Rural Architectural Heritage and Tourism Dynamics: Spatial Transformation in the Case of Ayder Highland

This study aims to examine the historical development of global tourism movements, which transformed from individual to mass tourism in the post-World War II era, and the spatial impacts of the changing tourist profile and demand on rural areas, specifically through the case of Ayder Highland. The scope of the research spans from how the relationship between rural heritage conservation and tourism is defined in international charters to the tourism policies shaped by Turkey's national development plans and their local reflections. Rural tourism activities, which emerged particularly since the 1980s as an alternative to sun-sea-sand-oriented mass tourism, constitute the core axis of this study. Within this framework, Ayder Highland, the first declared tourism center of the Black Sea Region, is analyzed through its accessibility processes from the 1950s to the present, its designation as a tourism center, and the subsequent zoning and planning initiatives. Despite efforts to preserve Ayder through natural site and national park statuses, the intense construction pressure it faces, its shifting conservation statuses, and contemporary legal processes are detailed within the context of the balance between conservation and tourism. Consequently, the study emphasizes the significance of a strategic and planned approach necessary for rural heritage to sustain its authentic identity while integrating with tourism as a tool for economic development.