Abstract:

Rural tourism is a kind of tourism that takes its source from nature. It has been formed as an alternative of mass tourism and it protects nature and local customs. Rural tourism, which is seen as an important tool to improve rural people, provides additional income for local people, diminishes migration from rural to urban, and makes great contribution to environmental consciousness in rural areas. Turkey is very rich in rural tourism potential. The richness of landscapes, cultural and historical features, and the diversity of gastronomic values allowed the formation of numerous rural tourism areas. Darende can be one of them. Darende is a district of Malatya and located in the west of it. The most important economic activity of Darende is agriculture however, since the irrigable areas are rare and people cannot receive enough income from agriculture, they migrate from Darende. Rural tourism which offers extra income to local people is an important source of income. In this study, the importance, effects, and features of rural tourism were focused on and the natural, cultural and historical tourist attractions in Darende were explained. Attitudes of the people in Darende to rural tourism were measured using a questionnaire and some suggestions were provided for the development of rural tourism of Darende.

Keywords: