Economic geography of Finike district

Finike is a district located in 117 km away from Antalya province. Finike district has an important economic potential with its physical and human geography features. The purpose of this study is to investigate the economic geography features of the district of Finike and to offer solutions by revealing the problems of the sector in the economic area. With this purpose, methods like field observation, the interview with the local people, the literature review related to the subject and data from the documentary relevant public and private institutions were used. In Finike, many agricultural products are cultivated depending on natural characteristics such as landforms, favorable climatic conditions, water resources and fertile soil. Depending on the ground conditions of the district, there is a suitable environment for various animal husbandry activities but this environment is not evaluated sufficiently. The research area is rich in forest resources. In the forest sections in highareas, tar, cedar, etc. trees with high economic value are found. The district has tremendous alternative tourism potential depending on its favorable physical conditions, but this potential is not sufficiently utilized. In Finike, the mining sector is only limited to marble production. When we look at the industrial activities in the district, there is a agriculture-based industry in the form of fruit juice and fruit packaging and there are also small-scale plastic industrial plants. Various agricultural products and marbles produced in the district are the most important domestic and foreign trade products. The transportation conditions are not at an advanced level due to the fact that the district has mountainous and rough terrain and remains on the main transportation routes. Although Finike has rich economic potential, natural resources cannot be evaluated adequately, transportation conditions are unsuitable, advertising and publicity activities in the area of tourism in the region are inadequate, various environmental problems, and public and private sector investments are limited. In order for the research area to become an important economic activity center, the necessary problems should be eliminated and the natural, human, economic geography characteristics of the field should be analyzed and synthesized. Thenecessary planning and investment works should be carried out by taking the support of the relevant public and private institutions. Keywords: Economic\ Activities, Economic Activity Problems, Economic Geography, Finike, Antalya