Evaluation of the Visitor Understanding of Coastal Geotourism and Geoheritage Potential Based on Sustainable Regional Development in Western Black Sea Region, Turkey

The Black Sea coasts of Turkey have important examples of geological heritage with coastal cliffs in terms of geological formations and features. The Guzelcehisar Basalt Columns (GBCs) formation and its coast have been chosen as a research area in this article in terms of its basalt columns, rare coastal geological diversity and coastal geotourism potential. This paper presents the results of a visitor survey undertaken at the GBCs formation and its coast, located in the rural coastal part of Bartin province in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey. This survey was conducted in 2020 to assess the tourism shoulder season visitors to the Guzelcehisar village. With the survey, its aim was to determine the awareness of the visitors on geoconservation and geodiversity and to evaluate the understanding of geological heritage and geotourism. In addition, it was desired to set visitor expectations to improve the geotourism experience. It was found that visitors had a high level of understanding and awareness of the terms "geodiversity ", "geoheritage ", "geotourism " and "geoconservation ". However, this survey also shows that there is less emphasis on the need to protect the geodiversity in Guzelcehisar. Guided walking is preferred in order to improve visitor understanding and improve experiences. These survey findings contain guiding explanations for studies that could provide a wider interpretation of the perceptions, experiences and expectations of visitors regarding the sustainable development of areas with similar coastal geotourism potential in Turkey.