Application of Ecotourism Opportunities Spectrum Method in Ecotourism Resources: A Case Study of Samandağ Coastal Areas in Southern Turkey

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of the study is to identify the areas that might serve as ecotourism focuses in the Samandağ coastal zone and its surroundings, located on the southern border of Turkey, and to develop an optimum ecotourism route. The methodology used is Ecotourism Opportunity Spectrum (ECOS). The methodology is comprised of three stages. In the first stage areas that can serve as ecotourism focuses have been identified. In the second stage ECOS method has been applied to the identified focuses. In this regard, 10 criteria and 40 sub-criteria that determine the level of suitability for identifying an ecotourism route have been identified. Both these criteria and the sub-criteria have been scaled and ecotourism opportunity spectrum value has been determined for each criterion. According to these calculations, the highest ecotourism opportunity spectrum value is 400. In the study, the focus that is closest to this value is considered as the most suitable for identifying an ecotourism route according to the planning criteria. As a result of the study, Samandağ coastal zone and its surroundings has very high importance with respect to preserving, planning and development of the resources with a sustainable approach. In this area, 20 focuses have been identified for being used for ecotourism. The highest spectrum value calculated by applying this method is 271.86 and it belong to Vakıflı focus, while the lowest spectrum value is 136.92 for the Milleyha focus.

Post-conflict tourism opportunity spectrum (POCTOS): a framework for destinations recovering from conflict

“…The Ecotourism Opportunity Spectrum (ECOS) added new opportunity factors based on types of attractions and skill levels (Boyd & Butler, 1996). The ECOS framework has been used in the wider context of sustainable tourism in Taiwan (Huang & Lo, 2005) and the Samandag coastal areas of southern Turkey (Salici, 2018). Two other variants of opportunity spectrum thinking have been developed for indigenous peoples' cultural tourism (IPCOST) (Sofield & Birtles, 1996), and urban tourism (UTOS) (Jansen-Verbeke & Lievois, 1999).…”

Strategi Pengembangan Ekowisata Hutan Mangrove Pantai di Karangsong Indramayu melalui Pendekatan Ecotourism Opportunity Spectrum (ECOS)

“…Setelah maksimum skor diketahui kemudian dibagi dengan 3 kategori sesuai dengan framework ECOS (Salici, 2018). Hal ini dilakukan dengan tujuan melihat kondisi kategori dari setiap variabel kemudian dicocokkan dengan kriteria indeks nilai skor maksimum (Gambar 1).…”

“…Variabel indikator yang digunakan dalam framework ECOS meliputi aksesibilitas, sumber daya alam, kemudahan infrastruktur wisata, interaksi sosial, tingkat pengetahuan dan keterampilan, (Agustrapraja, 2019). Salici menemukan indikator lain yaitu tingkat tanggung jawab selama berwisata, perlindungan ekosistem, penawaran atraksi, kemudahan superstruktur wisata, tingkat pengetahuan wisatawan selama berwisata, dampak pengunjung terhadap sumber daya ekowisata (Salici, 2018) (Tufliha et al, 2019); (Gunawan & Hidayat, 2018) dijadikan sebagai destinasi ekowisata oleh kelompok pantai lestari yang berlokasi di Desa Karangsong. Ekowisata hutan mangrove pantai lestari Karangsong merupakan salah satu hasil kerja dari masyarakat Karangsong dalam upaya pelestarian lingkungan yang saat itu terjadi kerusakan akibat adanya abrasi laut kemudian mendapatkan dukungan oleh pihak-pihak terkait seperti pemerintah dan pengusaha dalam pengembangannya.…”

Research on Landscape Ecology of Planning and Management of Ecotourism Area Considering Scientific Calculation Method

“…Meanwhile, certain cultural connotations are directly injected into the ecological environment, which can achieve an effective combination of humanities and natural landscapes, so as to realize the connotation of the landscape of the ecotourism environment, and enhance a certain degree of visibility and attractiveness [21,22].…”