INFORMATION ON CULTURAL HERITAGE AND TOURISM PROGRAM

Meaning and Importance of Cultural Heritage:

The Middle East, located at the junction of Asia, Europe and Africa, has witnessed the most important phases of human history. The invention of writing and money; the beginning of agriculture, trade and craft activities; the emergence of great states are the most prominent developments in this context. Undoubtedly, the most important region of the Middle East is Anatolia, which has been home to many great civilizations since the beginning of human history. The fact that Anatolia has been a preferred and continuous settlement area since the early periods of human history, that it has been home to great civilizations, and that many developments that have left their mark on human history have emerged in this geography has brought Anatolia to have a rich cultural heritage.

Cultural heritage is defined as all movable, immovable, aboveground, underground or underwater assets related to science, culture, religion and fine arts from prehistoric and historical periods. These cultural assets can be tangible cultural remains such as archaeological, urban and natural sites, monuments, ruins, mounds, tumuli, complexes, mosques and churches, as well as intangible cultural elements such as language, oral traditions and narratives, performing arts, social practices, rituals and feasts, food, traditional handicrafts, knowledge and practices related to nature and the universe.

Throughout the world, there is a growing awareness about the preservation and transfer of the values of the past to the next generations. This situation has gained meaning especially when evaluated together with the effects of two major world wars during the 20th century, the Cold War period, the development of weapons that can cause mass deaths such as nuclear warheads, atomic bombs, etc., transportation-information technologies and globalization. In addition to the risk of physical destruction of natural and cultural heritage, problems such as not being understood by new generations have also emerged recently. UNESCO, ICOMOS and various other organizations have been searching for solutions since the 1970s. There is a parallel between the increasing importance attached to cultural heritage and the globalization of tourism worldwide.

The relationship with tourism is important in terms of the protection and evaluation of tangible and intangible types of cultural heritage elements. It is known that cultural heritage projects require qualified studies and serious financing. Since the budget allocated by central and local administrations for cultural heritage elements may be limited, financing can be obtained by integrating these elements with the tourism sector and considering the balance between use and conservation. Opening cultural heritage elements to visits, different experiences and consumption through tourism requires the employment of trained personnel in this field.

In order to meet this need, students are trained in Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the related subjects of cultural heritage and tourism. Graduates of the program are given the title of “Cultural Heritage and Tourism Vocational Staff”. Graduates of the two-year program can find the opportunity to work in museums, travel agencies, ruins, archaeological excavation projects, historical monument restoration and protection projects, UNESCO cultural heritage area administrations, and various enterprises within the scope of cultural economy. The professional activities of the program graduates have the potential to make significant contributions to the region and the country. The program aims to train intermediate and intermediate level staff in the fields of tourism sector and cultural economy.

Program History:

Cultural Heritage and Tourism Program was established within Sinop University Vocational School in 2012. Students started to be admitted to the program in the 2013-2014 academic year and the second education was opened in the 2015-2016 academic year. Within the scope of the work of homogenizing the vocational schools within Sinop University, it was closed to student intake in 2016 and transferred to Gerze Vocational School. In the 2017-2018 academic year, it started to take students again under the roof of Gerze Vocational School.

Program Profile:

The aim of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Program is to carefully protect the rich cultural heritage of Turkey, a large part of whose territory is located on Anatolia; to transform these assets into tourism attraction centers; to contribute to the efforts to ensure a sustainable development in terms of socio-economic aspects; to train tourism personnel who have sufficient infrastructure in their field, who can evaluate using the basic knowledge and skills they have acquired, identify problems, realize professional plans and projects and develop solutions. The Cultural Heritage and Tourism Program includes courses on archaeology, history, museology, tourism management, restoration, conservation and tourism legislation. Students who graduate from the program will have theoretical knowledge and managerial skills related to archaeological or historical sites and objects as well as intangible cultural heritage; they will also have new perspectives in the evaluation of cultural heritage within the framework of the awareness that is becoming increasingly widespread in the world.

Our program is a 2-year formal education associate degree program. In some of the courses, theoretical knowledge is given, and in some of them, practice is gained by practicing. In addition, in order for our students to get to know the tourism sector more closely and to reinforce the theoretical knowledge they have acquired by practicing, there is an obligation to do 30 working days of internship in public or private sector institutions or enterprises.

Our program is the first Cultural Heritage and Tourism Program that provides formal education as of its establishment date, and it is distinguished from its competitors with its course pool created by closely following the sector, course contents that are kept up-to-date, and expert teaching staff.

Duties, Authorities and Responsibilities of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Graduate:

Cultural Heritage and Tourism is a field that includes the tasks of identifying, recording, protecting, promoting and promoting cultural heritage and bringing it to tourism. Therefore, the duties of Cultural Heritage and Tourism professional staff:

  • To identify values related to tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
  • To realize the registration procedures of tangible cultural assets;
  • Ensuring the recording of intangible cultural values;
  • To determine the necessary measures for the protection of tangible cultural assets;
  • To produce projects for the survival of intangible cultural heritage;
  • Introducing tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
  • Showcasing tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
  • To produce projects involving the use of tangible and intangible cultural heritage for tourism purposes;
  • To supervise the compliance of construction requests with the plan in the implementation of conservation zoning plans;
  • To follow simple repair and restoration procedures in the implementation of conservation development plans;
  • To contribute to all kinds of work to be done for the development of cultural tourism;
  • Develop culturally based recreational activities for local and foreign tourists;
  • Planning touristic tour organizations;
  • Planning cultural and artistic organizations;
  • It can be listed as raising social awareness and protection consciousness about tangible and intangible cultural assets.

Characteristics of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Graduate:

  • Tendency to read and research constantly,,
  • Able to plan and execute a task,
  • Able to work fast and organized,
  • Able to work in a team
  • Able to adapt to technology,
  • Has the habit of following changing legislation and techniques,
  • Strong sense of responsibility,
  • Have a strong creative side;
  • Sufficient level of foreign language skills,
  • Able to communicate well with people..

Business and Employment Opportunities:

Graduates of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Program gain the title of “Cultural heritage and tourism professional staff” and work in the central and provincial organizations of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; cultural and social affairs directorates of municipalities and urban planning and urban planning directorates (zoning directorates in municipalities where this directorate does not exist); Special provincial administrations’ planning, project, investment and construction directorates, license and inspection directorates and zoning and urban improvements directorates; public, foundation and private sector museums; tourism agencies and tour operators.

Undergraduate Completion:

Students who will graduate from the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Program can complete their associate degree education to undergraduate degree by completing the Vertical Transfer Examination (DGS), provided that they are successful in the Vertical Transfer Examination (DGS) held by ÖSYM, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, International Business Management, Management, Museum Management, Tourism Management, Tourism Guidance departments.

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