Evaluation of using Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) in planning of national parks in terms of visitor experiences

The ways in which human beings produce, share, consume, and interact with geographic information over time has acquired a different dimension with the emergence and integration of various technologies such as the global positioning system (GPS), Internet, Google Maps, smartphones and social media. New avenues are opened for spatial investigations in the Web 2.0 world where people voluntarily contribute to geospatial data knowingly or unknowingly. In this way, while most geographic information and maps are created only by governments, non-governmental Organizations and large corporation in the past, in recent years, this geographical information is obtained from the public who is a stakeholder of that region. This situation provided, instead of a long and costly method of providing data for Geographic Information Systems, the birth of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems saving time and money and at the same time in which the opinions of the public are included in administrative and planning decisions thanks to the information that can be obtained from the people in that region.Public Participation Geographic Information Systems refers to a general set of methods for integrating public information about these places with the aim of informing land use planning and land related decision making. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems inviting participants to provide geospatial information about the perceived features of the place uses geospatial technology to provide information with public knowledge in the planning process. With an internet-based mapping method, input can be provided to the national park planning decision and support system on visitor perceptions of park experiences, environmental impacts, and facility needs. In this study, it is aimed to examine Public Participation Geographic Information Systems in detail in terms of the use of land planning of National Parks that create economic return for tourism and have become centers of attraction for tourism and revealed the features of this system, reveal the features of this system, present examples of pioneering National Parks which were planned using this system in the World and offer suggestions in terms of visitor experiences by evaluating the use of National Parks in our country. The fact that very few studies in the literature are on the planning of National Parks in our country makes the study different and important. Keywords: Visitor Experiences, National Parks, Geographical Planning, Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS)