DOI: 10.48119/toleho.1794203 ISSN: 2687-3737

Evaluation of Side Ancient City within the scope of sustainable tourism criteria

Pelin Uzun Şirin, Engin Derman
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The need for production, driven by the rapid increase in consumption alongside the growth of the human population, has led to problems such as depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution. Sustainable tourism practices that respect the natural and cultural heritage of tourism destinations and foster a sense of protection while using these practices are of critical importance. This study aims to evaluate the ancient city of Side within the scope of sustainable tourism criteria. The ancient city of Side differs from other ancient cities in that it is a living city and demonstrates the originality of this article. The study was conducted using a qualitative method based on the interpretivist paradigm. The data were collected from 8 participants through a semi-structured interview. To examine Side within a living-heritage governance context, we adopted a qualitative single-instrumental case study grounded in the interpretivist paradigm (Merriam, 2018). This design enables an in-depth, multi-stakeholder understanding of sustainability criteria in practice. We used purposive (judgmental) sampling to capture diverse perspectives across stakeholder groups: archaeologists, museum professionals, local entrepreneurs/tradespeople, tourist guides, and foreign tourists. The final sample comprised eight participants. According to the research findings, the ancient city of Side is lacking in many respects when evaluated against sustainable tourism criteria. In light of this research's findings, the ancient city of Side is lacking in many respects when evaluated against sustainable tourism criteria. The ancient city of Side will become more sustainable through the “Heritage for the Future” project of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, which was ongoing at the time of the research.

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