NUDIST HOTEL ON TURKISH COAST RECEIVES PUBLIC APPROVAL

Hurriyet
April 26 2010
Turkey

DATCA – Dogan News Agency

A hotel that will only serve nudists in the Aegean resort town of Datca
has received the support of locals, Dogan news agency reported Monday.

Open exclusively to foreigners, the beachfront nudist-only hotel
Adaburnu Gölmar, built on a 14,000-square-meter plot of land located
15 kilometers from Datca’s town center, will open on May 1. It will
be Turkey’s first hotel to serve nudists and the locals in Datca are
excited about the opportunity.

Selma Unal, a member of the Mugla Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
noted that Datca is a Special Environment Protection Zone and it is
impossible to increase the bed capacity.

"Even if it is a tourism facility, the buildings in Datca can be
three-story at most," said the 41-year-old businesswoman. "Under such
circumstances, a hotel going into the niche nudist tourism market is a
very good idea. I will support any move that will bring more tourists
to Datca and diversifying the target audience is an advantage in the
tourism sector."

Unal said every hotel should try to be unique, just like the nudist
hotel, and the share Datca gets from the tourism pie will increase
this way.

The project architect of first hotel of its kind in Turkey, Abdullah
Ä°Å~_canı, said the premises are located close to Datca’s most
important tourism zone. "The area is around 5 million square meters in
total, all allocated for tourism facilities," he said. "But there is
not yet enough investment in the area. The Kardemir family, owners
of Adaburnu Gölmar along with other tourism investments, has been
the pioneers here."

Ä°Å~_canı said it is important that the first investment in the area
sets eyes on a whole different tourism market.

"We must diversify tourism as much as we can to make the best use of
it," he said. "A nudist hotel is just one example of targeting the
niche markets; I hope that other examples will follow."

The new concept has also ensured the support of local business owners.

Polat Tuncer, owner of a jewelry shop in Datca, noted that Turkey
and Datca has more potential for tourism.

"We swim in the same sea and stare at the same sun with our neighbor
Greeks, but they are much better than us at marketing their tourism
potential," said the 37-year-old. "The Greek islands in the Aegean
attract thousands of tourists from all around the world thanks to
their nudist hotels. I think that it is time Turkey takes its share
of this pie."

Hasan Cine, who has been running a shop in the resort town for six
years, thinks that such attempts should be supported. "The concept
is not all about nudity, besides nudity is a reality in life," the
32-year-old said. "How can people swimming naked in a pool in an
enclosed area create problems for others?"

Another shop owner said that since Turkey has gone through an
"initiatives period" – such as the "democratic initiative" and the
Armenian initiative" – having a hotel for nudists could be considered a
"Datca initiative."

"Just like it does not matter if people are black or white, young
or old, it does not matter whether they are dressed up or naked in a
private hotel," said Recep Kara, who has been running a barber shop
in Datca for 20 years.

"I’m happy with the new hotel, the most important thing is increasing
the number of tourists visiting our town," he added.

Orhan Gönul, a 57-year-old retiree who settled in Datca after working
and living in Germany for more than 30 years, is also in favor of
the nudist hotel concept.

"Germany had nudist hotels when I was working there and it didn’t do
me any harm," said Gönul. "Today, millions of Turks work abroad.

Aren’t there nudist hotels in the countries they work in? What harm
does it do?"

Gönul supports the idea as long as the nudity stays behind closed
doors. "Nudity in public is not acceptable anywhere around the world,"
he said. "If this stays indoors, or only in the hotel area, I support
Datca having a nudist hotel."