Evaluation of Recreational Areas Used for Ecotourism

Abstract

Ecotourism is developing rapidly in Turkey as well as in the world in recent years. Visitors especially prefer spending their holidays and weekends in natural recreational fields. The visitors are willing to pay a certain amount of money for the sustainable usage and protection of the natural recreational areas they benefit from. The prices that the visitors are willing to pay varies according to the benefit that each visitor obtains from the natural resource. The study has been carried out in Kastro, which is being used as A-type in-forest rest area bound to the Directorate of Natural Conservation and National Parks. It is situated on the Black sea coast, 30 km from the Saray county of Tekirdag. Kastro attracts a number of visitors due to its closeness to Istanbul in summer as well as for being a well-known recreational area in the Thrace region thanks to its natural richness. Every year in summer, approximately 50 thousand people visit Kastro. In this study, 400 samples have been used. The results indicate that about 70% of the visitors are willing to pay (WTP) for protection and improvement of the natural resources. The average WTP has been found to be 14.94 USD and the average WTA is 38.95 USD. As a result, according to the visitors WTP and QTA, the economic value of Kastro is of great importance.