to be used as a museum, has two floors and consists of a low basement floor and a second floor with high ceilings. The remarkable architectural elements of the building are pointed arches, wide eaves, andesite stone facade, decorative window and balcony railings, jambs and floor moldings (Table 1) [39].

In this study, in addition to the content analysis method as a qualitative method, it was deemed appropriate to use artificial intelligence tools to increase the accuracy and reliability of the study data. In the literature, in the study conducted by Johnson et al. in 2023, some questions were asked of Chatgpt as a natural language processing model in the field of medicine, and the answers obtained were compared with the answers given by expert doctors [41,42]. Christou (2023) investigated “the use of artificial intelligence (ai) for theory development in qualitative research”. Turobov, Coyle & Harding [43,44,45,46,47] examine the use of the GPT model for initial coding in qualitative thematic analysis of a UN policy document. The main goal of this study is to contribute to the methodological debate on the integration of AI tools and to provide a practical guide to the use of GPT as a collaborative research assistant. The research argues for a balancing use of AI, emphasizing the importance of reliability and transparency in the use of GPT in research methodologies. The researchers argue that this approach has the potential to increase research effectiveness, which in turn can improve the reliability of results. Similarly, in this study, user comments in the Tripadvisor database for (8) destination areas determined within the scope of the research were analyzed by the content analysis method. As a result of these analyses, 17 themes were identified. It was aimed to determine the frequency of use of the themes. Then, the reliability of the themes was analyzed with the Chat GPT artificial intelligence tool. Finally, the results obtained were compared and interpreted.

Material and method

The content analysis method, one of the qualitative research methods, is used in the study. The content analysis method is a method that can systematically define the contents of the opinions of the participants; reveal the least or most frequently used concepts in the contents [37] and present concepts and relationships to explain the collected data. It is an ideal method, especially because of the technical advantages it provides in analyzing a large number of materials and data [38]. In this study, the content analysis method was applied according to the data of the online destination platform ‘TripAdvisor’, one of the world’s largest travel information sources. When the studies in the literature are examined; ‘TripAdvisor’ is currently considered as the content and sales site with travel content created by the world’s largest user base [22,39,40].

In the context of the study, the buildings in the city of Ankara were evaluated as an important architectural destination area due to the fact that it is the capital of the country and home to important historical buildings of the Republican period. Although there are many important buildings in the city, especially from the Republican period, the study was limited to eight (8) buildings (Ankara Castle, Anıtkabir, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Republic Museum, Ethnography Museum, Hacı Bayram-ı Veli Mosque, Rahmi Koç Museum and War of Independence Museum), which are the most well-known and prominent in the literature and also the most commented on TripAdvisor. The reviews of these buildings on the TripAdvisor website were evaluated using the content analysis method. While scanning the data, despite the possibility that new comments could be added to the ‘TripAdvisor’ platform at any time, the research was limited to the comments made until 12 February 2024, and the comments made after this date were not evaluated.

The comments obtained from TripAdvisor were grouped according to their themes in an Excel table. Comments were evaluated only according to the number of themes without considering whether they were positive or negative. The frequency of repetition of each theme in the comments was determined. Inter-coder agreement analysis was performed to ensure the reliability of the study. According to this method, two or more researchers simultaneously analyze the data in the same document under the same themes. The reliability of the study is determined by dividing the total number of compatible codings by the total number of codings. In this study, the reliability of the data obtained as a result of the coding of two different researchers was calculated as 93.2%. This value is above the minimum 90% reliability value recommended by Miles and Huberman (1994). Therefore, the study data provide sufficient reliability values. The flow chart of the study is presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Method flowchart of the study.

Results

A total of 10,785 reviews of the buildings on TripAdvisor site from 2009 until today (3 March 2024) have been identified. The comments on the buildings cover a total period of 15 years. During this period, the buildings have undergone various repairs and renovations. These changes were also reflected in the comments. However, within the scope of the study, comments were not evaluated as positive or negative, and all comments were taken into consideration. The distribution of all comments according to architectural structures is given in Figure 2. In addition, since TripAdvisor has different language options, only English comments were taken into consideration in this study.

Figure 2. Graphical representation of the names of architectural structures and the number of comments Reviewed.

As a result of the evaluations, the most commented architectural destination is Anıtkabir, with a high rate of 43%. Anıtkabir is the most prominent tourist structure in the city. As it is the final resting place of the great leader Atatürk, it is an important destination for local and foreign tourists, both culturally and historically. Anıtkabir was followed by the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (19%), Ankara Castle (15%) and Rahmi Koç Museum (12%). Although there are 23 museums in the city, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations stands out as it is located in the center of the historical district and hosts various collections and events from prehistoric times to the present day. Ankara Castle is another prominent building in the city because of its dominant position, offering a panoramic view of the city and hosting the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman periods (Figure 2).

On TripAdvisor, visitors’ evaluations of the buildings are presented both on a 5-point scale and as comments. Figure 3 shows the visitors’ evaluation of the buildings on a 5-point scale (very good, good, average, bad, and very bad). Accordingly, positive evaluations of the buildings are considerably higher than negative evaluations. The average and above positive values are 99% at Anıtkabir, 97% at Ethnography Museum, 99% at Republic Museum, 98% at Kurtuluş Museum, 98% at Hacı Bayram Veli Mosque, 99% at Rahmi Koç Museum, 94% at Kale and 99% at Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Figure 3. Graphical representation of 5-point scale evaluations of architectural structures.

In the study, the comments of each building were analyzed according to the content analysis method. A total of 2859 comments were analyzed under 17 themes (infrastructure, security, historical value, cultural value, entertainment/enjoyment, shopping/food and beverage, landscape, architectural features, attitude/content, fee, visit information, hygiene, parking, transportation/location, access, information/guidance, protection/restoration). A total of 7632 content was identified from these comments.

Table 2 presents an evaluation of visitors’ comments on the buildings according to their themes. The most prominent themes in visitors’ comments at Anıtkabir are the historical value of the building, architectural features, and attitude/service quality. The fact that the building is the eternal resting place of the great leader Atatürk, that it has the characteristics of a war museum, and that it was acquired through competition was effective in the prominence of these themes. The most prominent themes in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations are attitude/service quality, architectural features, visit information/duration, and information/guidance. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations was awarded the title of Museum of the Year in Europe in 1997 for its service quality. Since the building is located in a historical caravansary, its architectural structure is attractive. The fact that the Museum hosts a vibrant collection was one of the themes emphasized by the visitors in terms of the duration of their visit. The prominent themes in the Ethnography Museum are the cultural value of the building, its historical value, architectural features, and information/guidance. In the Republic Museum, the historical value, fee, cultural value and architectural features of the building were the most commented themes.

Table 2: Analysis of Comments on Architectural Structures with Artificial Intelligence (Chat Gpt).

Themes	Anıtkabir		Museum of Anatolian Civilizations		Ethnography Museum		Republic Museum		War of Independence Museum		Hacı Bayram Veli Mosque		Rahmi Koç Museum		Ankara Castle
	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Lighting/ventilation infrastructure	35	1,23	15	1,09	6	6,06	0	0	5	4,55	1	1,1	1	0,24	20	1,73
Security	149	5,26	2	0,15	6	6,06	0	0	3	2,73	0	0	3	0,72	17	1,47
Historical value	1096	38,66	515	37,56	18	18,18	23	51,11	32	29,09	24	26,37	126	30,14	298	25,78
Cultural value	278	9,81	218	15,9	16	16,16	3	6,67	19	17,27	11	12,09	38	9,09	49	4,24
Fun, enjoyment, enjoyability, activity	76	2,68	65	4,74	3	3,03	0	0	2	1,82	4	4,4	40	9,57	77	6,66
Shopping, food, beverage, accommodation	33	1,16	38	2,77	1	1,01	0	0	0	0	8	8,8	24	5,74	116	10,03
Landscape	207	7,3	23	1,68	4	4,04	0	0	1	0,91	3	3,27	10	2,39	246	21,28
Architectural features	283	9,98	68	4,96	5	5,05	3	6,67	9	8,18	11	12,09	39	9,33	41	3,55
Attitude/quality of service/content	117	4,13	38	2,77	2	2,02	0	0	1	0,91	0	0	55	13,16	23	1,99
Fee	28	0,99	73	5,32	5	5,05	3	6,67	5	4,55	0	0	25	5,98	29	2,51
Visit duration/information	197	6,95	94	6,86	10	10,10	6	13,33	11	10	2	2,2	15	3,59	44	3,81
Hygiene	26	0,92	11	0,8	1	1,01	0	0	0	0	5	5,49	7	1,67	11	0,95
Parking	28	0,99	11	0,8	3	3,03	0	0	2	1,82	3	3,3	6	1,44	23	1,99
Transportation/location	91	3,21	51	3,72	6	6,06	4	8,89	5	4,55	6	6,59	11	2,63	45	3,89
Accessibility	65	2,29	35	2,55	6	6,06	1	2,22	7	6,36	6	6,59	4	0,96	46	3,98
Information/guidance/marking	111	3,92	58	4,23	5	5,05	2	4,44	8	7,27	2	2,2	7	1,67	34	2,94
Conservation/restoration	15	0,53	56	4,08	2	2,02	0	0	0	0	5	5,49	7	1,67	37	3,2
Total	2835	100	1371	100	99	100	45	100	110	100	91	100	418	100	1156	100

As the Second Parliament Building, the Republic Museum hosted important historical and cultural events during the Republican era. In the content analysis of the building, the visitors also emphasized its historical and cultural importance. In the War of Independence Museum, the historical value of the building, its architectural features, and price are the most commented themes. In Hacı Bayram Veli Mosque, the architectural features of the building, its historical value, cultural value, and shopping and dining opportunities are the prominent themes. The fact that there are many commercial activities around the building draws attention to the interpretations of the building in terms of shopping, eating, and drinking.

For Rahmi Koç Museum, the cultural value of the building, architectural features, shopping/food and beverage facilities, and transportation/location themes came to the fore (Table 2). Since the building is located in the historical district and has many commercial activities, shopping, eating, and drinking opportunities were frequently mentioned in the comments. At the same time, the transportation/location theme is also one of the most frequently commented content, as the building is located in a high position in the city and has limited access in terms of transportation. In Ankara Castle, the themes of view, shopping/dining, and transportation/location come to the fore. Since the castle is located in a high position overlooking the city, it attracts attention with its landscape feature rather than its historical significance. The commercial activities around the building also make the area attractive in terms of shopping, eating, and drinking opportunities. The theme of transportation/location is also one of the most commented contents, as the castle has limited opportunities in terms of transportation.

Visitor comments were also evaluated through artificial intelligence (Chat Gpt). Visitor comments for each building from the TripAdvisor website were transferred to a Word file. The data in this file was copied into chat get. First, the following were written to Chat GPT as prompts:

‘User comments’ Calculate how many times the terms lighting/ventilation infrastructure; safety; historical value; cultural value; entertainment, enjoyment, enjoyability, activity; shopping, eating, drinking, accommodation; view/landscape; architectural features; attitude/service quality/content; price; duration of visit/information; hygiene; parking; transportation/location; transportation/location; accessibility; information/guidance/signage; conservation/restoration are mentioned in user comments.

Chat GPT interpreted these themes and obtained numerical data. In this context, the numerical data provided by Chat GPT are presented in Table 3. The content identified by Chat GPT was numerically less than the data obtained in the content analysis in the first part of the study. This may indicate that artificial intelligence is not as competent as humans in interpretation and inference. On the other hand, although the results differ from each other numerically, the prominent or background themes overlap in both analyses. The results obtained with artificial intelligence are presented in (Table 2).

Conclusions and Recommendation

In an increasingly competitive environment in the tourism industry, it is an important requirement for destinations to increase their attractiveness. Attractiveness elements have a direct impact on the preference of destinations and travel decisions. Especially today, with the increasing use of the Internet, destinations’ attraction elements and promotions can be easily made through digital platforms. The impact of these digital platforms, which can reach potential visitors quickly and effectively, on destinations is increasing day by day. The data that destinations provide about their attraction elements plays a critical role in terms of the preferability of destinations. Based on the increasing impact of digital platforms on the preferability of destinations, the study focuses on ‘Architectural Destinations’ as a topic that has been limitedly examined in the literature. The study contributes to the literature with the themes developed in the evaluation of the attractiveness of architectural destinations.

In this study, architectural destinations in the city of Ankara were evaluated as it is the country’s capital and home to important historical buildings of the Republican era. Eight (8) buildings (Ankara Castle, Anıtkabir, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Republic Museum, Ethnography Museum, Hacı Bayram-ı Veli Mosque, Rahmi Koç Museum and War of Independence Museum) were examined in the study. As a result of the study in which the buildings were evaluated by content analysis method, it was determined that the most prominent themes in the evaluations of the visitors were the historical values, cultural values, and architectural features of the buildings. In other words, the elements that make architectural destinations most attractive for visitors are the historical, cultural, and architectural values of the buildings. In addition, service quality/content, transportation/location and shopping/dining facilities, price, visit information, and information/guidance features of architectural destinations are important themes for visitors. The least commented themes in visitors’ evaluations of architectural destinations are infrastructure, hygiene, and parking. In addition, visitors also evaluated the buildings on TripAdvisor on a 5-point scale (very bad, bad, average, good, very good). As a result of these evaluations, 98% of the visitors rated the buildings positively.

Similarly, although the analysis results conducted with Chat GPT show numerical differences, the prominent themes are similar. Chat GPT is an effective tool for evaluating content analysis in this context. Chat GPT offers more quantitative results than the content analysis method in ensuring the reliability of evaluations. As a result, Chat GPT contributes to the content analysis method as a tool.

This study focuses on the themes that tourists find attractive in architectural destinations. Identifying these themes will provide an understanding of the behavior patterns of tourists in the tourism industry as well as determine the attractiveness factors of buildings as destinations in terms of architecture. Considering these themes in the design and implementation of new buildings and improving existing buildings will positively affect the attractiveness of buildings as destinations. This study is limited only by the comments of foreign tourists on TripAdvisor. In future studies, the impact of cultural factors on the evaluations can also be determined by comparing the comments of local and foreign tourists about the buildings. In addition, more effective results can be obtained by diversifying the themes developed for evaluating architectural structures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/16874048.2024.2363722