Abstract
EVALUATION OF MARDIN TREKKING TRAILS IN TERMS OF TOURISM
The aim of this study is to examine the activities carried out for trekking in order to increase the individual's awareness of the environment, the idea of protecting nature and the situation in terms of tourism, interview and on-site observation techniques were used as one of the qualitative research methods. In order to collect the data for the study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the local partners of Mardin tourism and the managers of Mardin Provincial Directorate of Forestry. As a result of the interviews, despite the rich natural resources in Mardin province, there is no planning or state support to support hiking routes and the touristic demand is not at a sufficient level due to limited local knowledge and experience. This is due to transportation difficulties, infrastructure and superstructure deficiencies, lack of local guides, insufficient promotional activities, lack of awareness among local people, and the lack of complete hiking routes. Since the main problem related to hiking trails is the lack of a general source of information to accurately identify this situation and produce effective solutions, based on the data obtained as a result of analyzing good practices and experiences and research to identify the potential and needs of Mardin, the hiking trail planning process has been defined at different scales with different tools and the basic planning and design principles of hiking trails have been determined using a cross-scale approach. The proposed model addresses the principles of the process, which may vary depending on local dynamics, at two basic scales: regional and city. Our aim is to identify hiking trails that can be used for tourism in Mardin and to provide recommendations to encourage the use of these trails for tourism and recreation purposes and to protect their natural structure. Scale. Our aim is to determine the hiking trails that can be used for tourism in Mardin province and to provide suggestions for the use of these trails for tourism and recreation purposes and to protect their natural structure.
Keywords
Trekking, Parkour, Tourism, Mardin
