Assessment of Geotourism Potential of the Carian Trail (SW Türkiye)

Abstract Increasing tourism diversity and spreading it over a year is becoming prominent for local and regional economies. Among the various tourism sites in Türkiye, Muğla province has always been one of the most attractive summer tourism areas. Besides this, it also hosts numerous places of natural, historical, archeological, geological, and geomorphological values which enable year-long tourism and contribute to the sustainability and development of the regional economy. In this respect, the Carian Trail, very famous for walking over 800 km in natural beauty is selected in this study as a georoute to be promoted for its geotourism potential by its scientific, educational, cultural and ecological values. To achieve this, an inventory was created that includes geological, geomorphological, and geological heritage values, along with other key features. The inventory and characterization stage is followed by qualitative & semiquantitative approaches. As the first study on such assessments for the Carian Trail, this study highlights the need to evaluate each site individually in order to develop strategies and policies for geoconservation.