Determining suitable areas for golf courses in the eastern goasts of Antalya province with the ecological planning approach

ABSTRACT DETERMUHING SÜITABLE AREAS FOR GOLF COURSES İN THE EASTERN COASTS OF ANTALYA PROVINCE WTTH THE ECOLOGICAL PLANNİNG APPROACH Emrah YILDIRIM M.Sc. in Landscape Architecture Adviser: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Veli ORTACESME February 2004,91 Pages Tourism activîties related to golf sport has emerged as an important tourism type in recent years. Turkey has a great potential for golf tourism with the suitable climatic conditions of her Mediterranean Region. The Province of Antalya has a special place within this potential, because 5 of the 7 existing golf courses in Turkey are located in this province. Golf courses are encouraged both for diversifying tourism and increasing tourism incomes in Antalya Province. Golf courses and related facilities are also evaluated for their relations with the environment. Those facilities whose site selection were not done in harmony with the nature may damage ecologically susceptible ecosystems and cause important environmental problems. This is particularly true for the eastern coasts of Antalya which have ecologically important areas. For that reason, an ecological planning approach is of great importance at the site selection stage of the golf courses. The purpose of this study was to find out suitable areas for golf courses in the eastern coasts of Antalya Province of Turkey with the ecological planning approach. The Landscape Analysis and Evaluation Method was used in the study. The Combination Rules Technique was used to evaluate the suitability of landscape characteristics for golf courses. As a result, it was found that more than 4000 hectares of land was suitable for golf course establishment, based on the ecological criteria developed by previous studies and in this study. This means that the eastern coasts of Antalya Province has the capacity for 35-40 golf courses. KEY WORDS: Golf, Ecological Planning, Site Selection, Tourism, Antalya COMMÜTEE: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Veli ORTACESME (Adviser) Assoc.Prof.Dr. Şükran ŞAHIN Assoc.Prof.Dr. Osman KARAGUZEL ü