Determination of crowding norms of a rock climbing area

Rock climbing has become an important recreational and touristic activity from a sports branch, which is carried out by a restricted group seeking adventure only. Today, for this pursuit, climbing areas are organized and administered. In this context, recreation capacity analysis is used in rock climbing areas to preserve natural and cultural resources, to ensure visitor satisfaction as well as to develop correct planning approaches and visitor management strategies. Within the framework of the recreational carrying capacity, the notion of social carrying capacity is used broadly for the planning of destinations, especially in social sciences. This notion is expressed as the upper level of the amount of recreational use without reasoning any drop in the quality of recreation experience. In this study, the social carrying capacity of Geyikbayırı in Antalya, which is a prominent sport climbing area, is ascertained by using the visual research method. With this method, which is used in the calculation of social carrying capacity especially in rural areas, standards for crowd perception of the visitors in the region have been clarified. In this way, it is aimed at putting forward some suggestions to manage the area in a sustainable framework. The data obtained from the questionnaire forms prepared by using visual research method were analyzed by using the qualitative data analysis methods, and the data obtained from the related survey for the crowd perception of the rock-climbing participants by using SPSS 22 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). In the evaluation of data, descriptive statistical methods such as frequency (f), percentage (%), mean (X), and standard deviation (Ss) were used. The correlation between the variables is found with the p-value (Pearson chi-square) as p <0.05. This study aims to find out the crowding standard of the Geyikbayırı rock climbing area by analyzing the perceptions of the rock climbers in this area. For this purpose, the rock climbing activities for recreational purposes in Geyikbayırı climbing area in Antalya were scrutinized. In the light of results, a viable management approach for sustainability of the climbing area and some suggestions for rock climbing activities in the area were recommended.