KÜLTÜR TURİZMİ VE MALATYA'NIN SAKLI HAZİNESİ: ARSLANTEPE HÖYÜĞÜ.

Cultural tourism contributes to the development of a region's tourism industry and the development of the region. Malatya's historical and cultural riches combine with the traditional lifestyle and offer various experiences to visitors. The main purpose of the study is to reveal and understand the cultural tourism potential of Malatya and the importance of Arslantepe Mound in cultural tourism. In this regard, data on Malatya's cultural tourism potential was collected using the interview technique, one of the qualitative research methods. A semi-structured interview form was used during the data collection phase. In this context, face-to-face interviews were held with public sector tourism employees in the province between December 2022 and May 2023. The data obtained was subjected to content analysis and a total of 12 main themes, 51 sub-themes and 97 codes were created. From the research findings, it has been concluded that although Malatya has a high cultural tourism potential, promotional and marketing activities are not effective, Arslantepe Mound has not been transformed into the attraction destination it deserves, and the tourism infrastructure is inadequate under current conditions. In addition, it is predicted that if the deficiencies are eliminated, the cultural values of Malatya will provide more benefit to the tourism field and Arslantepe Mound will turn into a brand destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]