Examining the Attitudes of Local People to Participate in Protecting Cultural Heritage and Supporting Tourism Behavior According to Their Demographic Characteristics

Abstract

Although the function of protecting socially important tangible assets is often carried out by thestate, the sensitivity or awareness of the local people living in the region makes a significant difference in thelevel of protection of cultural heritage. In the cases where the public has awareness of conservation andparticipate in conservation activities, great successes are achieved. Tourism activities play a leading role inachieving this success or especially in developing a conservation attitude. In this study, it was aimed todetermine the knowledge level, thoughts on the protection of the area, the attitude towards participating inconservation activities and supporting tourism development of the local people living around Sarıkaya BasilicaTherma located in Sarıkaya district of Yozgat, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage TemporaryList in 2018. In addition to this, it is aimed to determine the difference of the attitude of participating inprotecting cultural heritage according to the demographic characteristics of the people of Sarıkaya. Within thescope of the research, 273 people were reached and a questionnaire form consisting of 23 questions with closedends and options was applied. As a result of the analysis made on the data obtained, it was found that the levelof knowledge of the public regarding cultural heritage and the behavior that supports tourism development isquite high, but the attitude to participate in protection is low. In addition, significant differences were found inthe attitudes of local people to participate in protection in terms of age, education, active work and the numberof households.