In terms of protected areas; The link between protected areas, which are distinguished parts of nature, and tourism is as old as the history of protected areas. Protected areas need tourism, tourism needs protected areas. Tourism is an important component to consider in the establishment and management of protected areas. Likewise, tourism is dependent on the natural areas where the flora and fauna that are not under protection and the local culture in the areas where people live. This dependency requires measures to prevent the deterioration of nature and culture. It is also necessary to determine what these measures will be within the framework of the principles of "sustainable rural development". It is an important issue that tourism is an important economic activity and all the indicators are that this activity will tend to grow. With the growth in tourism, the demand for nature-related tourism such as sustainable tourism and ecotourism has increased and tourism products and destinations have diversified. The demands of tourists have also changed and diversified. In addition to providing comfort in accommodation, tourists' demands are also to gain a more responsible travel experience, including information about local cultural values, communication with local people, the geology of the region, flora and fauna, special ecosystems, natural life and their protection.
The expected growth and new trends have brought tourism to such a strategic position that tourism can have a positive impact on the development potential of the local people living around these areas, as well as the sustainability of unique natural or protected areas. In this case, tourism can be a very important tool that can be used to protect natural areas and increase environmental awareness of local people and visitors. Therefore, thanks to tourism, besides acquiring the necessary financial resources for conservation works, objectives such as creating and implementing awareness and training programs for visitors and local people can also be achieved. The most important point; In order for tourism activities to be sustainable in the long term, comprehensive, careful, participatory and sharing planning, effective management and monitoring of the process are also necessary. Otherwise, the irreversible negative effects of these activities will occur and tourism will become a factor that destroys these areas. For this reason, the Zonguldak Coal Geopark Project will be the beginning of a sustainable development model with the nomination process to the UNESCO Global Geopark Network.