Determination of Cultural Tourism Routes in Historical Regions: The Example of Historical Harput Campus

Cultural heritage consists of tangible and intangible elements that reflect the historical past and identity of societies, ensuring the transmission of these values to future generations. The interaction between cultural heritage and tourism promotes economic and socio-cultural development through the use of heritage assets as tourism products. It also allows for investments in preservation and sustainability of these assets. Cultural heritage tourism enables individuals to increase their awareness and knowledge levels by discovering cultural assets. Within this framework, this study aims to determine the most suitable destination points and routes for cultural heritage tourism in historical Harput, which possesses natural, historical, and cultural heritage values. The Historical Harput Region, which was included in UNESCO Tentative Heritage List in 2018, is among the most important cultural heritage sites in region and is a significant tourist attraction. Routes were created in the selected region to allow tourists to visit all cultural heritage sites and return to same point via the shortest and easiest route. In this context, the nearest neighbor algorithm method was used to calculate the shortest travel routes for tourists while visiting the structures. The study calculated the shortest routes and total distances that tourists should follow for each of the 11 designated destination points. As a result, the best travel routes for cultural heritage tourism, specifically in Historical Harput Region, were determined and recommendations were made