Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to study the factors that influence the motivation of people who exercise regularly in the Kayseri sports centers to participate in their leisure activities and to compare these factors according to some characteristics. The survey included 377 people who exercised regularly in Kayseri sports centers between September-2017 and March-2018. In the research, the data collection tool was developed by Pelletier and Ark, (1991) and adapted by Happy (2008) to the Turkish "Free Time Motivation Scale" used. In the analysis of the research data, the SPSS 22 program was used. The study found that all the factors affecting the motivation to participate in vacation activities did not make any significant differences in terms of education level, the activity most frequently performed in vacation time, occupation and income level, and that some factors did not make any significant differences in terms of age and civic status. It is also determined that in general, the factor of "confidence-confidence" is highlighted in motivating individuals to their leisure activities. It is estimated that watching athletes on television and watching famous athletes on social media can cause "sensitive" feelings in individuals who exercise. It is recommended that the images of successful athletes are hanging more noticeably in the sports centers and the impressive words of famous athletes are displayed in the sports centers to further enhance the feelings of the individuals who exercise.