Abstract
Examination the Sustainability of Tangible Cultural Heritage in the Axis of Tourism
It is important to protect tangible cultural heritage and to follow a sustainable approach, due to reasons such as unconscious consumption of tangible cultural heritage elements within the scope of tourism activities, straining the carrying capacity of regions or destinations, physical destructions and lack of adequate supervision of regional development. The aim of this study is to take museum directors, tourism academics and tourist guides’ opinion and offer suggestions on the sustainability of tangible cultural heritage values within the of tourism. The research was designed as a phenomenology of qualitative research methods. The data were obtained by the interview technique, which is one of the qualitative data collection tools. The study group was determined by criterion sampling, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. Descriptive analysis method was used for the analysis of the data. Six categories and 39 codes were obtained in the study. The findings of the research demonstrate what participants think indicate that the tangible cultural heritage values of the participants are not adequately protected, the society and the local people do not have sufficient awareness of these values, the training given on the subject and the regulations in the legislation are considered insufficient. In addition to this, the participants think that the sufficient budget is not allocated for the protection of tangible cultural values, and the cooperation with the tourism stakeholders is not achieved at a sufficient level. As a result of the data obtained, in order to ensure the protection and sustainability of tangible cultural heritage; it is seen that it is necessary to cooperate with stakeholders, update the legislation, carry out studies with experts, provide necessary sources, provide trainings and raise awareness of local people and tourists.
Keywords
Tangible Cultural Heritage, Sustainability, Tourism
