Safranbolu district of Karabuk, which has become a center of attraction for cultural tourism with its historical inns, baths, mosques and mansions, with a population of 50 thousand, hosted approximately 1 million 150 thousand tourists last year and welcomed 23 times the population of tourists.
Safranbolu district of Karabuk, famous for its historical mansions on the UNESCO World Heritage List, hosted 23 times the population of tourists last year.
The district, which took its first steps in the field of conservation and tourism in 1977 with the documentary “Time in Safranbolu” directed by Suha Arin, started to host tourists a year after it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 17, 1994. In the last 28 years, it has become a center of attraction for cultural tourism.
Safranbolu, which stands out with its historical inns, baths, mosques, fountains and bridges as well as traditional mansions, which is shown among the top 20 best protected cities in the world by UNESCO, is flooded by local visitors and tourists from countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Italy and South Korea.
According to the information received by the AA correspondent from the Tourism Information Bureau officials, Last year, 164,800 tourists from various provinces and 50 countries, mainly Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli, Bolu, Bursa and Eskisehir, stayed in nearly 2,000 traditional mansions built in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
In 2021, approximately 1 million 150 thousand tourists came to Safranbolu with a population of 50 thousand, which is one of the most important building blocks of the Turkish urban culture, which has been formed over hundreds of years, and which has made its visitors almost “time travel”.
“PEOPLE ARE BORED OF STAYING AT HOME FOR 2 YEARS”
Sebnem Urgancioglu Erguder, President of Safranbolu Tourism Operators Association, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Safranbolu is among the first places that come to mind in the country when it comes to cultural tourism.
Explaining that they experience an increase in the number of tourists each year, Erguder said, “Last year, we hosted approximately 165 thousand tourists. Last year, this figure was 120 thousand. There was an increase of nearly 40%. Of course, this is the number of tourists with accommodation. Apart from this, we know that we have daily visitors.
Stating that they expect it to be much better this year, Erguder said, “I hope we do not encounter a new variant. People have been bored with staying at home for two years. We are hopeful for 2022, we have high expectations. We expect a big explosion.”
Erguder added that they are preparing projects with local public institutions and that they aim to increase the number of tourists by adding the ancient city in Eskipazar district, train travel in Yenice and natural beauties to Safranbolu tourism.
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz