Eco tourism potential of Kürtün district, Gümüşhane

Kürtün is a district of Gumushane Province in the Eastern Black Sea Region of the Black Sea Region. In this research, the district of Kürtün was chosen as the study area and the eco tourism potential of the district was investigated. While it was a municipality belonging to Torul district of Kürtün District, it became a district with the decision of the Council of Ministers in 1990. The municipality of Kürtün District was established in 1970 and the Öz Kürtün City Municipality was established in 1992. There are forty-four administrative units in a town in the town of Kürtün, thirty-four villages and nine neighborhoods. Its population is 14,036 people. An important part of the people of Turkmen is composed of Chepni. It is a district built on the southern slopes of the Zigana Mountains parallel to the Black Sea in the northwestern part of Torul District. In a sense, it is a scattered settlement on the west of the Zigana Pass and on the road connecting the East Anatolia to Tirebolu via Gümüşhane and as an alternative to the Zigana Passage. The natural, cultural and historical values of a region constitute the tourism potential of that region. Recently, the negative environmental effects of sea-sun-sand tourism has led to new approaches in tourism. Sustainable tourism understanding has started to dominate in the planning of the areas where tourist attractions are located. The rapid growth of the tourism sector after the 1980s and the emergence of the negative aspects of mass tourism have directed people to different kinds of tourism and new concepts such as soft, eco, green, nature and alternative tourism have started to be placed in the literature. Eco tourism is a kind of discreet and responsible tourism which is carried out in natural areas, increasing the welfare of local people and protecting the environment. Since it is an activity aiming to ensure the realization and continuity of tourism activities without destroying the natural, historical and cultural resources, it is seen as the most accurate form of tourism in terms of preserving ecological and economic value and transferring it to future generations. In this sense, there are many activities in which the ecotourism can be done easily. Nature walk (Kürtün Plateau and surrounding area of the Kürtün province, Öz Kürtün Erikbeli Sazalanı Damlıköy Pakuru), hunting tourism (Kürtün state hunting) biodiversity (spider forests), camping and caravan tourism (Kadırga Plateau), cultural tourism (silk carpet weaving, wood carving ringing -gravity, etc.), agroturism (bean, strawberry and honey production) and so on. many ecotourism activities can be made. As a result, the Kürtün is a district with a high potential for ecotourism and if its natural beauties and cultural values can be evaluated correctly, it will contribute positively to the promotion of the district and Gümüşhane and the regional economy through the activities of the Kürtün and its surrounding ecotourism. Natural and cultural resources will be protected and will lay the ground for the opening of new employment areas for local people.