@article{2019,title={A NATURAL WELLNESS TREND FOR HEALTHY LIFE: FOREST BATHING},abstractNode={Today, healthy aging through healthy living is becoming a popular lifestyle trend. Both the individuals and the governments have been in search of different ways to maintain wellness. Shinrin Yoku (Forest Bathing), which is regarded as a part of healthy lifestyle of the Japanese, has been rapidly becoming a popular trend throughout the world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dawn and development of “Forest Bathing”, which is ranked among the wellness trends of 2016, and to support the development of the rural areas in Turkey by bringing suggestions on applicability of forest bathing concept as a tourism product particularly in forestlands in Turkey. In this heuristic study, where qualitative research method was adopted, the data were obtained by reviewing the web pages of relevant institutions through document analysis technique. The data obtained were supported by available secondary resources. Within this process, although it was observed that Shinrin Yoku was not only a healthy lifestyle trend, but it was also a medium between humans and the nature, it was also observed that the eventual purpose of this activity is to “satisfy” the humans’ need to escape to nature. It is suggested that a similar activity may be offered in rural areas on the coastline of the Black Sea in Turkey. In the context of the positive contribution of tourism to balanced development between regions, the forest bathing can be transformed into a sustainable tourism product variety for many rural destinations. Since this activity alone would not be as much satisfying and interesting as it is intended to be, it is also suggested to complement this with other services, such as food & beverage, sauna, aroma therapy, etc.},author={Mehmet Han ERGÜVEN},year={2019},journal={The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies}}