Sustainable tourism development in Uzungöl region: A qualitative research in the context of sustainable tourism indicators

Uzungöl, which is connected to Çaykara district of Trabzon province, is now an important tourism destination. Uzungöl is a region where tourism activities have shown a great increase in a short period of 35-40 years. For this reason, increasing uncontrolled establishment and intense touristic demand over the years can be considered as a threat to the future periods. This research, which evaluates the tourism activities in the Uzungöl region within the scope of sustainability, aims to reveal the development of tourism policies and approaches provided in the region in terms of sustainable tourism indicators. Accordingly, opinions and evaluations of the local tourism stakeholders regarding the sustainable tourism development of Uzungöl were taken. Having used qualitative research, in the study Uzungöl region is found to have some obstacles in its way of sustainable tourism development based on the results of structured interviews. Accordingly, it is observed that problems such as deficiencies in control and supervision, incentives and supports, lack of infrastructure and superstructure, and lack of development plan prevent the development of sustainable tourism in the region. As another important result of the study, especially local people, academicians and CSO members are found to be highly concerned about the future of tourism in Uzungöl.