Cultural tourism in Burdur province: Attractive factors and obstacle

This study focuses on three main issues to promote the development of cultural tourism in Burdur Province. The first aim of the research is to identify the cultural attractions in Burdur and the factors that make Burdur attractive for cultural tourism in order to reveal the cultural tourism potential of Burdur province. The second aim is to identify the factors that prevent the use of this cultural tourism potential. The third aim is to provide recommendations to promote the development of cultural tourism that supports rural development and ensures the sustainability of cultural heritage values in Burdur based on interviews and field studies. The data for this research was obtained through interviews with tourism stakeholders working in the tourism sector in Burdur, and through field studies conducted in 2022-2023 in areas containing cultural assets throughout Burdur. The data collected through interviews were collected from 61 tourism stakeholders, selected through purposive and snowball sampling methods, during interviews conducted between May and December 2022. The data were first subjected to manual content analysis and then coded using the MAXQDA 2020 program. Following the analyses, main themes, sub-themes and codes were determined regarding the views of tourism stakeholders on the characteristics that make the province attractive in terms of the development of cultural tourism in Burdur province and the factors that prevent the development of cultural tourism. The results were then visualised and analysed using the Hierarchical Code Sub-Code Model. The research revealed that the main features that make Burdur attractive for cultural tourism include its tangible and intangible cultural heritage, geographical features and natural attractions. However, factors such as inadequate infrastructure, insufficient promotion and marketing, public administration problems, lack of human resources, conservation issues, and deficiencies in policy-making and planning have prevented this potential from being fully exploited for tourism. Based on these findings, in the final stage of the research, suggestions were made to support rural development in Burdur province through cultural tourism, to include local people and other tourism stakeholders in the process, and to ensure the protection and sustainability of cultural values in the province. For this purpose, a cultural route has been proposed that addresses the tourism potential of the province in a holistic manner, where cultural and natural heritage elements are evaluated together.