Perception of ecotourism by tourism managers: A research on tourism managers in Giresun

Changing life conditions also affect people's lifestyles, and this situation is also reflected in tourism behaviors. Tourism diversification is expanding day by day in wider geographies in longer periods with the guidance of tourism managers. In this direction, the sensitivity that has developed as a reaction to the environmental events experienced in recent years, and the epidemics that have followed, cause people to direct their tourism preferences to sustainable tourism activities with the desire to be beneficial to nature and get away from crowds. One of the most preferred types of tourism in recent times has emerged as ecotourism activities. This study was carried out in order to reveal the ecotourism perceptions of tourism managers in Giresun, which is one of the rapidly rising ecotourism areas in the Black Sea region, which is an important region of Turkey in terms of ecotourism activities, and the preferred points of ecotourists. In line with the ecotourism potential of Giresun province, tourism managers in tourism organizations operating in the province constitute the universe of the study. The fact that the population to represent the universe in the study is expert managers makes it necessary to choose the research method as the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods. In this direction, the views of 10 tourism managers were used as a sample in the research. The study consists of three parts. In the first chapter, the concept, importance, development, effects and types of ecotourism are explained, ecotourism practices in the world and in Turkey and these practices in the literature are stated. In the second part, Eastern Black Sea tourism areas, ecotourism potential of Giresun province, existing ecotourism types in Giresun province and their effects on the region, ecotourism in tourism enterprises, ecotourism data of Giresun province, factors affecting ecotourism and similar ecotourism studies are mentioned. In the last part, the basic information about the method of the study is given and the data, analysis and findings related to the study are presented and the results and suggestions are stated. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) used in the study, the pairwise comparison matrix of the previously specified criteria was created and the geometric averages were taken, and the decision matrices were revealed. In the study, the data collected with the questions created by using the previously conducted and tested reliability questionnaires on the eight criteria that are effective in the ecotourism perception of tourism managers were evaluated. From the data obtained as a result of the study, the fact that almost half of the participants have more than ten years of management experience in the field of tourism and that one third of them are managers who own businesses in the field of tourism, reveals the importance of the data. In line with these results, the order of priority for the selection of the criteria affecting the tourism activities in ecotourism destinations emerges as safety, transportation, price, climate, highland tourism, accommodation houses, natural conditions, in order from the most important to the least important. While safety emerges as an indispensable criterion for the realization of healthy and sustainable ecotourism activities, it is revealed that ecotourists who will participate in ecotourism activities in Giresun province, according to tourism managers, come by accepting natural conditions and therefore natural conditions are not very effective among the criteria.