The Turkish government is pushing a plan to promote the Bodrum Peninsula as a tourist destination while controlling growth, and recently declared the area to be an official tourism center. The designation gives the Culture and Tourism Ministry the ability to take over authority for preparing new building plans in the area.
The Bodrum peninsula is located in the southwest part of Turkey and is one of the county’s most popular holiday destinations. There has been significant development in the area over the past several decades, and the lack of local planning helped to spur this initiative. Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said that thorough planning is needed to make the most of the land available: “I’m completely against creating concrete jungles. I don’t like to see concrete buildings when watching the land from the sea.”
Local politicians indicated that regional planning would be a good idea and will help to preserve the natural beauty of the coastline in the future. Gurol Ergin of the opposition CHP said “The way to save Bodrum is by creating a platform that will bring together all the municipalities in the Bodrum Peninsula.” It is hoped that the government’s recent move will do just that.
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