ENHANCING CULTURAL HERITAGE DIGITALIZATION AND VISITOR ENGAGEMENT THROUGH LIDAR SCANNING AND GAMIFICATION

Cultural heritage assets are valuable, providing important information about humanity's past and conveying it to the future. Unfortunately, conventional documentation is insufficient to preservethem for the next generations. Furthermore, increasing visitor interaction with these assets and raising awareness has been one of the challenges in this field. In this paper, we will examine how mobile LiDAR (Laser Detection and Ranging) technology can be used to precisely scan and document historical sites and how it can be combined with gamification elements to provide visitors with better experiences. It is also important that the texture taken in mobile laser scanning can be used to better visualize 3D mesh models of the scanned objects, sothe fastest application that produces 3D models is selected. The study area is Syedra Ancient City in Alanya/Turkey, where the research and excavation process has continued since 2015 and the restoration projects started in 2023. Future work includes the creation of experiences to provide a basis for gamification and revitalizing the story of the heritage for the visitors through digital storytelling and AR(Augmented Reality). Preserving historical sites while providing visitors with a more in-depth, vivid and enjoyable experience are important facts for enhancing cultural heritage and passing it on to future generations.