Evaluation of Social Media Related to the Promotion and Marketing of Public Recreation Areas

People are a large part of public recreation areas planned by the ministries and local governments in Turkey, with visitors who are on social networks such as Facebook and Instagram sharing their photos of these areas. Given that millions of photos are shared every day on Facebook alone, social networks have great power in terms of promotion and marketing. However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Protection and National Parks does not scan the addresses of websites, but instead follow people who share these park areas on social networking sites. In this case, knowledge of public recreation areas in Turkey increases the recognition and importance of Facebook marketing. In this study, a literature search of recreation and tourism relations attempted to reveal public spaces and public recreation activity areas. Secondary data sources were used in the study. The national parks, nature parks, and public recreation areas in Turkey were examined in terms of Facebook pages from an advertising and marketing perspective. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry/Nature Conservation and National Parks General Directorate lists for the year 2018 of national and natural parks were used. Each park’s Facebook pages were evaluated in terms of recreational opportunities for park photos, location maps, and parks. Within this scope, deficiencies in the pages of the parks were identified and various suggestions were attempted to be developed with the tourism marketers and managers in this context. This research results in eliminating the shortcomings identified national parks will be effective promotion and marketing important to be argued in Turkey.