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Turkey’s gated communities now target holidays
1.       tunci
7149 posts
 20 Jun 2011 Mon 10:37 am

Turkey’s gated communities now target holidays

IŞIL EĞRİKAVUK

 

From all-inclusive holiday clubs to Islamic resorts, Turkey’s holiday sites are increasingly leaning toward creating gated environments for tourists. While many tourism experts say Turkey doesn’t benefit much from its sun and beaches, some also criticize politicians for not integrating the country’s cultural heritage into its tourism policy
there are close to 200 holiday villages on Turkey’s south coast, targeting Turkey’s 25 million a year tourist potential. Hürriyet photo
there are close to 200 holiday villages on Turkey’s south coast, targeting Turkey’s 25 million a year tourist potential. Hürriyet photo

The English couple Susanne and Martin Evans decided to spend their honeymoon on a beach last year. They went to a travel agency and picked a five-day, all-inclusive holiday resort in Bodrum for 250 pounds.

“It was fantastic. We didn’t pay for anything else and had a marvelous holiday,” Susanne Evans said. “We ate, drank and even did our gift-shopping there. It was all there.”

The Evans couple is not alone. Thousands of people, and many of them Turkish, also choose all-inclusive resorts for their vacation time. “I laid under the sun, had my martini and only walked to my room when I needed,” says web designer Ceylan Önel. “I work quite hard during the year, so all I want on my holiday is to rest.”

Indeed, with a 60 percent increase in their number during the last few years, all-inclusive holiday villages became the top choice for many tourists. Currently there are close to 200 holiday villages on Turkey’s south coast, targeting Turkey’s 25 million a year tourist potential.

“People choose holiday villages because it is cheap, safe and easy,” says Murat Görgün, who works in the marketing department of an ultra-inclusive resort in Antalya. “They don’t want to deal with the chaos of the city, we provide everything for them.”

While sun, sea and beach became the essential keywords of holiday in Turkey, many tourism experts say Turkey doesn’t benefit at all from the all-inclusive services.

“There is no benefit from tourists who don’t contribute to the local economy,” Faruk Pekin, writer, professional tour guide and owner of FEST Tourism told the Hürriyet Daily News. “And it is not just the tourists; most holiday villages buy nothing from local producers.”

Former minister of Tourism, Bahattin Yücel agreed. “It has been like this for the past 15 years,” Yücel told the Daily News. “Unfortunately, Turkey’s tourism policy wasn’t shaped for different tastes and markets. Focusing too much on the sea, sun and beach only creates a certain type of tourist, yet there is so much more potential we can use.”

Sociology of tourism

While economic consequences of holiday resorts are under discussion, some also underline the sociological outcomes. According to sociologist Özgür Sarı, who specializes in tourism sociology, many Turkish cities are closed to touristic activities.

“I did my field study in Konya, where many tourists come for Mevlana (the Muslim poet and Sufi mystic),” Sarı told the Daily News. “All tourist attractions are located around his tomb; there is nothing else for tourists in other parts of the city. This is the same in all cities of Turkey, even in Istanbul. The tourist route in Istanbul doesn’t go beyond Sultanahmet-Eminönü-Taksim route. So these areas also become gated environments, where there is no interaction with the locals.”

Sarı said most Turkish municipalities avoid bringing tourists and the local public together; and therefore keep touristic activities in one part of the city.

“Turkey has a conservative society and tourism means breaking the conservatism,” Sarı said. “Municipalities are concerned because they don’t want any unwanted incidents. On the other hand, they have to obey the instructions of the Tourism Ministry, so they prefer keeping touristic locations on one side,” Sarı said.

According to Cevdet Avcıkurt, a professor from Balıkesir University Tourism and Hotel Management, although Turkey is developing some policies toward the integration of tourists in the city, there needs to be more.

“The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is working, but there needs to be more collaboration between the government, civil initiatives, universities and media in order to raise awareness among the public and integrate them into tourism sectors,” Avcıkurt told the Daily News.

Islamic gates

Parallel to the rise of all-inclusive holiday resorts, another trend in the past few years is the Islamic holiday resort, where families can spend their beach holiday according to Islamic rules. Such resorts offer separated facilities – separate beaches, pools and massage salons for men and women.

“Now people define their identities based on their consumption habits and lifestyles, and that includes how you spend your holiday as well,” said sociologist Sarı. “The economic rise of religious communities caused these holiday resorts to spring up. Now Turkey’s Islamic population also wants to have their holiday just like the secular population.”

Yet, according to Faruk Pekin, although such trends will have their customers, most Muslim tourists want to spend their holiday outside of their own countries. “We have 1 million Persian and Arabic tourists every year,” Pekin said. “Some 50,000 of them go to Islamic resorts, but most of them want to experience different things. Turkey has amazing historical sites and an incredible cultural heritage. We need to incorporate them further into our tourism policy.”

2.       barba_mama
1629 posts
 20 Jun 2011 Mon 10:24 pm

The biggest problem with the whole "all-in beach and sun" tourism is that it can be done in any country. If any other country in the world with beaches and sun, and enough food becomes cheaper than it will take tourists away from Turkey very easily. Turkey should compete with its unique aspects, which are not sun and beaches, but cuisine, historical cultural attractions and nature.

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