Evaluation of tourism in Sinop province within the scope of tourism for all and suggestions for developing a tourism plan

Tourism, which is one of the most important sources of income in Turkey, is often included in many plans (regional plans, area management plans, zoning plans, strategic plans, etc.), especially development plans, and its development is encouraged. However, in order to ensure ethical service and profitability in an increasingly competitive environment, it is necessary for as many people as possible to have equal and safe access to travel, products, services and the built environment for tourism purposes, and to be actively involved in tourism-related activities, regardless of visitor discrimination. At this stage, the concept of accessible tourism or tourism for all comes to the fore as a form of socially responsible tourism that enables potential participants who are not the average users of standard tourism services to benefit from tourism activities in a safe and comfortable way. The material of the study consists of the city centre of Sinop, which has the potential to become an important tourist centre in the Black Sea region, and the historical buildings with tourist functions located here. The study aims to evaluate the current accessibility arrangements in the use of historic buildings for tourism purposes and to draw attention to the deficiencies in this area by examining the current situation regarding the visitability of the study area through accessibility. It also highlights the contribution of accessible tourism to the goals of sustainable development and social inclusion in order to contribute to the developing tourism sector of Sinop. The study used the qualitative research method and the case study design (field study) and the research data consisted mainly of literature, relevant legislation, interviews, observations, documentation and spatial analysis. As a result of this study, it has been found that the level of accessibility/visitability is partly provided by evaluating the city centre of Sinop and the historical buildings located here, and suggestions are presented on this issue.