Niğde’nin UNESCO Dünya Miras Listesindeki Yeri ve Bölgesel Kalkınmasında Turizm İşletmelerinin Rolü

Abstract

Nigde located in Turkey's Central Anatolia Region is a province situated in Cappadocia Basin. In the historical process, it is home to tangible and intagible heritage elements that have been inherited today. One of the most important international steps taken is to apply to the UNESCO World Heritage List for the province of Niğde in 2012 and show its name on the Temporary List. The areas designated as Historical Monuments of Niğde in the UNESCO World Heritage List are the creations in the Alaaddin Hill Region which is shown within the boundaries of the city center. These are Castle, Alaeddin Mosque, Sungur Bey Mosque, Rahmaniye Mosque, Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Bedesten, Nalbantlar Fountain, Armenian and Greek Churches and so on structures. The dynamism in the social life and lifestyle of the architecture in this core region, which has been influenced by many different cultures, shows the importance of the region's impact on urban development. However, although Niğde has important historical buildings, it does not operate sufficiently in tourism. The most important initiative that can be done in order to recognize the importance of historical regions, to preserve their value and to transfer them to the next generations as a heritage site, may be to open these areas to the public through tourism. Tourism, which is an effective tool for the protection of these areas, is seen as one of the main factors that stimulate the economy, especially in small cities. For the development of this region, which has a high importance in terms of urban development, tourism enterprises are expected to be widespread and reach the level to cover this gap. Tourism enterprises play an important role for countries in economic development. In addition, tourism enterprises are thought to have an active role in terms of regional development. There are not many studies in the literature regarding the regional development of tourism enterprises. Therefore, the present study aimed to reveal the existing situation of tourism enterprises in the regional development of Nigde by taking Nigde as a sample and to find out what can be done in this regard. In this context, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 business owners operating around