GIS-based Georoute Design for Using in Geotourism by Using Network Analysis: a Case Study from Safranbolu in Türkiye.

Geotourism activities are increasing day by day for the purposes of research, learning, visiting, and geological protection. Today, georoutes, as cultural routes, are accepted as an important activity area that offers various activities to visitors who want to learn about the historical, cultural and natural heritage of a region and provides the distribution of income from tourism to large areas. With its unique cultural and architectural history, geological and geomorphological features, Safranbolu plays the role of hosting for one of Türkiye’s culturally important regions. In this study, it is aimed to transfer the geological heritage elements that make up the geotourism locations of Safranbolu to the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) environment and to determine the georoutes using the network analysis method. The proposed GIS route analysis reveals a great potential for geotourism in the region for geo-heritage asset detection in the digital environment, considering the economic benefits and time savings. In this manner, it will be possible to visit and protect almost all of the assets in the field by using this road map created during the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]