Determination of user satisfaction on beaches in the example of south black sea coast

Beaches, taken as an integrated part of worldwide coastal tourism, are locations where sea, sand, and sun come together. Beaches provide economic, social and environmental values for the cities, and they are also used as mediums of advertising. Blue flag certificate programs are used to define the beach quality, and having this certificate is a significant criterion to be highly preferred. The impact of global climate changes has caused increasing temperatures and the number of sunny days in the Black Sea Region, and it has increased the interest in beach tourism, especially in the summer months, and the beaches in the region have begun to gain value. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the beaches on the Southern Black Sea coast considering the visitor satisfaction. In the scope of this study, 15 Blue Flag-Certified beaches in 6 provinces on the Black Sea Coast of Türkiye have been chosen. The physical structure and the potential of the beaches have been determined by means of land works. For the analysis of visitor satisfaction, a survey has been conducted individually on all beaches. As a result, it has found that most of the visitors of the beaches are local people and those coming from neighboring towns to the cities where they are located. It has been recorded that visitors like the beaches in general; however, there is a serious lack of facilities and parking spaces. It has been emphasized that the most important factor is the quality of sand and service, and hence the necessity of cleaning operations.