Özet:

Tourism has, in recent years, grown to be a sector providing huge amount of revenues to the countries occupying with it. Such countriesdirected their insights to produce new touristic products in order to satisfy tourists’ various needs and expectations using their existentresources. As a concept “alternative tourism” has been developed by creating various kinds of touristic products. Rural tourism activities,taking place in alternative tourism types, are based directly on natural resources and in rural settlements. Such activities can be evaluated tobe a tool for encouraging local employment and rising prosperity in rural agricultural areas by contributing to rural developmentThe District of Yeşilyurt, located in Derme Creek valley in a high plateau lying between Malatya Plain and Beydağları mountains inUpper Euphrates sub – region of East Anatolia Region, is 9 km southwest of Malatya city centre. This area offers a diverse potential to beevaluated for rural tourism. However, such valuable potentials have for long been ignored and the area could not get its deserved share fromtourism sector. In the present study, touristic potentials of Yeşilyurt District ready to employ for touristic aims are determined. In addition,present problems seen to be obstacle for the development of tourism are detected and some solution proposals are offered for touristicresources to affect positively rural development in the area.

Anahtar Kelimeler: