Cittaslow in the framework of sustainable development evaluation: Case of Halfeti

The rapid development of industry and technology has caused the world to globalize at the same speed. Fast life, fast consumption, urbanization, population density, environmental pollution and rapid development of technology have brought the concept of sustainable staying to the agenda. Sustainable development is focused on the ability of both today and future generations to benefit from resources by protecting natural resources and processing production in a balanced way. The Cittaslow movement, which emerged in recent years as a reaction to globalization, is closely related to the principles of sustainable development. The main purpose of this research is to reveal how local people evaluate Halfeti's participation in Cittaslow application based on sustainable development principles and what the positive and negative situations are in the light of the findings. In this context, within the framework of sustainable development, the shortcomings and best practices of Cittaslow application can be identified and policy recommendations can be provided. In line whith these purposes,face-to-face interviews were held with the local people of Halfeti between 25.05.2019-12.06.2019 and 470 questionnaires were completed. Questionnaires containing incomplete and incorrect information were not subjected to statistical analysis. The survey data were evaluated with reliability and factor analysis, mean and standard deviation values of the expressions and difference analysis, and were also subjected to correlation analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that the Cittaslow evaluations of Halfeti local people within the framework of sustainable development are at a moderate level. In addition,it was found that the evaluations did not differ according to gender, age, marital status, monthly income and education status. The application of similar studies to different Cittalow regions and the fact that these destination are mainly in the form of Cittaslow can contribute to the identification of deficiencies and the development of the tourism sector. In addition, it is thought that different local governments in tourism destinations will also enable the Cittaslow movement and sustainable development to be attracted to their attention.