“World Heritage Kemaliye (Turkey)” Meets Tourism: A New Paradigm with the Synergy of Ontological Resilience Planning and Responsible Tourism

This study addresses the protection of heritage sites and the concept of responsible tourism with an ontological planning approach through the case of Kemaliye, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list, with Türkiye’s application. The growth in the volume of tourism at heritage sites threatens sustainability by causing environmental, economic, social, and cultural pressures. The solution to these threats is considered “destination management” in tourism literature and “site protection”, and “managing tourism growth” in urban planning. This study aims to underscore the significance of responsible tourism in the conservation of heritage sites, elucidate the theoretical underpinnings of ontological planning, and engage in a discourse on this subject matter through a practical case study. In the context of the study, a content analysis based on interviews with the stakeholders of tourism sector was conducted. The initial outcomes of the study address a multidisciplinary perspective on the axes of “site conservation”, “tourism-heritage coexistence”, “community” and make recommendations for similar heritage sites.