Analele Universității din Craiova. Seria Geografie (Jan 2007)
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE AND TOURISM IN TURKEY
Abstract
The potential and the abundances provided by the geography on which Turkey is located have made possible for centuries the agricultural activities to be continued on these lands, hundreds of varieties of agricultural goods to be produced, and a sum of knowledge to be built up in this context. Also, the possibilities provided by this geography have contributed to our country in covering great values as per historical and natural beauties. Both agriculture and tourism sectors still have a major role in Turkey’s economic and social life. However, in recent times both sectors have met new concepts owing to the rapid change process throughout the world. Within this change process, people have begun to tend to naturally produced goods in agriculture, and they have begun to seek new holiday approaches different from the traditional understanding as sea-sun-sand. In addition to these, the concepts of ecological agriculture and ecological tourism have come up, and they have been increasingly used. In our country, which has a noteworthy potential in both sectors, to assess, develop and sustain these new concepts will contribute much to our country in economic and social terms. A great part of Turkey should be used in this sense. As of 2007 in Turkey, there are nearly 70 ecological farms accepting tourists, most of which are in the Mediterranean Region. In these farms, the current potential should be well determined in order to provide the sustainability of tourism, to add new ones to these, and to consider the agriculture-tourism relationship more properly.
