A research on the development and impacts of tourism activities in protected areas: The case of Büyükada (İstanbul)

In the master thesis which is named "A Research on the Development and Impacts of Tourism Activities in Protected Areas: The Case of Büyükada (İstanbul)", aims to reveal the impact and development of protected areas in Büyükada on tourism activities and tourism structure on the island. In the context, tourism stakeholders (local people, operators, visitors and non-governmental organisation) were consulted. Literature review was conducted to reveal the conceptual framework of the research and the context, the concepts of nature, nature conservation, protected area and protected area classification are explained. Additionally, information is given about classification of protected area in Turkey and how the international agreements to which Turkey is a part appear in national legislation. In the study, semi- structured interviews were conducted with a total of 19 people within the scope of qualitative research method in 2022-2023. These interviews were analysed by writing them in MS Word. According to the results obtained from the study, Büyükada welcome thousands of visitors every season due to its geographical location close to metropolis such as Istanbul. Instead of visitors who previously stayed and spent a long time on the island, today more and more day trippers visit the island, especially during summer weekends and holidays. Positive and negative effects emerge on Büyükada, which is subject to intense tourism pressure. Negative effects outweigh positive effects. Transportation problems, rubbish and waste problems, sound and visual pollution, restriction of daily mobility of local people and price increases are among the negative effects.