Abstract:

With today’s changing and developing economic, social and environmental factors, the ways that people using their leisure time are getting differentiated. Due to this differentiation, nature-based activities have recently become highly demanded touristic products and services. Recreational experiences also play an important role in nature-based tourism. The recreational experience associated with nature-based tourism is a very important factor in increasing the environmentally sensitive behavior of nature-based tourists. For the sustainable resource continuity and environmental quality, environmentally responsible behavior of individuals is important. In this context, helping the tourist to adopt environmentally sustainable principles and raising awareness of environmental issues are among the main purposes of the experience. In this study, it is thought that the environmentally responsible behavior of tourists who have a positive recreational experience will increase. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the relationship between tourists' recreational experience, tourist satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavior. For this purpose, 310 participants among the tourists visiting the Horma Canyon in the Küre Mountains National Park of Kastamonu province were reached with the convenience sampling method and the survey technique was applied. As a result of the analyses, it has been determined that the recreation experience positively affects the tourist satisfaction and environmentally responsible behavior. Another conclusion of the study was that the tourist satisfaction assumed an intermediary role. Some suggestions were offered using the findings obtained.

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