Tourism in Turkey: Will public beaches become “paid for”?

Beaches are on the agenda with fees, bans and other regulations, the issue is being discussed in many countries, on the one hand, while successive decrees and bans are being made on beaches in countries including Spain, Italy and Portugal; on the other hand, complaints about demanding high fees for beaches that should be open to the public are increasing by different methods and under different names.

Meanwhile, beaches that are one of the constitutional rights to be open to the public in accordance with the “Coastal Law” in Turkey are being decoupled by various methods. It is argued that the recent practices in this area in many countries, including Turkey, are aimed at creating a ground within the scope of preparations for making beaches paid.

INITIATIVES IN THIS DIRECTION

The issue is also being discussed in other countries; It is noteworthy that the news about the issue in the tourism media in Spain has increased recently. As a matter of fact, in an article titled “Will there be a fee for access and use of beach facilities in the future?” on a tourism news portal published in Spain it is understood that there are initiatives in this direction.

The article reads as follows: “What we are talking about is not something very far away. This year, those who want to enter the sea from some of the bays in Sardinia of Italy will pay a fee according to the time they will use the beach. Although the local government says it has taken this measure to protect the coasts from overcrowding, it is an attempt to make the beaches paid for, which will also spread to other regions.”

SITUATION IN TURKEY

Even in the public beaches opened by the Ministry of Culture and tourism in different parts of the country, a small fee is charged, while many private beaches have been seen recently. In order to use these beaches, a certain fee is required to be paid under the name of “spending limit”. (TA)