Tourism, an ecological approach in protected areas: Karagol-Sahara National Park, Turkey

Protected areas are important potential areas from the point of view of ecological tourism because of their natural, historical and cultural richness. In this study, the environmental sustainability of protected areas has been investigated within a sample of the Karagol-Sahara National Park in Turkey. This national park has, so far, had little exposure to recreational and tourism activities. However, an increase in the number of tourists visiting the park has been observed as a result of the demands of ecological tourism. This area was investigated with respect to ecological planning to prevent intensive usage from causing future damage, as a result of human thoughtlessness, and to protect the park. Additionally, the aim was to determine the usage potential using ecological planning and to propose variations of ecotourism thought to be helpful for the public. The Karagol-Sahara National Park has valuable natural and cultural resources, and is an area whose recreation-tourism potential has been strongly protected. The national park also has major economic potential for ecotourism.