Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
International British Congress on Interdisciplinary Scientific Research & Practices-IV, London, İngiltere, 19 - 21 Eylül 2025, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.568-579, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
The Delphi method
has long been recognised as a distinctive qualitative research technique for
addressing complex and uncertain phenomena. Despite its origins in the 1950s,
its continued relevance in contemporary scholarship is evident in fields
characterised by multidimensionality and unpredictability. This paper explores
the enduring value of the Delphi method in the context of global population
ageing, age-friendly tourism, and the broader agenda of sustainable development.
Considering that 15 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) are directly related to ageing, methods that contribute to addressing
ageing challenges can also be seen as directly supporting sustainable
development. Drawing on the literature, this study examines why the Delphi
method remains timeless and difficult to replace, how it synthesizes diverse
expert perspectives, and how it functions as a strategic tool for anticipating
risks and generating solutions. the study examines why Delphi remains difficult
to replace, how it synthesises diverse expert perspectives, and in what ways it
functions as a strategic tool for anticipating risks and generating solutions.
The core strengths of the method -such as anonymity, iterative refinement of
expert judgements, and the capacity to integrate both qualitative and
quantitative insights- are highlighted alongside its known limitations,
including time demands, dependency on expert selection, and the risk of
participant attrition. In the context of age-friendly tourism, the Delphi
method is valuable for understanding the multifaceted needs of older
travellers, ranging from mobility and accessibility to digital literacy, health
support, and cultural participation, and holds strong potential to benefit
tourism research within the framework of aging societies. By convening
expertise from tourism, urban planning, health, social policy, and technology,
the method enables the development of actionable strategies, policy frameworks,
and innovative practices. The contribution of the present study lies in
demonstrating, based on research in the social sciences, tourism, and ageing
literature that addresses multifaceted, intertwined, complex, and contested
future issues, that the Delphi method can also yield productive results in the
field of age-friendly tourism. The paper concludes that, far from being
outdated, the Delphi method remains a resilient, versatile, and
sustainability-oriented approach for producing foresight and guidance in
age-friendly tourism research.
Keywords: Delphi method, qualitative research, age-friendly tourism, ageing population, sustainable development, foresight.