CURRENT SITUATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF ERZINCAN COPPER PROCESSING ART IN TERMS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM

Cultural heritage components have a very important place in terms of tourism. In this context, preserving, developing and sustaining of traditional handicrafts is a subject that needs to be considered both from the respect of keeping traditions and creating added value in terms of tourism. Erzincan is one of the rare examples where traditional copper processing art is kept alive. The aim of the research is to determine the situation of the copper processing when compared and contrast with its past in Erzincan; to determine the level of interest in handicraft, to find out what products are produced by the handicraftsmen; to reveal the difficulties of this art; to explain the difficulties in reaching and transferring the copper processing art to future generations; to discuss and evaluate the role of tourism in the evaluation and protection of these values within the framework of intangible cultural the role of tourism within the framework of intangible cultural heritage and to make suggestions for the sustainable development and protection of the profession. Between the dates of 15.05.2016 and 20.05.2016, structured interviews were held with 10 masters stil performing copper art in order to protect, maintain and transfer the traditional handicraft to next generations in the right manner. The questions adopted in the interviews form were produced by using the studies of Alparsan (2010), Çalık (2015), Çalık and Ödemiş (2015) and Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations (WTO, 2004). The thematic categories were obtained from the interview texts and a content analyze method was conducted in order to interpret the results. Based on results of the research, it was revealed that the art of copper processing art in the risk of disappering and both the production and the interest to copper products are lesser when compared to the past. In addition, another significant finding of there search is the necessity of producing more touristic goods and offering them to tourists so as to maintain this kind of art. Moreover, another significant finding of the research is the necessity of producing more touristic goods and offering them to the tourists so as to maintain this sort of art.