Mayor of Bodrum finds 200 TL price for a single lahmacun, normal

In an interview to TURIZM GUNCEL website, Ahmet Aras, mayor of Bodrum said the largest problem of Bodrum was house structuring adding the town had shown a better performance this year than the one in 2019.

Stating that Bodrum had attracted many international hotel brands in recent years, Ahmet Aras said, “But our own hotels have also been managed by groups that know tourism very well for almost 60 years. Bodrum has chosen its own form of tourism and continues it. It does not resemble Antalya, Kuşadası or Marmaris. Our hospitality in Bodrum is different. Bodrum is a destination with a personalized service. We are the place that makes tourism the best in Turkey and people know this.”

“200 CRUISE SHIPS WILL ARRIVE NEXT YEAR”

Ahmet Aras noted that the Bodrum Tourism Forum organized with the motto ’Blue Economy’ coincided with the tourism goals of the city and said, “We have instruments related to maritime activities such as blue cruise, diving tourism, daily boat tours, sailing. Cruise ships have made an incredible comeback recently. Nearly 100 cruises have arrived this year. This number will increase to 200 next year.”

“RICH RUSSIANS ARE COMING TO BODRUM”

Aras stated that the weight of Russian and Middle Eastern markets in Bodrum had increased and said, “Before the pandemic, the interest of Russians towards Bodrum had started to increase. When you asked before, the Russians didn’t know any other place than Antalya. Currently, Russians with high income levels are coming to Bodrum, they have learned this. They are buying houses here, they want to live or even get citizenship. After the war, the trend turned this direction. The same goes for the Middle East market. As a result of rising exchange rates, visitors belonging to the upper income group from the Middle East began to come to Bodrum. These are people who travel a lot, go to malls, eat in good restaurants, rent good houses for crazy monies. On the other hand, there is also a form of tourism in Bodrum that appeals to all kinds of budgets.”

“I DON’T SEE SELLING LAHMACUN FOR 200 TL AS A NEGATIVE THING“

The mayor who stated that new brands had come to Bodrum with the advertising made by the brands that had already come to Bodrum, also said that there was a developed food and beverage and entertainment sector in the city. He added “People know that you can have fun in Bodrum as good as in St Tropez and Mykonos. However, it is necessary to regulate the entertainment life in Bodrum. We need to purify entertainment from noise and provide certain standards. We’re not supposed to cheat the tourist. But I don’t see ‘lahmacun for 200 liras’ as a negative thing. Because where lahmacun is 200 liras is the Queen of Spades, and you won’t find anything there for 10 liras anyway. The service given in the Queen of Spades, the service is very different.”

EXCERPTED from article on TURIZMGUNCEL.com website and translated by BTT