Evaluation of the Aeneas European Cultural Route in terms of tourism: Stakeholder views

Culture has always been an important concept, as it shines light on the past of the communities and is transferred to the next generation. The concept, known as the cultural route, also contributes to cultural wealth because it contains ancient cities, historical sites and routes of important people. The concept of the route is defined as a cultural route, as the cultural and natural heritage is increasingly functional in terms of the protection and promotion of routes developed for more tourist purposes, with transportation routes used in the past for military, religious, commercial and social purposes. There are a total of 45 routes certified by the Council of Europe. The Aeneas European Culture Route is one of these routes. The route of Aeneas covers 5 countries (Albania, Italy, Greece and Tunisia), including Turkey, consisting of ports and archaeological sites visited by Trojan hero Aeneas. It was registered by the Council of Europe in 2021, with its first sea route from Turkey. In this context, the aim of this research is to evaluate tourism stakeholders views in terms of tourism in the cultural tourism of Aeneas European Culture Route. The objective is to use a qualitative research technique. Maximum variation is selected as an sample. Keywords: Cultural Route, Cultural Heritage, Aeneas, Tourism