Destination: Bodrum — But Not the Bodrum You Know: 100,000 Visitors Heading to the Villages

While tourism businesses in central Bodrum are experiencing one of the toughest Junes in recent years, tourists have started shifting their attention toward rural areas.

In Muğla’s Bodrum district, tourism operators are facing their sparsest season-opening since the pandemic. Many businesses have hosted fewer guests compared to the average June in previous years. Meanwhile, nature and village-themed tours are being organized across Bodrum.

Early in the morning, tourists are picked up from their hotels and transported in special safari vehicles to the inland parts of the district — traditional villages accessed via forest paths. Throughout the day, participants enjoy scenic landscapes, experience local village life, taste regional delicacies, and spend time immersed in nature.

The tours include scenic breaks at elevated viewpoints, and some villages also offer adventure park activities.

Highlighting the economic activity generated in rural areas, TÜRSAB Bodrum Regional Representative Board Chairman Mustafa Demir said:

“There’s high demand for these tours from Europe, Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. About 10% of tourists coming to Bodrum usually want to experience its natural side. What’s most important is that we generate direct income for local people. At the places where we stop and have meals, we engage in trade with locals.”

Demir also stated that prices for these tours and activities started at €40:

“We pick up guests from their hotels in the morning, guide and entertain them all day, and drop them back off in the evening. During the season, we transport an average of 20,000 passengers on safari tours. In addition to those, vineyard tours and village tours conducted by buses bring the total number of tourists up to 100,000.”