Malatya İlinin Alternatif Turizm Potansiyelinin Değerlendirilmesi Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma (A Qualitative Study on the Evaluation of Alternative Tourism Potential of Malatya Province)

Abstract

Alternative tourism is among the most important elements of the tourism industry, which is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In recent years, it has been seen that the understanding of vacation has left the trilogy of sea, sand and sun, leaving its place to alternative tourism types. Due to differences in the ages, cultures, expectations and demands of tourists, alternative tourism types continue to increase and diversify. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the potential of the resources of the province of Malatya in the Eastern Anatolia Region, where there are rich historical, cultural and natural resources, within the scope of alternative tourism and to bring them into tourism. Qualitative research technique was used in the study and secondary data were obtained by first scanning the literature. Afterwards, an open-ended question form was sent to 6 people, who had an idea about the current tourism potential of the province, to obtain information about alternative tourism potential. The obtained data were analyzed with the descriptive analysis technique. While deciphering the findings of the participants, coding was made and the code frequency was made with the MAXQDA program to display the data numerically at the intersection of more than one participant's responses. The results obtained from the study show that the rich cultural and historical buildings of Malatya Province constitute the main tourism activities. However, it is concluded that with the evaluation of the natural elements in the province, there will be a potential for sports, adventure and health tourism