Evaluation of the ecotourism potential of Gümuşhane province Torul district Altınpınar Lake with SWOT analysis

Ecotourism aims to minimize the negative impact of tourism on the natural and cultural environment, to raise environmental and cultural awareness in people, and to provide economic benefits to the local people while protecting nature. In this context; Gümüşhane is among Turkey's priority cities in the field of development. It is seen that tourism, agriculture and mining sectors are particularly prominent in terms of development. It is possible to say that Gümüşhane is very rich in terms of tourism diversity. It seems that some of these tourism types are more prominent. Plateau tourism, ecotourism and winter tourism are the prominent tourism types in Gümüşhane. The natural riches of the city make significant contributions to tourism. It is seen that the formation of Altınpınar Lake, along with Dipsiz, Aygır and Zigana Limni Lakes, came to light with the contribution of the slope of the land, according to the climatic conditions in the region. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed to examine the natural environment characteristics of Altınpınar Lake in Torul district of Gümüşhane province, the ecotourism potential of the basin, their evaluation and this evaluation supported by SWOT analysis. In this framework, its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were determined. Altınpınar Lake has a great potential for ecotourism. In order for Altınpınar Lake and its surroundings, where positive natural events occur, to become an important tourism destination, issues that can be improved by human hands, such as traffic and entertainment facilities, need to be planned and implemented. It is very important to make some arrangements by observing the balance of protection and use in order to carry out better recreational activities in Altınpınar Lake and its surroundings and to bring this area into tourism. Therefore, for this purpose, it is necessary to evaluate the potential of the area in question, which is a candidate to be declared a nature park of the future, by taking into account the human and natural resources of Altınpınar Lake, which is currently a forest park. Keywords: Ecotourism, Gümüşhane, Altınpınar Lake, SWOT analysis