Thoughts of the people living in Bokeyorda natural area on sustainable tourism and environment

The level of environmental problems in war training areas has often been underestimated. The Bokeyorda natural area has been the site of war exercises for a long time and is also a potential tourist destination. The main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of environmental concerns and sensitivities of local people on sustainable tourism attitude. The problematic of the study was analyzed by developing a quantitative research model. In order to test the model, a total of 404 people were reached in the field research. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses put forward in line with the research model. In addition, difference analyses were conducted using demographic variables. According to the results of the analysis, environmental concern levels have a significant and strong positive relationship with the sub-dimensions of sustainable tourism. Environmental sensitivity, on the other hand, was found to have a significant effect only on the environmental sustainability dimension of sustainable tourism. This finding indicates that with the increase in the perception of environmental concern and sensitivity, there will be a positive development in the attitudes and behaviors of the society towards sustainable tourism policies. It is recommended that future studies be conducted using mixed and qualitative methods to obtain more in-depth findings.