Examination of ecotourism in Central European countries

Managing the tourism industry that develops in destinations where ecotourism activities take place has become almost a mandatory need nowadays. Therefore, ecotourism-related activities have diversified in various destinations around the world. Globally, research has been focused on solutions and best practices developed according to the conditions of destinations where ecotourism activities take place. The aim of the thesis is to examine ecotourism activities in Central European countries (Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland). The thesis is a qualitative study, and secondary data and photographs were obtained from the official websites of the countries within the scope of the thesis. In the implementation part of the research, the countries within the scope of the thesis were individually examined in the context of ecotourism. Ecotourism activities carried out in these countries were studied within the scope of ecotourism types such as mountain tourism, paragliding, wildlife observation, camping-caravan tourism, bird watching, faith tourism, hunting, nature walks, photo safaris, highland tourism, cave tourism, festivals, water sports, botanical tourism, eco-gastronomy tourism, local products, sport fishing, thermal tourism, and cultural tourism.